Sagay: Senate lacks authority to summon me

Prof. Sagay

Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) Chairman Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) yesterday said the Senate cannot summon him for expressing an opinion.

He said the Senate lacks the authority to summon a private citizen.

Sagay said the lawmakers were embarking on a “futile” exercise that could have “embarrassing consequences”.

According to Sagay, he does not fall within the category of government officials that the Senate can summon.

He said he only exercised his constitutionally guaranteed right to hold an opinion.

Sagay said a government official can be summoned during an amendment of a law that affects the official’s agency, or where the official is directly involved in spending monies appropriated by the National Assembly.

The eminent professor of law said any senator who feels that his reputation was damaged by his comments could seek redress in court.

He said the Senate was not a court of law before whom he could be ordered to appear.

Sagay was reacting to a move by the Senate to summon him over comments he made on the lawmakers.

The PACAC chairman also faulted the suspension of Senator Ali Ndume for six months, saying it was not justifiable.

He said: “I expressed an opinion in the newspaper. It’s my constitutional right. Now, they say they’re inviting me.

“I’ve not got the summons yet, but I’m saying that they absolutely have no authority or power to summon me before them, just as I have no power or authority to summon them before me. Our powers in that regard on virtual summons are exactly the same.

“So, it is a futile exercise. My advice to them is to ask their legal advisers to tell them how limited their powers are under Sections 82 to 89 of the 1999 Constitution. Then they will know that I am far, far outside the category of people they can ever invite. And they would save themselves the embarrassment of the consequences of that futile invitation.”

Asked if the Senate has the right to order the arrest of a citizen who refuses to appear before it, Sagay said: “They can do so if that citizen comes within the small group of people they can invite.

“Usually when they invite, there are one of two reasons: they want to make a new law or improve a law, and you’re an official in that area, an official probably in government in that area, and they invite you to interrogate you so they can improve or get ideas on improving that law they intend to make. That’s one.

“Additionally, when they have voted money for particular government activities, and you’re the one who is overseeing that activity and spending the money they have allocated, they can invite you to give an account of how you spend the money in order to improve efficiency in that type of expenditure or to check corruption. Those are the two groups of people they can invite. They should know that that has nothing to do with me.

“They absolutely have no authority to invite a private citizen who expresses an opinion. They have been defeated in court so many times for trying to invite people over whom they have no power.

“So, that’s why I said they should just save themselves that embarrassment. They can’t intimidate anybody. They can’t stop me from expressing my views, which are guaranteed by the Constitution.

“They cannot become a court for me to appear before. Courts are established, and I can only appear before a court, not before them.”

Sagay said any senator who feels his reputation was damaged by his comments could sue. “O, definitely. That’s his constitutional right and then, we’ll meet there,” he said.

On Senator Ndume’s suspension, Sagay said: “Clearly there’s no basis for that suspension. He brought something that the whole country was talking about to their attention. They had an opportunity of clearing themselves. That’s the kind of offence for which he is suspended for six months”.