How the David Jairo Story Unfolded
It began like a scene from a political thriller.
In the middle of the budget debate for the ministry of Energy and Minerals, Beatrice Shellukindo, the CCM member of parliament from Kilindi, stood up in dramatic fashion and read from a supposedly leaked 'memo.' Her colleagues in the chamber waited with bated breath at what she was going to disclose. As she proceeded to read from the document, she revealed details of how the permanent secretary, Mr. David Jairo, was trying to direct public funds to 'facilitate' the passage of his ministry's budget. While the nature of this facilitation remained unclear, Mrs. Shelukindo seemed to imply that some underhanded tactics were being employed.
That was enough to send the chamber into a frenzy. And it was bipartisan frenzy too, with MPs from all political stripes condemning the PS. Soon after, it became clear that, unless the issue was addressed, the ministry's budget was not going to pass. Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda and the government, facing the prospect of an embarrassing defeat, asked the Speaker to postpone the vote and, addressing the allegations against Mr. Jairo, declared: "I wanted to take immediate action to fire him but the only hinderance is that he is a presidential appointee."
A few days later, Chief Secretary Philemon Luhanjo announced that Mr. Jairo would be suspended, with pay, and that he had instructed a team led by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) to investigate the fraud allegations leveled against him. "Any further decision will depend on the outcome of the investigations," Mr. Luhanjo told reporters.
"He is going back to the office today"
The CAG probe took longer than the ten days assigned to it. But a month later, Mr. Luhanjo addressed reporters once again: “For this matter, the PS will not be provided with a notice or charge sheet…he is going back to the office today,” said the Chief Secretary.
Apparently, the CAG found that the Tshs578m (not the Tshs1bn quoted by Mrs. Shelukindo) collected was not for 'bribing' MPs as alleged but it 'was used for payment of per diems, sitting allowances and [the] hiring of conference hall for officers who were in Dodoma during tabling of the ministry’s budget estimates,” Mr. Luhanjo pointed out. He went on to say that the Public Service Management Act of 2002 afforded him the power to order the PS back to his office.
And so he did.
But the Chief Secretary wasn't finished. He directed his ire at public servants who he claimed leaked government secrets and promised another investigation that will aim to identify and discipline the leakers.
Meanwhile, the next day Mr. David Jairo returned to work to a hero's welcome. Mwananchi reported that employees at the ministry were heard singing,
"Baba, baba, baba huyooo, karibu baba, karibu baba, umeshinda vita karibu nyumbani."
(Father, father, father there you are, welcome [back] father, welcome [back] father, you won the fight, welcome home)
Some civil society activists expressed 'shock' and 'dismay' at the decision. However, Dr Benson Bana, a political scientist at the University of Dar es Salaam, told The Citizen that the entire incident should serve as a lesson to parliamentarians:
He said it was not fair for lawmakers to accuse government officials of corruption without having watertight proof, and challenged Mrs Shellukindo to apologise to the Prime Minister, Parliament, Mr Jairo and the public.
But MPs were not appeased by CAG's conclusions and decided to form their own committee to investigate the matter:
[The] National Assembly has unanimously resolved to form a Parliamentary select-committee to probe the Chief Secretary (CS), Philemon Luhanjo, for meddling in affairs of the House...The Deputy Speaker, Mr Job Ndugai, maintained here on Wednesday that the Legislature is an important pillar of the state which should be accorded its due respect by other organs including the Executive. ''We respect the government under President Jakaya Kikwete and we can't stand aside while the Parliament and Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda are being snubbed,'' Mr Ndugai said.
The papers' view
Reactions by some newspaper editorials reflected the increasingly polarizing turn of this debate. The Kiswahili weekly Rai identified the villain in this saga and they were not shy to point out why. They wrote, 'Shelukindo Adhibiwe, Kalidanganya Bunge' (Shelukindo [should be] reprimanded, [she] lied to Bunge). It goes on to say,
Mbunge wa Kilindi (CCM), Beatrice Shelukindo ni mwongo na kakomalia taarifa za uwongo na uzushi na kwahiyo kalidanganya Bunge.
(The member of parliament from Kilindi (CCM), Beatrice Shelukindo is a liar and [based her argument] on false information and rumors which means she lied to parliament)
Others viewed Mr. Luhanjo's decision as an insult. 'Hili la Luhanjo ni dharau kwa wabunge' (This from Luhanjo is disrespectful to parliamentarians), said Tanzania Daima while Majira argued for the anti-graft authorities to get involved, 'TAKUKURU nayo imchunguze Jairo' (PCCB should investigate Jairo). Nipashe took a more temperate tone advising readers to take a wait-and-see approach, 'Tunasubiri kamati teule ya Bunge kwa shauku (We await Bunge's special committee with interest).
The President intervenes
The next day, seemingly out of nowhere, this little tidbit of news broke on Twitter. From Jamii Forums
The Guardian reported that,
President Jakaya Kikwete has nullified the reinstatement of Energy and Minerals ministry permanent secretary David Jairo, pending parliamentary team’s probe into the use of funds he requisitioned.
The president’s move was announced in the National Assembly yesterday by Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda, during the weekly Premier’s question time.
Responding to a question from the leader of the Official Opposition, Freeman Mbowe (Chadema Hai), suggesting that Jairo remain on suspension until the parliamentary probe team formed on Wednesday completes its work, Pinda said: “The President has already taken the decision.”
So, first the PM threatens to fire Mr. Jairo, then the Chief Secretary suspends him but a month later, re-instates him only for the President to suspend him again. To say that this was not a shining moment for the Kikwete administration would be an understatement.
What the story tells us about Tanzanian political journalism
Despite the amount of column inches, airtime and commentary invested, for Pernille Bærendtsen over at Dunia ni Duara, the reporting on this story left her with a lot more questions than answers.
A closer look at the coverage bears this out. There was a lot of 'he said/she said' style of reporting but not enough fact-checking of the claims and counter-claims being bandied about. For example, how credible is the 'memo' at the centre of the charges against Mr. Jairo? Not a lot of journalists chose to test the veracity of the letter or the allegations carried therein. Furthermore, why did the Prime Minister feel confident enough to declare Mr. Jairo persona non grata before any investigation had been carried out and what did he think of the CAG's conclusions?
The reaction of the PM and State House appeared to contradict each other, with the former seemingly convinced of the guilt of Mr. Jairo while the latter were quick to exenorate him. Does this mean that there is a rift between the office of the President and Mr. Pinda? If so, what is the nature of this disagreement?
Perhaps, it was simply a public relations blunder on the part of the government and a lack of communication between the two offices. But this begs the question: why is the government struggling to effectively communicate its message to the public and how does this affect how it governs?
These are just some of the questions left unanswered and the angles that are yet to be explored by political reporters during the coverage of this story.
The incident may have created an image of a dysfunctioning government at the highest possible levels. But Tanzanian journalism did not distinguish itself either. When faced with competing narratives, political journalists failed to report to readers what the truth was, leaving them confused and begging for answers.
(Photo: Permanent Secretary being greeted by colleagues at the ministry of Energy and Minerals after being re-institated to his post on Wednesday, August 24th, 2011. By Issa Michuzi)