The government has put its foot down and shot down the Nationalist Party’s motion which asked for a public inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia.
Unconvinced by the numerous calls for a public inquiry made by Sofia’s family, the opposition, NGOs and the almost 20,000 people who signed a petition, the government did not budge and instead, voted in favour of an amendment it tabled which removed any mention of a public inquiry but simply asked for a speedier magisterial inquiry.
40 MPs voted in favour of the government’s amendment to remove references to a public inquiry, while 32 voted against.
Once the vote was final there was a huge commotion in parliament where members present in the chamber’s gallery began shouting and the plenary session was suspended until they left the chamber. Present in the chamber’s gallery were Sofia’s family members and multiple representatives of NGOs who were expressing their support in favour of a public inquiry.
Before the vote took place Leader of the Opposition Bernard Grech proposed an amendment to the motion, only if the government’s amendment is voted in, which was a copy of the PN’s original motion but added that it condemns any verbal attacks Sofia’s family received, which was proposed in the government’s amendment. However, this amendment did not pass as 32 voted in favour and 40 against it.
Grech also tabled a document which showed that almost 20,000 people signed an online petition, which Sofia’s Mother Isabelle Bonnici opened, which called for a public inquiry into her son’s death.
Bonnici was present in the Stranger's Gallery having initially been barred from entering with a picture of her son.
Jean Paul Sofia, died in Kordin when a building under construction collapsed on 3 December 2022.
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.
The PN has since accused the government of a “cover-up” as it fears what a public inquiry might reveal, whilst the government has insisted that a magisterial inquiry is enough and that a public inquiry would interfere with its work.
Earlier on Wednesday, Grech called a press conference and made his last attempt to appeal to the government to vote in favour of the PN’s motion, however, this final appeal seems to have not been enough.
The PL said in a statement that Jean Paul Sofia’s case requires justice which looks at no faces, and this is why the Labour Parliamentary Group voted as it did.
The Labour Party said that it had voted for Parliament to join in with the appeal that the Prime Minister made to the Chief Justice on 13 April to encourage the inquiring magistrate to speed up her work.
The PL said that its vote also encourage investigative authorities to where possible and legal keep Sofia’s family up to date with the developments in the investigation, and in the shortest time possible conclude any pending inquiries connected to the tragic death.