Opposition MP Jone Usamate has accused police of overreach after receiving a parking ticket for his vehicle while carrying out parliamentary duties within the parliamentary precincts.
In a social media post, Usamate questioned the authority of police to issue the fine within Parliament and called on the Minister responsible for policing and the Commissioner of Police to address the matter.
“Fined by the police for parking in the parliamentary precincts while doing my job,” Usamate said.
“Parliament is a separate legislative arm of the state, and the police have no right to interfere with the separation of powers.”
Usamate said he received the parking ticket after coming out of Parliament, where he had been carrying out work relating to justice and human rights.
“I get a parking ticket given by the police for parking in parliamentary precincts,” he said.
“So it seems the police is telling me, as a member of Parliament, not to park in parliamentary precincts to do the work that I’m elected to do.”
Usamate called for intervention from the Minister and Commissioner of Police and questioned the conduct of the officers involved.
“I request the Minister and the Commissioner of Police to do something about this,” he said.
“These police officers need to be pinned about how they carry out their jobs.”
The Opposition MP argued that Parliament’s position as the legislative arm of the State needed to be respected.
“Parliament on its own is a legislative arm of the State. Nobody, including the police, they don’t have any right to do this in parliamentary precincts,” Usamate said.
He described the incident as “very poor” and raised concerns about the separation of powers.
Usamate has called on the authorities to address what he considers police interference within the parliamentary precincts.
