Final Debate for the NSS Bill in Parliament

This is a narration of the events that unfolded on Wednesday 8th October 2014 in National Legislative Assembly (NLA) as National Security Service Bill, 2014 was debated. I made some emphasis to enhance understanding of some sentences or words.

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Sitting No: 14/2014
Venue: NLA Main Hall
Order of the Day
1. Prayers from the Holy Books.

2. Administration of Oath.

3. Communication from the Chair (Speaker)

4. Continuation with the discussion of the Joint Report of the two (2) Committees of Defense, Security & Public Order; Legislation and Justice on the National Security Bill, 2014 in its Third Reading state presented by Hon. Samuel Duwar Deng, Chairperson of the Committee for Defense, Security and Public Order.

5. Presentation of the report of the committee on Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation on Protocol of the African Economic Community establishing the Pan-African Parliament, by Hon. Ali Adlan Nur Eldin, Ag [Acting] Chairperson of the committee.

6. Announcement(s) by the Hon. Ag/Clerk to the National Legislative Assembly.

(I was in parliament at 11am. By then, SPLM MPs were meeting in ‘Blue Room’ – A parliamentary hall use for parties’ and other meetings. That meeting ended at about 11:30 am. By 12:00 PM, the belling was not yet rang and there was confusion whether there would be a sitting. Some members of the public, civil society and the media started to leave. I and other two reporters went to the chairperson of information in parliament to ask him if the sitting was being adjourned. He did not know. We continued to chairperson of defense, security and public order and he said the bell will ring very soon. By 12:40 PM, the first bell rang and we dashed to the public gallery to position our recorders. MPs started entering the Main Hall and took their seats. By 12:50 PM, the second and last bell rang and more MPs entered. A few minutes later, Speaker Manasseh Magok Rundial entered and the police made that yelling: ‘Theeta Reeth Baarlaman Junub Thudan” and the MPs gave him a standing ovation. Speaker Magok adjusted his seat and signaled MPs to sit.)

Speaker: ‘Number of MPs present is 165. We have a forum. Now can we have prayers from the Holiday Books.

Prayers: A Christian MP read a book of proverbs and gave a short prayer followed by a Muslim MP.

Speaker: “Now, let me called upon the Chairperson of Defense, Security and Public Order for continuation of Third Reading of National Security Bill, 2014.

Hon. Samuel Duwar Deng: [Deng started reading the amended security bill to MPs. I have attached the link to the document].

Procedure Mr. Speaker: ‘My name is Hon. Onyoti Adigo, SPLM—DC. According to our code of business, we are supposed to be given the amended document 72 hours before being presented to the parliament. I therefore call for this sitting to be adjourned for at least 72 hours. Thanks you very much.’

Speaker: ‘Can we adjourn the sitting? Yes or No’

MPs: ‘No. No. No. No.’

Speaker: ‘Yes or No’

MPs: ‘No. No. No. No.’

Speaker: ‘Ok. Since the majority [of the MPs] are saying no, let us go ahead. Go ahead chairman [of defense, security and public order].

Samuel Duwar Deng: ‘Thank you Hon. Speaker sir.’ [Then he continued reading the document]. And he concluded by saying: ‘Rt Hon Speaker sir, Hon members. As this bill was adjourned while in its third reading and the concerns of the honourable members have been addressed, I humbly moved that bill entitled “National Security Service Bill, 2014” be deliberated on and passed to the 4th and final reading. Thank you. God bless South Sudan.’

Speaker: ‘Yes leader of minority.’

Leader of minority: ‘My Name is Onyoti Adigo, SPLM—DC. As the official opposition in this parliament, I requested that this [debate] has to be suspended but the ruling party is saying no, because they have been sitting on it and they know what is happening. We are going to leave the house and you remain discussing. We will not be part of it. Thank you very much.’

Speaker: ‘Before you (Onyoti) go. Before you go. What is meant by majority? The opinion of the majority must be respected by the minority. [Hands clap…papapapaapaa] Onyoti. Onyoti. Actually you are making the situation to be bad for this assembly which is not good for you. You want to create a problem.

[Onyoti had already swift off his microphone and started walking out. He was joined by Andrew Ayom (SPLM—DC MP and the chief of opposition whip in parliament). The two went out of the Main Hall].

Speaker: ‘Yes [speaker point to already standing MP and gave him the floor.]’

‘Thank you the Rt. Hon. Speaker. [My name is] Tulio Odongi Ayaho, Eastern Equatoria party list. [Tulio is the government chief whip in parliament]. Rt Hon Speaker, Bills are brought to the house and the bills are researched by MPs. And when the bill is researched, they (MPs) would be waiting when the bill is presented to the house, the second time, third time and fourth time. And they should have been capable to answer and contribute effectively to those bills. Hon. Speaker, I think it is unfair for the opposition to think we should postpone the discussion of this bill. Last week, we had discussed and said the concern of everybody should be brought on board. And these concerns have to be passed to the legal giants in order to come with the document. [The bill] should have been passed since last week. But just to accommodate the concerns of civil society, of everybody, it was necessary that is had to be scrutinized and worked on. Now, the bill is brought before parliament and we are in parliament. I think it is unfair for the minority leader to walk[out] before the discussion is on. And I see [it, the walkout as] a deviance of parliamentary procedure that a bill has to be brought before parliament and discuss. If it could have been a vote in this parliament, the opposition could have absent from it. But to walk away is an arrogance which should have not being practiced in the democratic institutions like parliament. I quite see what the chairman of the security and public order brought to this house. I think the concerns are already addressed and I argue the honorable members to debate on this bill and pass it to the fourth reading. Thank you.”

[Hand claps…papapapapapaaa].

MPs VOICES: ‘Question. Information. Question. Information. Etc’

Speaker: ‘Question will not arise here. Information is allowed. Yes [signaling the voice saying information to take the floor].

‘Thank you Rt. Hon. Speaker. Deborah Ajok Garang, Unity state, party list, Pariang county. Rt. Hon. Speaker. Let me say that…because if you see now here in the house, it is only two greater is in the house [she did not say what that means – but was understood to mean Greater Upper Nile and Greater Bar el Ghazal regions]. All the Greater Equatoria is not in the house. They are not in the house. Mr. Speaker Sir, This [bill] is not belong to any people in South Sudan. It belongs to us as South Sudanese people and those people they are not inside now. Thank you very much.’

Speaker: ‘No. We are attending because of the forum. We have attained the forum yaa-jamaa. We will not go into specifics; whether state ‘S’ is in or state ‘B’ is outside is not [a] point. That is not our usual procedure (hand claps and voices; ‘Hon. Speaker question. Another information but speaker continue speaking)…wait. Wait. We have satisfied the function and that is why we are in. The function is in order. So we will not go into statistics; whether Unity is there, Upper Nile is there, what is there; will not be appropriate. [Hand claps…papapapaapa].

(Voices from MPs started to come up again. ‘Clarification Mr. Speaker sir. Information Sir. [But the speaker asked: ‘Clarifying what?’ and then asked one MP to take the floor.]

‘Thank you Rt. Hon. Speaker. My name is Majok Dut Morwel, Tonj East, Warrap state. SPLM. Rt. Hon speaker and honorable members, I think what the leader of the opposition and members have done is undemocratic because you have to listen to the views of others. Substantial discussion has not yet taken place. So, this is a pre-meditated march out. Yes. They were anyway decided to march out regardless whether there were facts or not [speaker saying in low voice – ‘exactly. Yes. Yes.’]. Starting from there let me make my point Rt. Honorable speaker and the honorable members. I think the issues that were of concern have been addressed. And the most important was the issue of immunity [to security service officers]. To me I am satisfied that this issue has been addressed properly and the bill is due to passed to the fourth reading. [Hand claps…]. Let me substantiate as to why: In the words of Nelson Mandela when he said to his security agents that “The greatest fear of the white man is that we the black taking over will do exactly what the white men did…was their greatest fear. I think this is the fear of the opposition and it is unfounded. And our minister of security [Isaac Mamuor] is here listening. That is the ball in his court. He will proof them wrong. I am sure the minister of security will proof them wrong. And any law, any law in the world; one philosopher wrote; ‘government, in its best state is just but a necessary evil. In it worse state, it becomes an intolerable one.’ So, the moral standing of the security agents is the guiding principles. Whatever law is passed is always bounded to have it repercussions. And otherwise, the other person will always want his ways under the pretext that the law is against him. I think I am of the opinion [that] all the issues concerned with the rights of individuals have all been addressed and I recommend that the bill be passed to the fourth reading. Thank you Rt. Hon speaker.’

[Hand claps and voices….’clarification…information..speaker sir.’

Speaker: ‘If you want to contribute, please get up and contribute. Don’t bring in pretext of clarification, clarifying what?’

‘Daniel Deng Monydit, SPLM Lakes state. Here in this house, we have the minority. Not the opposition. No opposition. We don’t have opposition here. Since it is the minority. Yes, their views can be heard but also they should be abide by the opinion of the majority of the house. Thank you Mr. Speaker.’

‘My name is Rosha Adau Deng Kuol, Warrap state Women list, Twic County. My concern honorable speaker [is that] this bill is going to govern all South Sudanese. Therefore, we are not afraid as a ruling party for the minority to dominate us or going and agitate whatever is going to be told. But I need the observation to be done. We are here as SPLM members and we observe the presence of other parties rather than minority. And if we are the majority out of other parties, out of minority. [I am of the view that] this bill will to be passed without any differences such that people cannot protect themselves by saying that ‘the SPLM is only one who passed this bill without other parties and without minority. And the present of other members, the Equatorians. This bill has got difference…[A male voice interrupted.]

‘Order. Order.’

Speaker: ‘Yes. Order.’

‘I am Hon. Daniel Dhieu Matuit, Lake state, SPLM. We are not here; [to] the last speaker (Adau Deng); as SPLM. We are here as Members of this House.

Voices from the background: ‘yes…yes’..).

Adau Deng Kuol continued: ‘Yes. What I mean. I said for the first thing, let us observe ourselves. Are other parties present or not? And if other parties are among us, I have no problem.’

Speaker: ‘That question is not suitable. You know them. They are here with you. What is the need for asking?’

Adau Deng Kuol: ‘My idea is, in the presence of other party, out of the minority, the bill can be passed. And if the other parties and the minority are not present, let us wait for the next time to come and pass the bill. Thank you.’

Speaker: ‘Thank you. Dengtiel, yes.’

‘Thank you Rt. Hon. Speaker. I am Dengtiel Ayuen, Jonglei state SPLM. Rt. Hon. Speaker, as a Member of this House, what is important is that everybody has a right. Rt. Hon. Speaker, we must go by the procedures of presentation of Bills. The procedures we take are; whether there is a quorum and we will not ask whether the party is present or not present. The absence of any party member or membership is a responsibility of the chief whip of each party. [Hands claps]. It is not the responsibility of another party. Rt. Hon. Speaker, I stand by the concerns. The concerns were raised in this house, in the present of everybody; the SPLM, the [other] Parties, the minority; all the concerns were raised and they were referred to the committee by authority of all the parties and members of this house. Should anybody choose not to attend, it will be at their own peril. Rt. Hon. Speaker, we cannot be frighten by a walkout otherwise the system cannot continue. The system cannot work. Rt. Hon. Speaker, anybody who is going to criticize this bill will show us where we are against the world. The bill is in line, the security law is in line with all the security laws of the countries around us and of the world, so advise, I really argue this August House to proceed and challenge the bill where they think it is wrong and if it is okay, let it be passed. Thank you.’

[Dengtiel is the chairperson of two houses of parliament in charge of legal and constitutional committee].

‘I am Hon. Mohammed Musa, Western Bar El Ghazal state, SPLM.’ Agrees to deliberation of the bill and be passed. ‘However, my concern on the recruitment to the services in page 5. As all of you know that the last census, taken in 2008 was denied, fake and denied by all levels of people of South Sudan; politically, socially and even economically. But to our shock, the very denied census is taken as a measure of distributing whatsoever to be distributed to the ten states which I think that is not fair. I do appeal to my Hon members that this proportional percentage of the states population, so the distribution of the recruitment should be equally to the ten states.’

Oliver Morris, SPLM (from Central Equatoria state). He is in support of the bill and argued MPs not to gang as states or regions. ‘Honorable members we should never allow ourselves to be fooled, to be ganging as counties, or states. To me this bill is not a bill to gang ourselves. We are ganging against who? I thought the issues of concern to us will be in the constitution that will be brought. And this is where we may need actually to convince others that this is permanent constitution which are we are making in the process so let it be accommodative for anyone of us in the republic of South Sudan. But we start now by division in the security bill, which is supposed to protect all of us, where are we heading? Let everyone ask himself, where are we heading?.’

Speaker: ‘Yes.’

‘I am Henry Odua, Eastern Equatoria state, SPLM.’ He talked against passing of the bill now. ‘When we go our regulation 28, subsection one, it says once we are given such a document, at least we are to be given 72 hours but this never happened. And so Mr. Speaker, you saw a lot of people walkout. I don’t know as to what the reasons are but the information then is….’

Speaker: ‘Only the two people, the minority and the [SPLM—DC] chief whip. Not many people have marched out.’

Odua: ‘Yes. Yes and because of that Mr. Speaker, I think I personally, will walkout because this is not the way of passing bills and Equatoria as a whole is going to walkout. Thank you very much. You pass this bill as your country and whatever it is….’

[A female voice calling; ‘clarification. Clarification’ but Speaker said ‘Mary please be seated.]’

[I and other reporters followed Odua and his group into the ‘Blue Room’ and the debate continue in the Main Hall. And this is what he said:

“The speaker decided to bulldoze his way. The opposition raised but the speaker didn’t listen. I rise as one of the concerned people; an MP from a region. I represent people but the speaker again bulldozed. And when you see, there is less than a third of MPs in that house now and they are going to push through a controversial bill, to govern this country, I think that leaves a lot to say about which direction this country is going.”

I asked him how many MPs from Equatoria had left the debate with him as I look around in the room and took pictures. And this is what is what he said.

“Well, this parliament composes 332 [MPs]. You as a journalist, you go and read who are there. Just take the number, count and then you will subtract who are not there? Thank you.”

[When my editor asked me to confirm reports that 140 MPs from Equatoria walked out, I presented to him the photos I took in the ‘Blue Room’ and he counted less than 20 MPs. We put our estimate to about 20 in order to take care of any MPs who might had left the Main Hall and continued to his/her house and the SPLM-DC].

I continued: “Hon. Oliver Morri was saying there is no regional ganging. What is your take on that?”

Odua: “There is no region ganging. We have caucus. [One MPs next to Odua said: “This is, we are representing Equatoria]. We have caucuses. You can have a group of MPs that are interested in cattle [whatever that means]. You can have group of MPs that are interested to go to the moon and those are caucuses; those are small groupings in parliament advocating issues and we as a region can advocate issues. We are not here to break this country but it is they [referring the MPs debating the NSS Bill] to break to this country.’

One reporter asked: “Now what is the way forward?”

Odua: ‘We need time to go through this bill and then you know, lobby among ourselves. You know this is how it is done.’

Then we returned to the public gallery to listen to the proceedings.

The bill was already passed to the fourth reading where Speaker reads chapters, headings and asks for comment on spellings or clarifications. At this stage, there is no more debate.]

Speaker: ‘The whole bill: pass?’

MPs: Yes. Yes. Yes….[Hands claps and stood up].

Speaker: ‘Title of the Bill: National Security Service Bill, 2014. Thank you very much. This bill has really taken a lot our time. The sitting s now adjourned to next week.’

END
© Philip Thon Aleu