Never Resist Being Escorted Out of Parliament

Whatever transpired in Namibia’s National Assembly chamber on 11 September that gave rise to the commotion in the House, two distinct things should never have been allowed to happen on that day and going forward:

1) A member of the House cannot engage in a face-off heated debate with the presiding officer in the chamber to the extent of pointing fingers at the presiding officer while arguing.

2) A member approached by officials under the office of the sergeant-at-arms should never resist being diplomatically/calmly escorted out of the chamber once the directive has been issued by the presiding officer.

Any misunderstandings related to grievances in the chamber can be amicably handled afterwards.

In minor incidents, the presiding officer has the discretion whether to suspend a member for a few hours or days of sitting, however, escalated incidents are handled by the parliamentary standing committee on privileges and immunities, which deals with disciplinary matters.

It is not acceptable according to the parliamentary code of conduct for a member of parliament to engage in a direct tussle with the sergeant-at-arms security team in the chamber.

It should be noted that both points above are governed by the standing rules and orders of the National Assembly, and they relate to the code of conduct of the honourable members of parliament within the precinct of the parliament.

– Peter Katjavivi is a former speaker of the Namibian parliament.

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