Coup plot by Dr Gayo at Pan-African Parliament busted

The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has uncovered a plot by some of its members led by Dr. Ashebiri Woldegiorgis Gayo to oust the current President, Chief Fortune Charumbira from his positions against rules and protocols governing PAP.

In an internal memorandum written to African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat by  PAP’s 3rd Vice President, Lucia Maria Mendes Goncalves Dos Passos, and 4th Vice President, Francois Ango Ndoutoume which we have seen, Dr Gayo is accused of abrogating laid down procedures to install himself as President and issuing unlawful directives that violate PAP Protocol; Rules of Procedure and breaking the tenets of good corporate governance.

“It is a matter of record that Hon. Dr. Gayo started fighting against the principle of rotational leadership and the amendment of the Rules of Procedure long before the process of amending the PAP Rules had begun in 2022.

“During the well-documented disagreements on the implementation of the principle of rotation within the PAP, Hon. Dr. Gayo stood on the side of those opposed to rotation and fought tooth and nail to ensure that rotation would not be entrenched in the PAP Rules of Procedure as directed by the Executive Council and plenary assembly resolutions,” reads part of the memorandum.

The memorandum reckons that Dr. Gayo has been fighting against the principle of rotation because it takes away the position of President from the Eastern Caucus for the next six years, which also implies that Dr. Gayo will not become PAP President for the next six years, or not at all because he is from Ethiopia.

Reads part of the memorandum: “Hon. Dr. Gayo has been trying to frustrate the amendment of the PAP Rules of Procedure to ensure that rotation is not codified in the Rules and does not become obligatory within the PAP.

“Even after the Rules of Procedure had been amended, he tried to block the swearing-in of the 1st Vice President, Hon. Professor Massouda Mohamed Laghdaf, after successful re-election and redesignation to PAP by her national Parliament. The intention was to keep the 1st Vice President out of PAP so that he becomes the most senior Vice President in terms of ranking.”

The memorandum accuses Dr. Gayo of playing an end game, which the AUC and any other organ must be worried about being used to support personal ambitions at the expense of the greater good of the Pan-African Parliament.

It chronicles the actions that Dr. Gayo has taken over the past specified period that confirms his heinous ambitions. They include the usurpation of the post of Acting President on 23rd August 2023; Installing himself in the office of the President; Removing photos of the President and 1st Vice President from the presidential photo gallery; and writing to the AUC purportedly on behalf of the Bureau acknowledging that the amended Rules of Procedure should be withdrawn.

On top of this, the memorandum also accuses Dr. Gayo of attempting to dismiss the Director of the Bureau, the Policy Officer, and the Secretary to the President from the employ of the Pan-African Parliament for refusing to be used in his political shenanigans.

He is also accused of demanding the keys to the office of the President and installing himself in the office despite having his own office at PAP, adding that he also took his photos and distributed them to show the world that he has taken over the presidency at PAP.

Other accusations in the memorandum against Dr. Gayo are that he maligned the character of President Charumbira, fellow Bureau Members, and the Director of the Bureau in meetings with Management and through proxies on Twitter.

It said he roped in Bridgette Motsepe, a South African mining mogul and PAP Ambassador with strong links to the former President of Botswana, Ian Khama, to sponsor some MPs from Zambia, Botswana, and Malawi (Yeremiah Chihana of Alliance for Democracy and Steven Mikaya of UTM) to support him in an attempt to divide the Southern Caucus.

It said with the aid of Bridgette Motsepe, Dr. Gayo invited the SABC to the PAP to give him coverage while ensconced in the office of the President to show the world that he has finally ascended to the office of the President;

Other accusations in the memorandum are that he issued ‘official’ pronouncements on Twitter through the account of one Joseph Kalimbwe thereby bringing the name of the Pan-African Parliament into disrepute. In addition to this Dr. Gayo is said to have threatened the Clerk with instant dismissal if she issues a ticket for the 3rd Vice President, Hon. Lucia Maria Mendes Goncalves Dos Passos, to come to PAP to assume her position as Acting President.

On top of this, he is accused  of intimidating and harassing staff, including the new Clerk, into implementing decisions that are unlawful as well as hiring three henchmen to prevent the Bureau staff from accessing their offices in a diplomatic institution.

The strategy for Dr. Gayo and his cabal is crystal clear. They want to lobby the AUC, Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Heads of State to revoke the amended Rules of Procedure under the guise that they violate the PAP Protocol to prevent Chief Charumbira and the 1st Vice President, Hon. Professor Massouda Mohamed Laghdaf, from resuming their positions as Returning Members after elections in their respective countries, Zimbabwe and Mauritania.

If the amended Rules of Procedure are withdrawn, the cabal will declare a vacancy in the Presidency and nominate Hon. Dr. Gayo as a candidate on the basis that rotation is not in the Rules and is, therefore, not binding on PAP.

“If the amended Rules of Procedure are not rescinded the cabal will declare a vacancy in the Presidency during the Committee Sittings and elect a sponsored MP from the Southern Region to take over from Chief Charumbira and finish the term. The said MP will be a mere stooge under the direct control of Hon. Dr. Gayo for the duration of his tenure,” read the memorandum in part.

Among other things, the cabal’s strategy is to mount a sustained media campaign, which will push a false narrative that Chief Charumbira has been mismanaging funds at PAP by engaging a huge number of support staff during sessions resulting in the prevailing budgetary constraints which, of course, are a result of underfunding, in order to sway the sentiment of MPs and the public against him.

The memorandum said according to rule 19 of the PAP Rules of Procedure, in the absence of a President, a Vice President would act on his behalf going by the order of ranking. However, both the 1st Vice President and the 2nd Vice President have acted as President this year in the absence of the President, with the 2nd Vice President acting as recently as March 2023.

“In terms of rotation therefore, the lot fell on the 3rd Vice President, Hon. Lucia Maria Mendes Goncalves Dos Passos, to act as President. In compliance with the Rules of Procedure, Chief Charumbira duly appointed Hon. Dos Passos as Acting President on 21st August 2023. So, both in terms of ranking and rotation, Hon. Dr. Gayo cannot be the current Acting President. His usurpation of this role is thus a violation of the principle of rotation and the PAP Rules of Procedure which are very clear on the acting criteria,” said part of the memorandum.

It also added that an ‘acting president’ does not have powers to reverse decisions of the plenary or fire staff, saying the plenary consisting of all MPs, is the highest decision-making body of the Parliament.

Reads the memorandum: “Even the President, let alone a Vice President, cannot reverse or act against the decisions of the Plenary Assembly. In that regard, Hon. Dr. Gayo cannot act outside the Rules of Procedure adopted by the plenary assembly whether or not he agrees with the provisions of the Rules.”

As a way forward, Hon Lucia Maria Mendes Goncalves Dos Passos and Hon. Francois Ango Ndoutoume urged the AUC  not to entertain the attempt by Hon. Dr. Gayo and his team to reverse the amendment of the PAP Rules of Procedure.

They said notwithstanding the fact that the AUC, or any other Organ for that matter, has no jurisdiction to review the PAP Rules of Procedure, the amendment process followed due process, involved the office of the AU Legal Counsel, and the Rules conform with the PAP Protocol and that they were unanimously adopted by the Plenary Assembly.

In that regard, the allegations that the amended Rules of Procedure violate the PAP Protocol are nothing more than a smokescreen to disguise the real intention of removing the principle of rotation from the Rules and paving the way for Hon. Dr. Gayo to contest for the Presidency. Moussa Faki Mahamat has yet to respond to the memorandum.