The two sides of Parliament were in no mood to get along on Thursday, as the Nationalist Party accused Prime Minister Robert Abela of leading a “cover-up” on the death of Jean Paul Sofia, and Abela accused the PN of wanting to put on a “show.”

In a rare Thursday plenary session, Parliament discussed a motion tabled by the Opposition asking for a public inquiry into the death of Sofia.

Sofia, 20, died when a building under construction collapsed in Kordin. His family, backed by the Nationalist Party and others, has been insisting on a public inquiry, a move that has been resisted by the government.

Sofia’s mother Isabelle Bonnici was present inside Parliament, together with other family members.  On Wednesday she was camped outside Parliament handing out a letter calling for a public inquiry and confronting government MPs in person demanding that the only way to achieve justice would be through a public inquiry.

The controversy began early when the PL, through its Whip Andy Ellul, tabled amendments to the PN’s motion which removed all reference to a public inquiry and instead focused on urging a “speedier” magisterial inquiry in order to achieve justice.

This back-and-forth between the government and the opposition has been going on for a number of months now. The Opposition and Sofia’s family and friends have insisted that a public inquiry was taking place to achieve justice, but the government has continued to resist these calls.

Prime Minister Robert Abela opened his speech by apologising in advance to Sofia’s family if he sounds insensitive during his speech, as this is not his intention.

“Today this House has a duty to send a clear message, that full justice is achieved and a full study into what took place is carried out.”

Abela brought up how on Thursday morning before the sitting, the government lodged a case to retrieve the land where the tragedy took place from whom the concession was granted to.

Early on in his speech he condemned anyone who was verbally abusive to the family of Sofia. “You must be really insensitive… to even think about saying something like that, let alone actually saying it.”

Sofia’s mother was the subject of comments on social media from people who implied that she had not brought her son up well because he was working in the construction industry.

Once again, Abela expressed how he is not satisfied with the fact that seven months after Sofia’s death, the magisterial inquiry is yet to be concluded.

As he has already done in the past, he compared this case to the magisterial inquiry into the death of Miriam Pace, who was killed when her house collapsed into an adjacent construction site.

The magisterial inquiry into Pace’s death, which Abela said was given the same resources as the inquiry into Sofia’s death, was concluded after one month and eight days. That being said, Abela noted that it is the inquiring magistrate’s right to extend the inquiry after 60 days have elapsed.

Having said that, Abela said that he had sent a letter to the Chief Justice asking that, although the process of a magisterial inquiry takes place behind closed doors, the family of the victim should have the right to be shown a timeline of what has taken place in the investigation so far and what is left until this is concluded.

However, Abela spoke very highly of the magisterial inquiry as a whole system and called it the best tool that the government has to achieve justice in this situation.

The government has given the magisterial inquiry all the necessary resources to achieve the best result, and Abela expressed faith in the inquiring magistrate Marseanne Farrugia and technical experts such as Architect Alex Torpiano.

Abela insisted that the inquiring magistrate does not have any limits on what she investigates. “If anything she has an obligation, and I have faith that she will meet these obligations, that she mentions anything irregular that takes place in the proces-verbal.”

Abela added that there is nothing stopping the magistrate from holding the state responsible if it is. “If there were shortcomings in the system, who is going to stop the magistrate from saying that the lack of regulation, if that is the case, contributed to the death of Sofia?”

“The government has no one to protect…Justice, justice and justice… who is responsible must answer for their actions, regardless of who they are.” He condemned the categorical statements coming from the Opposition benches that the government is trying to cover up someone.

Abela admitted that he has been critical of the length of the magisterial inquiry, but he insisted that he still had faith in the magistrate to carry out her work.

When addressing what the Opposition has done, he accused that of “wanting to put on a TV show,” which ignited an angry reaction from the opposition benches.

The remark was prompted by the fact that the PN’s motion proposes that the public inquiry would be streamed live.

By calling for a public inquiry the Opposition would be asking for parliament to choose who is appointed to this board, however, Abela said that this goes against impartiality and independence in an investigation.

The PN’s motion reads that the inquiry should be appointed by a two-thirds majority of Parliament.

He pointed out that in the case of a magisterial inquiry, the magistrate appointed is not chosen by anyone, but the investigation is assigned to whoever is appointed to carry out investigations on the day the accident took place.

“Check if the word justice is mentioned in the motion, it isn’t mentioned once… Whilst the family wants justice, the opposition is not interested in justice.”

Lastly, Abela spoke highly about the incentives the government has taken to regularise the construction industry better, such as establishing the Building and Construction Authority to regularise the sector and the licensing of contractors which is currently undergoing the phase of being implemented.

PN MP Mark Anthony Sammut accused Abela of not wanting a public inquiry because he wanted to protect people. Sammut mentioned how the site was being leased to Lands Authority official Kurt Buhagiar and his business partner Matthew Schembri, who faced accusations of human trafficking, and questioned whether Abela ever conducted deals with these men. “These are the answers this public inquiry will answer and not a magisterial inquiry.”

In response, to this Abela called a point of order and “categorically denied” the allegations Sammut had made.

However, Sammut said that if Abela had nothing to hide then he would call a public inquiry, and he compared Abela to former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat who did not want to call a public inquiry into the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia because he had something to hide.

The Leader of the Opposition Bernard Grech opened his speech by quoting Sofia’s mother who asked for a public inquiry into the death of her son.

“We are all insignificant when compared to her because every day she is teaching us what it means to be resilient.”

In response to Abela comparing the deaths of Miriam Pace and Sofia, he quoted Bonnici who said that if a public inquiry into the death of Pace took place, then her son would be alive.

Just like his colleagues, Grech accused Abela of having something to hide.

Grech said that Abela never got to the point during his speech and wasted 40 minutes discussing legal terms because he knew that he was in the wrong.

Personally addressing Bonnici, Grech apologised that he could not understand her as, as unlike her, he could go home and hug his children. “This is why we are calling for justice.”

Grech also mentioned the report by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation which revealed that between 2010 and 2022, there have been at least 49 workers who died whilst working on construction sites. “Don’t let this reach the 50th person,” Grech said when explaining that preventing more deaths was the real point behind this discussion.

This is a fight for those who suffered abuse on construction sites, Grech added. “Who has power will continue to reign; this is why we are calling this motion.”

Contrary to Abela’s claim, Grech said that no magisterial inquiry can explain what the state should have done and what should do to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again.

“Justice needs to happen, the truth needs to come out.”

Grech added that people deserve to have peace of mind that these tragedies, as much as possible, will not happen again.

“Your vote is not against the Opposition but it is a vote against the mother of Jean Paul Sofia…You are saying no to the mother, you are saying no to the next victim.”

The vote did not take place after the debate, and is instead expected to take place next week before Parliament rises for summer recess.

Grech closed by quoting Bonnici again, where she insisted that she will continue fighting for a public inquiry, and Grech promised her that the Opposition will continue fighting with her.

Former Nationalist Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi meanwhile took to Facebook and expressed how he could not understand the “government’s attitude which has seemed to forget how to treat people” and insisted that a public inquiry is necessary.

“There’s no need to make an effort to understand the depths of the heartache of Jean Paul's mother. But surely everyone - Labour or Nationalist - shares a deep sorrow in the face of this human tragedy.”

“The people have the right to insist on knowing what happened and why. What’s wrong with that? If there is nothing to hide!!!”