Speaker erred in ruling over impeachment, says lawyer

Somali-Canadian lawyer, Ali Halane has castigated the decision by the speaker of parliament to drop the impeachment motion against the president noting that the law provided sufficient procedure for disposing of the matter.

Halane also said the Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawaari should have consulted widely with the sponsors of the motion before making such a decision which portends far reaching implications on rule of law in Somalia.

“Before taking any action the speaker was supposed to seek the consent of the sponsors of the motion,”said Halane.
The lawyer also said that the Supreme Court can play the role of the constitutional court for now for the purposes of dealing with the impeachment of the president.

“The Penal code article 218 indicates in its second clause that in the absence of constitutional court- the country Supreme Court can stand to play its role and when you go to Somali constitution article 109 it says the highest court in the country is supreme court which means that the supreme court can act as constitutional court in its absence,” added Halane.
The speaker of Parliament Mohamed Osman Jawaari this week ruled that the motion to impeach the president lacked legal merit as provided for in Article 184 of the Penal Code. However sponsors of the motion have dismissed Jawaari’s decision as riddled with dishonesty and abuse of law.