The parliamentarian publishes a lengthy dossier on the case of his wife and mother-in-law: “No conflict of interest. The right to elegance? They didn’t understand me.” And he announces that he is leaving the group that elected him to parliament. Green leader: “I’m not at all surprised because compared to what has happened so far, from my point of view, we did not have enough explanations”
Abubakar Sumahoro leaves Green Left Alliance and switch to mixed group. This was stated by the deputy himself in a substantive dossier published on his website and concerning a court case related to cooperatives also run by his wife and mother-in-law. “He frankly stricken and embittered, with the exception of a few parliamentarians, by the absence human solidarity He was born in political support from the parliamentary group Alliance of the Greens and the Leftwith whom I was elected as a self-nominated candidate. After careful and painful reflection on the human and political level, I decided to join the deputy group. Mixed, leaving the AVS group to continue working as a parliamentarian,” writes Sumahoro. Causes replication Angelo Bonellico-representative of Green Europe: “I am not at all surprised, because compared to what has happened so far, we have not had, from my point of view, enough explanation. However, I am humanly disappointed, but not for his decision to switch to Mixed, but for the whole thing, ”says the environmentalist deputy.
“It is useless to continue discussing the non-existent case of Sumahoro,” But what does Sumahoro write in his dossier? On a political level, he claims to have “entered parliament with the obligation to represent the needs, aspirations, sufferings and desires of those who have been forgotten or become ‘invisible’ in our country for years to come. The very high abstention rate that characterized the last political elections is a symptom of discontent and frustration on the part of citizens, who should humbly be able to interpret, giving specific, clear and credible answers and policy-legislative proposals. There are many commitments made to people that I intend to fulfill through the widest possible exchange of information and in the conviction that the values and principles that have always characterized my work in this area remain the basis of my work inside and outside institutions. In this regard, I consider it absurd to continue discussing the non-existent ‘Sumahoro case’ as it happened in the last two months: the position of the workersthe poor, forgotten and invisible, missing even in budget law recently approved. However, the one who started the business knew what he was doing: this story did not happen by chance. Now we need to get back to talking about those in need: I have never stopped, I have not slowed down activities in this area even during this attack on my identity, and I intend to further increase my commitment, I owe this primarily to the citizens who voted.
Investigation of cooperatives – However, in reality, what the parliamentarian defines as “defunct Sumahoro case” is linked to the investigations of the Latin Prosecutor into cooperatives, which are also run by his wife and mother-in-law. On December 15, Judge of Preliminary Investigation Latina, Joseph Molfese, banned six suspects for a year and ordered the confiscation of more than 650 thousand euros. To the investigating judge who accepted the prosecutor’s petition Andrew DeAngelis with the visa of the chief prosecutor of Latina Joseph DeFalco, Maria Theresa Mukamacindomother-in-law of the deputy and children Michael Rukundo And Lilian Murekatete, Sumahoro’s wife, “demonstrated high criminal ruthlessness while implementing a protracted family program to fight offenders and maintain documented corporate qualifications.” The investigations cover the period from 2015 to 2019. The suspects are accused in various ways of including non-existent expenses on tax returns, fraudulent invoices to cover these expenses and tax evasion, as well as collecting public funding to run cooperatives working in the asylum seeker and refugee protection system. The investigating judge also ruled to seize 650,000 euros.
“A right to elegance? They didn’t understand me” Now Sumahoro claims that after the investigation launched by Attorney LatinaPhoto Lilian Murekatete they were taken “from newspapers, websites, and magazines that highlighted and commented on her way of dressing, the type of clothing and accessories used, etc.” And that his wife, the dossier continues, was “provocatively nicknamed Lady Gucci” and “was the focus of the series heavy comments and insinuations press and opinion leaders of all kinds. The parliamentarian also intervenes in his statement, made during an interview with Clean sweepin which he responded to his wife’s complaints about luxury bags, explaining that “have a right to elegance, the right to fashion is neither black nor white, it is human.” “I sincerely regret that what I really meant when I spoke about the right to fashion and elegance was not understood,” he says today, “when I meant someone’s right to dress as you see fit. However, I find it really odd that I’m asked to make a value judgment about photographs of my partner taken 4 years before I met her.”
“No Conflict of Interest” – At the judicial level, the deputy denies any accusations of a conflict of interest “neither directly nor indirectly, in the context of my deputy activities.” I have been in this position for three months, before I became a social and trade union activist who fought for workers’ rights, against exploitation and instability for more than twenty years, I certainly was not born out of nowhere. I would like to ask a question: investigations regarding Caribou was developed between 2015 and 2019, and in the meantime, government agencies continued to cooperate with cooperative, and also because, according to the municipality of Rome, the situation seemed to be regular from an administrative point of view until October 2022. So I wonder: who was responsible for checking? To Ministry of the Interiorterritorially competent municipalities and other local authorities? Or am I the one who was supposed to replace them? The truth is that I have never benefited from the activities of the Caribou Co-op; I have never been a member of cooperatives or their boards of directors, I have never advised their institutions, and anyone who claims otherwise is lying and making trumped-up charges without any evidence.
“In 2021, explanations were requested in the Caribou case” – Regardless of the investigation into the cooperatives run by his mother-in-law and wife, Sumahoro today claims that “at the end of 2021, I read several articles in the press about non-payment of salaries to some employees caribou and – despite the lack of direct interest in cooperatives – I asked for immediate clarification on this matter. I was informed that all s had not yet arrived need money to pay salariesrequested by the authorities, and – as I was told – that, I hope, everything will be resolved within a reasonable time.” According to the deputy, “the cooperative had excellent reputation awarded and appreciated by many local and national newspapers and politicians, so I had no reason to believe that incurable criticalityother than temporary cash shortages, which are unfortunately quite common for those working on publicly funded projects. In any case, I have full confidence in the judiciary, and if mistakes were made, whoever committed them will pay.” Sumahoro, the dossier explains, “in recent years visited only one branch of the Caribou cooperative dedicated to providing assistance to minors, finding a clean and dignified environment, which is publicly recognized by the municipality of Rome, which confirmed that the situation (Durc certification) was regular until 27 October 2022″. But why didn’t Sumahoro take action to support the cooperative’s unpaid workers? “I can answer two things,” he writes today, “firstly, in a completely partial justification, this is that, although I was actively engaged in my trade union and social activities on the territory of the country, I had the hope that the situation could quickly be resolved after the expected receipt of public funds; secondly, to offer my unconditional apologies to those employees who would deserve from me – in any case and regardless of the above – closer attention. When a person is wrong, at least for the sake of underestimation of the problem and not maliciously, there is only one solution: to apologize and make a commitment to do better in the future so this never happens again.”
Source: II Fatto Quotidiano