Dodoma — Legislators took turns to portray their knowledge of legal issues on Thursday, June 28, 2018 when the Parliament debated the Finance Bill, 2018.
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It all started with Mr Cecil Mwambe (Ndanda -Chadema) when he faulted the Attorney General (AG), Dr Adelardus Kilangi who said on Monday, June 25, 2018 that the available High Court ruling on the issue was that the export levy belongs to the public.
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Dr Kilangi said on Monday that the Court of Appeal also ruled in favour of the government when the issue was brought before it in 2002.
Dr Kilangi detailed a number of legal documents in support of the government's view that the cashew nut export levy belongs to the public and thus the government has the right to channel the money to the consolidated fund as opposed to the current situation whereby 65 per cent goes to support the cashew nut crop.
But speaking in Parliament while holding a copy of the Court Ruling in his hand on Thursday, June 28, 2018, Mr Mwambe said the court said the levy was not part of government revenue.
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But the Deputy Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Mr William Ole Nasha stood on a point of order and told the House that Mr Mbwambe was misleading the Parliament from a legal point of view.
"In law, there is 'obiter dicta' and 'dicta'. What Mr Mwambe is delivering in the former which does not form the basis of the main court ruling," he said.
Obiter dicta refers to a judge's expression of opinion uttered in court or in a written judgement, but not essential to the decision and therefore not legally binding as a precedent.
On the contrary, the dicta is what defines the main judgement, said Mr Ole Nasha.
He said the judgement that Mr Mwambe was referring to was one in which the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from the Cashew nut Board which was challenging the High Court ruling in which it (High Court) said the money belongs to the public.
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