An opposition legislator at the Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA) has accused Speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba of intimidating opposition lawmakers to cover up financial scandals.
Juol Nhomngek Daniel, a lawmaker representing Sudan’s People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) claimed he was slapped by security officers when he tried to prevent the speaker from smuggling 12 million SSP out of the parliament.
“The security slapped my cheek; he began attacking me and slapped my cheek. He took my photo saying that he will see how I will be going around in the parliament,” Nhomngek told Radio Tamazuj in an interview on Wednesday.
“When the money (12 million SSP) was about to be taken away in the daytime, people intervened and the speaker came and took that money because it was her money,” he added.
Nhomngek said the security operatives at the parliament have created an atmosphere of fear among those MPs who oppose the speaker.
“When we wrote last time requesting for the reshuffling of parliament because it was not doing its work, the speaker went to the president and Dr. Riek Machar and told them to remove me with Hon. Juma Zachariah but they refused and said nobody should be removed because of talking,” he said.
John Agany, the chairperson of the Information Committee and Assembly spokesperson denied the allegations.
“That is personal, he (Nhomngek) is giving an allegation that has no basis because the speaker is a speaker of the parliament, and she has no connection with the security apparatus,” said Agany.
He said a disciplinary committee was formed to investigate the claims but the opposition MP did not show up.
“He has been writing against the speaker, accusing her of embezzling resources of the assembly which the speaker sees as defamation,” Agany said. “In fact, the Ad-Hoc Committee has been formed through Assembly Business Committee (ABC) to investigate him but he refused to attend the investigation.”
In his defense, Nhomngek said the committee which was formed by the speaker to investigate him is not independent.
“I have been forced by these people because she pays them already and they are subjected to her, they are not independent,” he claimed.