A lawyer, Martin Kpebu, has disclosed that the timing for the prosecution of the North Assin Member of Parliament, James Gyakye Quayson, is not appropriate.
According to him, the timing is “horribly bad” because it sets a shadow over the country’s democracy especially at a time when there’s a tussle over the e-levy in parliament. Mr Kpebu explained that in lieu of this, one does not expect such “machinations” to occur.
The NDC MP for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, is currently facing five counts of criminal offences and Lawyer Kpebu insists that when it comes to such matters, the timing definitely matters because in the legal circle there’s something called “jurisprudence”, where things of such nature must be taken into consideration.
“So, if you want the betterment of the body politic, this is not the time to commence prosecution, go deal with the e-levy. After that, when the society has quietened down, then you can look at it. Jurisprudentially, it’s bad… It’s common knowledge that most Ghanaians are against the e-levy. So, where you seek to prosecute an MP [and] seek to give him so much hell at a time when he should have the peace of mind to go debate e-levy, then straightaway, it is normal for citizens to think that this is just meant to tip the balance of power in favour of the majority”.
Martin Kpebu
Charges filed against Assin North MP
The charges brought against the Assin North legislator includes Deceit of public officer, forgery of Passport or Travel Certificate and knowingly making a False Statutory Declaration. He also faces perjury and False Declaration for Office.
Commenting on the successive charges brought against him, Lawyer Kpebu indicated that although the phenomenon isn’t new in the legal field and “nothing bars the state from going on”, taking the cases one at a time affords Mr Gyakye ample time to prepare and gives him the opportunity to defend himself.
“So, ordinarily, you expect that they finish the civil case before they come to the criminal case”.
Martin Kpebu
The Executive Director for the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), Rashid Draman, on his part questioned why a matter of this nature could not have been resolved earlier in parliament considering the number of months it has taken for prosecution to take place. He noted that in some countries, where they don’t have split parliament, electoral disputes are dealt with immediately because they have the tendency to tilt the balance and have the power to “disrupt the body politic”.
Following the law suit filed against Mr Gyakye, the Minority in Parliament expressed that it will resist any move by the majority to use the courts to tilt the balance of power. It noted that such move is bound to be the “gravest danger” to the sustenance of the country’s democratic systems especially when people lose faith and confidence in the independence of the judiciary.
Addressing the press in Parliament on Thursday, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, iterated that the minority will simply not support the e-levy and will continue to resist the desperation of the “despotic Nana Addo Akufo-Addo regime” and the use of “crude Machiavelli tactics” to reduce the minority’s without respect to the rule of law.
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