A few days ago, on Monday March 4, the Senate of the Czech Republic impeached the country’s President for granting state pardon to criminals charged with financial frauds.

By a vote of 38 to 30 the Czech Republic Senate indicted and impeached President Václav Klaus, at an executive session, for issuing state pardon on December 31, 2012, to cover a range of financial crimes; including investment funds thefts, and, non-violent crimes or offences committed by elderly persons. President Václav Klaus gave amnesty alongside to all criminals facing 10-year jail terms but whose court trials have exceeded 8 years by December 31, 2012.

Altogether, he released 6,236 prisoners under his hands, being 25% of prison inmates, although quite a few of those he amnestied quickly re-committed crimes within days and were promptly returned to jail, giving a lie to a plausible argument of offenders’ penitence or contrition that his clever by half spokesmen could invent.

Showing its outrage further, the Czech Republic Senate quickly passed a separate resolution immediately referring President Václav Klaus to the Constitutional Court on indictment for treason trial. In a country riven by corruption, a state pardon of financial crimes by President Václav Klaus was considered serious enough to rise to the level of high crime against the Czech Republic, in the Senate’s majority view.

Two separate charges of constitutional trespasses were then added in the treason indictment for a consolidated trial by the Constitutional Court before or by June this year.

No nonsense, no sentiments, the Czech Republic Senate in taking these un-precedented steps against corruption, simply dis-regarded President Václav Klaus’ age, for despite being 71-year-old, the Czech Republic President is to face judicial punishment, if convicted for treason, and, shall become legally disable as an ex-convict to forfeit his pension for 10 years in office as the president.

"The broad amnesty for thousands of people only serves as a smoke-screen for pardons of serious economic offenses and abolition of their investigations", said Jan Macháček, a columnist for the Respekt weekly, whilst commenting on what’s emerging in other countries too as a trick whereby a President adds several names to conceal the prominence of a person really intended to be favoured.

“Oh, no!” retorted President Václav Klaus. "I did not have a single specific person in front of my eyes when [preparing] the amnesty," President Václav Klaus said.

Not to worry, the Constitutional Court will hear President Václav Klaus more fully, but from the dock.
For now, he can ponder the prospect of severe cross-examination founded on Article 2 of the Czech Republic which says:-
(1) The people are the source of all power in the State; they exercise it through bodies of legislative, executive and judiciary powers.


(1) The people are the source of all power in the State; they exercise it through bodies of legislative, executive and judiciary powers.



(2) A Constitutional Act may define when the people exercise state power directly.



(3) State power shall serve all citizens and may be applied only in cases, within limits and by methods defined by law.



(4) Every citizen may do what is not prohibited by law and nobody may be forced to do what the law does not instruct them to do.



(2) A Constitutional Act may define when the people exercise state power directly.



(3) State power shall serve all citizens and may be applied only in cases, within limits and by methods defined by law.



(4) Every citizen may do what is not prohibited by law and nobody may be forced to do what the law does not instruct them to do.

On those constitutional provisions, President Václav Klaus will seem to be in all sorts of legal knots, because as phrased, the powers of state in the Czech Republic are not reposed on him as individual, to enable him invoke the defence of executive discretion – which the Presidents of many other countries will more readily assert, along with immunity; neither of which bogus defence the constitution of Czech Republic accepts in defence of treason.

Besides excluding those two bogus defences, the constitution of Czech Republic does something else sensible. Its article two provision is captioned “Fundamental Provisions” – meaning it overrides any other conflicting law or power. And although similar provisions exist as Chapter 2 in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, and also labelled “Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy”, the Nigerian version is worse than useless.

According to Nigeria’s Supreme Court, Nigeria’s own longish version of “Fundamental Principles” is just mere advice to the government which no court of law can enforce, because, in the quaint lingo of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the “Fundamental Principles” of Nigeria’s own constitution are “non-justiciable”.

Much worse, the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria grants immunity for life to the President of Nigeria for all acts done or omitted to be done in his or her official capacity. Surely, with such pincer-like privilege, the President of Nigeria has absolute legal license to do as he wishes.

“Nigeria is not even a pretence to democracy but an utter shambles”, said a Lagos columnist. “Its 1999 Constitution makes clear in advance to the routinely voters that they are only being invited to vote and choose a dictator over themselves”.

Set beside the Czech Republic, Nigeria begins to look strange and funny, in terms of law and order, because immunity having tied their hands and divested middle-class Nigerians of lawful powers to force the issue against a recalcitrant, obstinate, murderous, corrupt or adamant President, the non-justiciability of any legal complaint sounding in ethical outrage against an elected Nigeria President, makes sure that the President of Nigeria at any point is not answerable to anyone for ethical mis-use of state powers.

And, just as correlation is not causation, fundamental principles commonly appearing in the constitution of both Czech Republic and Nigeria, lack similar result.

Illustratively, Article 2 (3) of the Czech Republic constitution says:
State power shall serve all citizens and may be applied only in cases, within limits and by methods defined by law.

There is no such express provision in Nigeria’s own 1999 Constitution; as such, no concrete ethical control of a Nigerian President’s use of state powers. Article 2 (3) of the Czech Republic makes the difference and explains why a Nigerian President can afford to ride roughshod over public opinion.

Indeed, more often than not, a Nigerian President just casually appropriates all national powers, as individual, and uses it solely at his own discretion, for private purposes; either to gift taxpayers’ money to lady-friends as he wishes, or, at other times to direct that the treasury makes illicit cash deliveries to cronies under false entries.

As this financial treason rages under its shambolic constitution, one of Nigeria’s supposed “50 wise men” who drafted it and put the country into voluntary bondage, Professor Ben Nwabueze (Chairman of the sub-committee which drafted the non-justiciable chapter two of the 1999 Constitution) has lately been confessing the drafters’ errors and mostly naïve assumptions.

“We were misled”, he said, ruing the atrocious consequences since then, as a Nigerian President commanded soldiers to kill almost everyone in both Odi village and in Zaki-Biam, which the Nigerian courts of law could only view as photographic evidence, without any power to punish the malfeasant President, both murders being legally immunized under the zany 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

To save face after much hand-wringing, the fettered Nigerian courts of law awarded 70 billion Naira as damages payable by all Nigerians, but which those cold-bloodedly murdered in Odi and Zaki-Biam can’t receive or spend.

http://saharareporters.com/column/czech-president-impeached-state-pardon-seyi-olu-awofeso

www.emmanuelbabatunde.com

The Czechs are a people while Nigerians are a conglomerate of people.

In Nigeria, another man's meat may be another man's poison.

Invariable, everybody is on his/her own.

We are mourning, Diya and Alams families are celebrating.

GEJ is next? God bless Nigeria.

Oga Jonathan, no shaking. Our senators no get liver. Hmmmm, is it possible to humbly resign Mr. President? You and I know those senators could wake up one day, have a rethink and start impeachment 'palava'....

The Czechs are NON-INTERNET/MEDIA WARLORDS like Nigerians.

Good luck to the Czech's established Politics.

Ok. Different countries, different politics.

Czech former president was not impeached, his tenure ended on March 7th 2013, rather the senate voted to refer the former president to the constitutional court to rule whether he had violated the constitution by granting amnesty to some criminals,yesterday treason charge as a result of the pardon against the man was dropped by the court.
Saharareporters should stop deceiving Nigerians.

Google is 'my friend' not Saharareporters

Nigerian National Assembly, what are you people waiting for?

Jonathan Butt-Lickers Pls Say Something!!

Hmmm. Cocoa nut shop my head mior

I shame for my country

baynix: Jonathan Butt-Lickers Pls Say Something!!

No one will even try to impeach President Jonathan, or they will see part 2.
Dem Papangida wey loot Najeria kill, wetin dem do am.
Asari, Ateke, Tompolo, make una de watch o.

Jona for 2015, or real rofo rofo go start.

mymadam: GEJ is next? God bless Nigeria.

E be like say una don tire to chop oil block.

ckkris:

No one will even try to impeach President Jonathan, or they will see part 2.
Dem Papangida wey loot Najeria kill, wetin dem do am.
Asari, Ateke, Tompolo, make una de watch o.

Jona for 2015, or real rofo rofo go start.

#SoTrue!!

But 2015?? Na Dat Time Yawa Go Gas!! Jona Kor, Dona Ni!!

Václav Klaus was impeached in Prague for granting pardon to criminals and ex convicts.

Goodluck Jonathan is considered a hero in Abuja for granting pardon to criminals and ex convicts.

What a tale of two cities!

I know some folks will start to cry over spilt milk very soon. The did is done in Nigeria, GEJ is still there, the Czech republic seized the opportunity. Good for them, Such is life.

9ja is been driven on a road closed with a reverse mode by a fisherman hitting 200km/secs

Nigeria Senate can only think of impeachment, if executive acts clashed with their interests to steal more money! e.g if the executive tried to slash their constituency project allocation, or when the executives tries to reduce spending on budgetary allocation on projects meant for their cronies. The list is endless. The bottom-line; DON'T TOUCH OUR MONEY; HELL WITH OTHER THINGS!!

iykak47: Czech former president was not impeached, his tenure ended on March 7th 2013, rather the senate voted to refer the former president to the constitutional court to rule whether he had violated the constitution by granting amnesty to some criminals,yesterday treason charge as a result of the pardon against the man was tropped by the court.
Saharareporters should stop deceiving Nigerians.

Google is 'my friend' not Saharareporters

Thank you so much.

Unfortunately, even after your intervention to set the records straight, HATERS, who eat, speak and wallow in IGNORANCE, continued their usual rants and propaganda.

The report below further clarifies the situation. It states:

"Klaus (Czech former president) steps down after dominating politics for two decades together with his bitter rival, the dissident playwright former President Vaclav Havel, who died in 2011"
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/czech-republic/130306/czech-president-treason-corruption-Klaus

Only God knows how the propagandists manufactured the word "impeachment" in this matter

#SMH#. 4 9ja

Sincere 9gerian:
Thank you so much.

Unfortunately, even after your intervention to set the records straight, HATERS, who eat, speak and wallow in IGNORANCE, continued their usual rants and propaganda.

The report below further clarifies the situation. It states:

"Klaus (Czech former president) steps down after dominating politics for two decades together with his bitter rival, the dissident playwright former President Vaclav Havel, who died in 2011"
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/czech-republic/130306/czech-president-treason-corruption-Klaus

Only God knows how the propagandists manufactured the word "impeachment" in this matter

d word " impeachment " was not manufactured but a case with diff headline
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9230LS20130304?irpc=932

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21660234
Pls, Mr9ja, d man was impeached, read d link u posted word 4 word, dn u will know dat he was impeached by 38-0.
Bros, if may ask u dont u think GEJ pardon all ds people cos of 2015 ?

dridowu: d word " impeachment " was not manufactured but a case with diff headline
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9230LS20130304?irpc=932

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21660234
Pls, Mr9ja, d man was impeached, read d link u posted word 4 word, dn u will know dat he was impeached by 38-0.
Bros, if may ask u dont u think GEJ pardon all ds people cos of 2015 ?

I get your point but it would appear various media organisations interpretated what happened differently.

The two links you provided contained the word impeachment but it was not a major issue because the president was outgoing or supposed to step down that SAME WEEK.

The title of one the links your provided is "Czech President Vaclav Klaus faces treason charge" with the caption "Lawmakers have narrowly voted to charge outgoing Czech President Vaclav Klaus with high treason"
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21660234

The second link you provided states that the impeachment was "a dramatic but largely symbolic act"
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9230LS20130304?irpc=932

To now try to extrapolate a "largely symbolic act" to happenings in Nigeria is display of sophisticated ignorance (apologies to Abati)

If GEJ is impeached because of state pardon, can it by any stretch of imagination be described as "largely symbolic"? Why should the writer deceive gullibe Nigerians with a symbolic act of another country?

In fact, if anything, the most important take away from this thread is the point that state pardon all over the world is controversial.

A tale of two countries!! Uncle joe, Uncle Joe, Uncle Joe, how many times I call u? hmmm waiting happen for Czech go happen for here ooo.. How you go pardon ALARM GO BLOW!!!? ok if dat step correct, pls kindly release all those inmates wey dey prisons for various offences wey no reach these TREASURY LOOTERS wey u pardon. I dey corner dey wait oo..

This thread is going to be hotter than fire.

Let's see what insincere naija,loud-mouthed okupe,Abati and the other 40 laptop crew got to say about this

This space is for KINGwax.
He will comment later. Thank you

Why do u guys like comparism between nija and other nations.

Now that he has been impeached will the pardon be revoked?

okunboy: Nigeria Senate can only think of impeachment, if executive acts clashed with their interests to steal more money! e.g if the executive tried to slash their constituency project allocation, or when the executives tries to reduce spending on budgetary allocation on projects meant for their cronies. The list is endless. The bottom-line; DON'T TOUCH OUR MONEY; HELL WITH OTHER THINGS!!

Nigerians are hypocrites.... If the national assembly start anything like that the same people crying here will turn it to ethnic war and begin to call Senators all kinds of name..... Common budgetary controversies that are normal phenomenons in every democratic govt are turned to regional wars in Nigeria..... A nation gets the kind of leadership it deserves.