Busia Senator and presidential hopeful Okiya Omtatah has finally replied to calls to apologise from Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdulahi over remarks he made in the Senate about the importation of 500,000 tonnes of duty-free rice.
In a letter dated August 25, Omtatah refused to apologise, claiming that he would not bow to the lawyers' threats as they were baseless and in contrast with constitutional baselines. "With due respect, your demands are not only devoid of legal merit but represent a fundamental misunderstanding of Parliamentary privilege, Constitutional oversight and the doctrine of separation of powers," the letter read in part. "At the outset, I categorically state that I stand by every word in my request for a statement from the Senate regarding the approval of the duty-free waivers for the rice imports.
I made the request in the public interest and will continue to perform my duties as a Senator to ensure transparency and accountability in governance." Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi during an interview with Jeff Koinange on October 17, 2018 Citizen Digital Ahmednasir had written to the Senator, seeking a withdrawal of the statement he had made on July 9 on the floor of the House, seeking answers on the due process employed in allocating the importation quota to a private corporation, which the lawyer termed as his client.
He further claimed that Omtatah's claims assassinated his client's reputation and were made without any factual basis.
