TLP loses lone seat in Parliament

Phares Kabuye has been unseated as Biharamulo West legislator.

He was the only member of the current Parliament to have won the seat on a ticket of the opposition Tanzania Labour Party.

The development follows yesterday`s ruling by the Bukoba Zone of the High Court annulling the results of the 2005 parliamentary poll for the Kagera Region constituency.

The ruling was delivered here yesterday by Justice Kipenka Mussa.

He said the court was satisfied that Kabuye had during the campaigns defamed his fellow candidate, Anatoli Choya of the ruling CCM, and thus greatly influenced the results of the elections.

Kabuye was alleged to have stated that the CCM candidate had killed his own mother-in-law and wrapped a cow in a shroud for ritual purposes so as to win the elections.

Other scandalous remarks he was said to have made during the campaigns were that Choya had sought and received money from donors for the construction of a secondary school at Nyakahura while he later used the money to build himself a house.

Kabuye was further alleged to have told voters that Choya was behind the collapse of the marriage of a Biharamulo resident and that the latter had also written a letter to the returning officer asking him to prohibit teachers from voting in the constituency.

Justice Kipenka said in his ruling that the court had satisfied itself that all the allegations were false and meant to scandalise Choya before the voters.

During the elections, Kabuye polled 24,234 votes to Choya�s 23,032.

Kabuye, whom the House last year elected Member of the Pan African Parliament, served for many years as a CCM legislator before crossing over to the opposition.

TLP Publicity Secretary Benedicto Mtungirehi insisted that Kabuye had not defamed Choya in any way, adding that they would appeal the ruling.