Lamwai loses second appeal at High Court

By Bernard James

Prominent Dar es Salaam advocate, Dr Masumbuko Lamwai, has lost yet another appeal against conviction and one year suspension to practice for professional misconduct. This is the second appeal of similar nature the former law lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam lost in court. However, the High Court set aside the Sh20million payment to the complainant. In May this year, three judges of the High Court upheld the decision by Advocates Committee to suspend Dr Lamwai after he was convicted for negligence and professional misconduct that led to the dismissal of a suits by his two clients. In the first suit, Dr Lamwai was said to have failed to represent Mr Bernard Mrema against the Attorney General and the IGP without any due cause. This time, Justices Laurean Kalegeya, Amir Manento and Augustine Shangwa dismissed Lamwai's appeal against a second suspension by the committee in September 2004 as unjustified. Dr Lamwai was challenging the judgment of the committee which convicted him of dereliction of his duties as an advocate and sentenced him to one year suspension from practice. He was also ordered to pay compensation of Sh20 million to Mr Solomon Lufundo whose suit to demand Sh60 million from Hindu Mandal hospital over negligence that caused the death of his wife. Mr Lufundo's believed that his wife died after an operation due to negligence of an unqualified doctor who operated on his wife. The medic was also not a registered practitioner. Hindu Mandal hospital successful raised preliminary objections to the suit as limitation of time and the suit was dismissed in April 2007. In his 13 grounds of appeal which were reduced by the panel to four grounds, Dr Lamwai had argued that the committee members were wrong in entertaining the matter which was not properly filled before the court. "We have given due consideration to the proceedings, facts and findings of the committee and the law and we are of settled view that this complaint is without justification," said deputy registrar of the High Court, Mr P. Bampikya who last week read the judgment on behalf of the panel.
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Richmond under investigation

By Rodgers Luhwago, Dodoma and Pius Rugonzibwa, D'Salaam

D'Salaam The parliament yesterday unanimously endorsed a proposal by the Parliamentary Committee on Investment and Trade to form a committee to investigate the controversial gas to power generation contract awarded to Richmond Development Company. Immediately after the endorsement, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Samuel Sitta appointed five MPs to form the committee. They are Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, Stella Manyanya, Mohamed Mnyaa who is also the shadow minister for energy and minerals, Mr Lucas Seleli and Herbet Mtangi. The committee will strive to establish the legality of the contract Richmond Development Company had entered with Tanesco. According to Mr Sitta, the probe team will scrutinise the findings of the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) which it conducted on the deal. The minister for Energy and Minerals, Mr Karamagi promised government support and co-operation with the committee in a transparent manner its bid to establish the truth about the contract. Earlier, parliamentarians called for fresh investigations on the controversial power generation deal clinched by Richmond Development Company (RDC). The debate re-emerged after the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Investment and Trade handed its 2006/2007 report, tabled by committee chairman William Shelukindo (CCM-Bumbuli). The committee proposed that the House forms an independent committee to access the contract document between Richmond and the Government and scrutinise it, before issuing a clear report that will settle controversial issues on how the tender was awarded. The committee would be responsible for searching for answers on a number of questions in relation to the procedures of awarding the tender and the credibility of the company. Questions that are to be answered include reasons that made the Government fail to make a thorough inquiry into the Richmond firm to establish its due diligence. Another is why the Government failed to seek more information on the company from the Internet to establish its credibility. The committee also questions the Government decision to award the tender to Richmond for emergency power generation while aware of its small financial capacity. This datum was noted in 2005 after the same company failed to honor the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the project of laying fuel pipes from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, the report noted. The Parliamentary Committee also wanted answers as to why the Government did not search for evidence after it was claimed that Richmond had close ties with Pratt and Whitney, a major firm in the sector, a point that gave confidence to the Government in awarding Richmond the tender. Other questions include the fact that Pratt and Whitney Co. was not mentioned in the final contract for emergency power generation, as well as establishing the amount of loss the nation incurred for the company�s failure to generate power during the time of power crisis as required. �Due to the difficulties in accessing the contract between Richmond and the Government, the Parliamentary Committee under Parliamentary rules No 104 and 105 of the Standing Orders, Edition 2004, wants Parliament to form a select committee that will have legal powers to access the document and scrutinise the whole process that led the company to be awarded the tender,� said Mr Shelukindo in his report. He said all these questions need to be answered clearly to satisfy the public, in which case the committee that would investigate the matter should go beyond criminal liability issues focused by the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB). Despite the fact that PCCB investigated the deal, he said, still there were questions that were yet to be answered since the anti-graft body focused on criminal elements in its investigation. Mr Shelukindo said the committee was also not satisfied with the performance of Dowans Holdings S.A from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after it failed to produce emergency power within the time stated in the contract. Dowans took over the power generation deal from Richmond. The committee also wanted to be told how much Dowans has so far paid the Government after breaching the contract. He said according to the contract the company was supposed to pay $10,000 everyday as fine for failure to install the gas-turbines within the agreed time frame. However, the Parliamentary Committee was satisfied with the performance of Agreeko Company that started generating emergency power without delay. Ms Beatrice Shelukindo (CCM- Kilindi) said there was pressing need to form a probe committee on the whole process of awarding the tender to Richmond Development Company. She said it was sad to learn that the Government awarded the tender to the company despite its obvious weaknesses in the first project in 2005. Mr Habib Mnyaa (CUF-Mkanyageni) said the contract had something fishy, as despite the reluctance of Tanesco to sign the deal the Government stuck to its guns. The opposition MP similarly noted that the contract was signed during the night. Reached for comment, Dr Sengondo Mvungi of the University of Dar es Salaam commended the report, saying MPs had done their job. Prof Issa Shivji on his side said the Parliament has been given teeth by the Constitution to bite, and it is the right time now for the issue to be thoroughly debated in the House. He said even if Richmond has been sold, yet the Government is now required to tell wananchi through their representatives what it knows about Richmond. Contacted for comment, environment lawyer Tundu Lissu said the Government must tell wananchi why it pressurised Tanesco to sign the contract with Richmond while Tanesco had already cautioned about it.
By Rodgers Luhwago, Dodoma and Pius Rugonzibwa, D'Salaam The parliament yesterday unanimously endorsed a proposal by the Parliamentary Committee on Investment and Trade to form a committee to investigate the controversial gas to power generation contract awarded to Richmond Development Company. Immediately after the endorsement, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Samuel Sitta appointed five MPs to form the committee. They are Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, Stella Manyanya, Mohamed Mnyaa who is also the shadow minister for energy and minerals, Mr Lucas Seleli and Herbet Mtangi. The committee will strive to establish the legality of the contract Richmond Development Company had entered with Tanesco. According to Mr Sitta, the probe team will scrutinise the findings of the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) which it conducted on the deal. The minister for Energy and Minerals, Mr Karamagi promised government support and co-operation with the committee in a transparent manner its bid to establish the truth about the contract. Earlier, parliamentarians called for fresh investigations on the controversial power generation deal clinched by Richmond Development Company (RDC). The debate re-emerged after the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Investment and Trade handed its 2006/2007 report, tabled by committee chairman William Shelukindo (CCM-Bumbuli). The committee proposed that the House forms an independent committee to access the contract document between Richmond and the Government and scrutinise it, before issuing a clear report that will settle controversial issues on how the tender was awarded. The committee would be responsible for searching for answers on a number of questions in relation to the procedures of awarding the tender and the credibility of the company. Questions that are to be answered include reasons that made the Government fail to make a thorough inquiry into the Richmond firm to establish its due diligence. Another is why the Government failed to seek more information on the company from the Internet to establish its credibility. The committee also questions the Government decision to award the tender to Richmond for emergency power generation while aware of its small financial capacity. This datum was noted in 2005 after the same company failed to honor the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the project of laying fuel pipes from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, the report noted. The Parliamentary Committee also wanted answers as to why the Government did not search for evidence after it was claimed that Richmond had close ties with Pratt and Whitney, a major firm in the sector, a point that gave confidence to the Government in awarding Richmond the tender. Other questions include the fact that Pratt and Whitney Co. was not mentioned in the final contract for emergency power generation, as well as establishing the amount of loss the nation incurred for the company�s failure to generate power during the time of power crisis as required. �Due to the difficulties in accessing the contract between Richmond and the Government, the Parliamentary Committee under Parliamentary rules No 104 and 105 of the Standing Orders, Edition 2004, wants Parliament to form a select committee that will have legal powers to access the document and scrutinise the whole process that led the company to be awarded the tender,� said Mr Shelukindo in his report. He said all these questions need to be answered clearly to satisfy the public, in which case the committee that would investigate the matter should go beyond criminal liability issues focused by the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB). Despite the fact that PCCB investigated the deal, he said, still there were questions that were yet to be answered since the anti-graft body focused on criminal elements in its investigation. Mr Shelukindo said the committee was also not satisfied with the performance of Dowans Holdings S.A from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after it failed to produce emergency power within the time stated in the contract. Dowans took over the power generation deal from Richmond. The committee also wanted to be told how much Dowans has so far paid the Government after breaching the contract. He said according to the contract the company was supposed to pay $10,000 everyday as fine for failure to install the gas-turbines within the agreed time frame. However, the Parliamentary Committee was satisfied with the performance of Agreeko Company that started generating emergency power without delay. Ms Beatrice Shelukindo (CCM- Kilindi) said there was pressing need to form a probe committee on the whole process of awarding the tender to Richmond Development Company. She said it was sad to learn that the Government awarded the tender to the company despite its obvious weaknesses in the first project in 2005. Mr Habib Mnyaa (CUF-Mkanyageni) said the contract had something fishy, as despite the reluctance of Tanesco to sign the deal the Government stuck to its guns. The opposition MP similarly noted that the contract was signed during the night. Reached for comment, Dr Sengondo Mvungi of the University of Dar es Salaam commended the report, saying MPs had done their job. Prof Issa Shivji on his side said the Parliament has been given teeth by the Constitution to bite, and it is the right time now for the issue to be thoroughly debated in the House. He said even if Richmond has been sold, yet the Government is now required to tell wananchi through their representatives what it knows about Richmond. Contacted for comment, environment lawyer Tundu Lissu said the Government must tell wananchi why it pressurised Tanesco to sign the contract with Richmond while Tanesco had already cautioned