The former Member of Parliament whose membership was revoked in a presidential decree has termed his removal a ‘‘manifestation of political corruption’’.
Mr Dharuai Mabor Teny, the leader of the National Unity Party, was appointed on the ticket of the Incumbent-Transitional Government of National Unity (I-TGoNU) on May 10, 2021.
Mr Mabor said his removal was unconstitutional and a violation of article 12.1.1 of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ACSS), and article 13.1.1 of the agreement which clearly explains the parties to the agreement.
“I term it a manifestation of political corruption, and the decree is unconstitutional according to the law governing this country,” Mabor stressed.
He argued that the president had no mandate to remove him because he was not from the SPLM party and that his decision amounted to a violation of the revitalised peace agreement through the removal of a party to the agreement and replacing him with a member from another party.
“President Salva is a chairman of the SPLM and I am also the chairman of the party of National Unity, so I don’t see what qualifies the president to remove me,” Mabor explained.
He said the president should have revoked his appointment before taking the oath on August 2 if he knew there was something wrong with it.
The ex-lawmaker claimed that his woes stemmed out of his aggressive oversight approach during the parliamentary sittings which he says may have irked the executive.
“… my presence in the parliament disturbs the operation of the executive, ” Mabor said.
“I term this a lack of proper understanding of the law and the agreement itself by those who have advised the president to issue such an unlawful decree. It is null and void,” Mabor protested.
He urged the leadership of the parliament to block his replacement from being sworn in.
According to the former legislator, this is the best opportunity for the legislature to show the world that South Sudan is maturing democratically.
“President is a human being and any mistake that has been made unknowingly should be corrected by the house of law. So the president needs to be reminded that the law is above all of us including him. So we must respect the constitutional governance and this is where we can achieve peace,” the former lawmaker said.
Mr. Mabor expressed confidence in the parliamentarian’s ability to revoke the decree to enable him to retain his seat.
“I call it intimidation of the parliamentarians not to allow them to practice in the oversight function maximally because if an MP wants to maximise better parliamentary practice, he will be removed, so it’s a kind of intimidation,” the lawmaker said.
He echoed the sentiments of the deputy speaker, Nathaniel Oyet Pierino, who also termed the decree unlawful and in bad faith to the peace deal.
“We are informed that he has been removed by presidential decree, this is similar to a violation of our code of conduct, a violation to our constitution,’’ Oyet protested on November 4.
“Article 63.1 outlines grounds for removing an honourable Member of Parliament. Yes, Members of Parliament were indeed appointed according to the revitalised agreement but the procedure for members of parliament is not upright revocation by a presidential decree or by executive order is by due process”.