Burma's President Win Myint dismissed Kayah State Chief Minister L Phaung Sho for allegedly misusing his powers while in office. The chief minister was impeached by Kayah State Parliament on September 1. Two days later, he was fired by the president.
Khu Thae Reh, who is a councilor for Hpruso Township and chair of an investigation committee that presented the report of L Phaung Sho's alleged misconduct during the September 1 parliamentary sitting, told NMG a report was sent to Win Myint. The President dismissed the chief minister and appointed Boss Ko, minister of livestock, agriculture and irrigation, as interim chief minister.
L Phaung Sho was expelled on September 3 for violation of article 263 (C/2), article 80 of the Union Government Act and article 55 of Regional or State Government Act.
"I expected this," Khu Thae Reh said. "We've had concrete evidence against him before we leveled the accusations, and it’s why the president took immediate action." In a democracy, "we wanted to show that the government can't do whatever it wants, if it's not in line with the law."
L Phaung Sho stands accused of depositing state funds into his private bank account raised by the state's heavy machinery rental operation and lack of transparency about land that was leased during Kayah State Day celebrations.
On August 12, five parliamentarians submitted a proposal to impeach the chief minister. When the impeachment went to a vote during the state parliamentary session, 16 councilors agreed, while four did not.
