Impeachment caucus vow motion on as speaker’s sanctioned meeting starts tomorrow

A day before parliament and the government meet over the impeachment issue,  the pro-impeachment MPs have declared they are still determined to impeach the president warning dialogue does not mean they have dropped the bid.

In a seven point statement released Tuesday, the MPs vehemently held to their position that the Speaker violated the constitution in dismissing the motion and called on him to reverse the decision as it was a recipe for lawlessness and disorder in the country.

“Our consent to dialogue must not be construed to mean end of the motion. The motion can only be terminated when the the court rules against it. Otherwise, the actual procedure is that the motion must be tabled before parliament for members to cast a vote,” read the statement in part.

In what has emerged to be a battle between the impeachment caucus and the speaker, the lawmakers have accused the speaker of not responding to their queries despite correspondence for clarification on the speaker’s reference for dismissal of the motion.

“We cannot accept dialogue with the speaker as long as he holds the view that the motion is dead. The MP’s position is that the motion must be referred to a competent court to decide on it,” said the MPs.

Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawaari last week struck down the motion noting that it did not meet the minimim legal threshold. But the MPs have come out fighting accusing the speaker of usurping the powers of court.

In his ruling, the speaker called for a consultative meeting between parliament, the president and the Prime Minister to dialogue and find a final solution to the impeachment headache.

The president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud this week in New York told the influential magazine Foreign Policy the motion lacked legal basis.

The lawmakers said it was illegal for the speaker to sit on the motion for over two months without tabling it. they noted that the speaker’s move could jeopardise the functioning of government institutions.

“The MPs would like to tell the Somali citizens that the speaker has acted illegally by keeping the motion for a two months period without tabling it for debate. The MPs also warn Jawaari to stop the illegal decisions  putting at risk by working with government institutions and the rule of law.