Lawmakers at the Jonglei State Transitional Legislative Assembly on Monday suspended their colleague as the assembly’s chairperson for the specialized committee on information and communication for allegedly failing to deliver.
Acting Assembly Spokesperson Grace Mathot told Radio Tamazuj that Wany Bum was suspended for three months to allow for investigation.
“On Monday during a sitting, a motion was raised for the suspension of our head of information committee because he has been colluding with the executive against the assembly and he has not been speaking for the assembly,” she said. “The motion was raised by his own SSOA colleagues and it was passed by 42 members, only eight opposed and six did not vote.”
Hon. Grace, who is also the assembly’s deputy information committee head, pointed out that her boss will only resume work if found innocent.
“He is suspended for three months after which a committee will be formed to investigate him. He will have a chance to defend himself. For now, he is not allowed to attend ABC (Assembly Business Committee) sitting because he is suspended but he will continue attending normal assembly sittings only as a lawmaker,” she explained.
For his part, Wany who hails from Governor Denay’s SSUM party, denied the charges labeled against him, pointing out that his suspension was nonprocedural and that he will continue discharging his duties.
“What I said was that if I am to report to the media I have to report on behalf of parliament, not on my behalf or anybody else who has an interest in this. From there, I was flashed out. The acting speaker told me to leave,” he said. “In my absentia, some MPs seconded by Changson Chang’s party raised the motion that I should be impeached.”
He added, “Suspension of any member of parliament in this agreement does not lie on the assembly. If any member is misbehaving, the parliament has to write to the principal of that party for discipline. Again, if the chairperson has issues, a committee has to be formed, a report filed to the speaker, then the speaker will take it to the ABC committee and the parliament where the voting will come in now.”