Martin Amidu, former Special Prosecutor, has stated that Ghanaians remain under the 8th Parliament until January 7, 2025, when the 9th Parliament takes office to reflect the people’s will.
Despite public disappointment with many current MPs, he urged citizens to stay vigilant as the 8th Parliament, recalled on December 16, 2024, moves to conclude its business in the final days.
Amidu criticized the 8th Parliament as an “eyesore” for much of its term, especially during its October 2024 reconvening to finalize business, including funding the transition to the 6th President and 9th Parliament.
He noted that the 8th Parliament can still pass laws, but precedent suggests key welfare-related legislation should be left for the 9th Parliament with its fresh mandate.
“The massive electoral victory accorded the President-elect at the polls alongside a sizeable majority of Members of Parliament is a clear demonstration of the withdrawal of the trust and confidence the electorate had in the ability of the President Nana Akufo-Addo/Mahamudu Bawumia government to make selfless decisions on their behalf.
“The Nana Akufo-Addo government can within the few days remaining for the assumption of office of the President-elect take such vengeful actions and measures calculated to frustrate the will of the People by putting obstacles in the path of the in-coming government”.
Martin Amidu
Amidu claimed that President Akufo-Addo feared Mahama’s return to audit his government’s economic mismanagement, only for voters to give Mahama a landslide victory.
He warned that Akufo-Addo might mimic U.S. President Biden’s alleged attempts to obstruct his successor.
Highlighting Ghana’s record of parliamentary corruption, including the 2021 budget debacle and E-Levy, Amidu urged citizens to stay vigilant against abuses by the outgoing president and 8th Parliament.
Amidu further stated that the four MPs who sought re-election as independents have the right to sit in the 8th Parliament due to interim Supreme Court orders.
He accused the Chief Justice of political bias in fast-tracking the case and criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling as unconstitutional and procedurally flawed.
Amidu argued that while the Speaker has not challenged the Court’s decisions, they remain binding until overturned.
He rejected the notion that technical loopholes should be used to bypass the rule of law, warning that it risks undermining Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
Amidu Urges Speaker to Emulate Tsatsu Tsikata’s Perseverance
Furthermore, Martin Amidu urged the Speaker of Parliament to emulate Tsatsu Tsikata’s perseverance, referencing Tsikata’s 2008 conviction and eventual acquittal by the Court of Appeal in 2016.
He highlighted the sacrifices of the three justices who ruled in Tsikata’s favor, noting how their careers stalled under Akufo-Addo’s presidency.
According to him, Justice Kanyoke retired and died, Justice Kusi-Appiah was overlooked for Supreme Court elevation, and Justice Danis Dominic Adjei, who delivered the judgment, remains at the Court of Appeal and now serves as a judge on the African Court in Tanzania.
“Will Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata have been lucky to have been acquitted if the Court of Appeal did not render its decision on 30 November 2016 but waited until after 7 January 2017? The academics may struggle with those conjectures as the American jurists like doing.
“The NDC government at the time was not expected to appeal the Court of Appeal decision and it would have smacked of witch-hunting for the new government in 2017 headed by the Attorney-General who commenced the prosecution in the first place to have done so. The wrongful conviction remains overturned by Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata’s perseverance”.
Martin Amidu
Amidu argued that Justice Danis Adjei deserves elevation to the Supreme Court, suggesting his prolonged stay at the Court of Appeal may be linked to his role in Tsatsu Tsikata’s 2016 acquittal.
He noted that Adjei’s two senior colleagues also faced setbacks for defying the government’s preferences.
Amidu stressed that constitutions and laws are human constructs, not divine solutions, and that genuine democracy requires integrity and selflessness from public officials.
He emphasized that no number of constitutional reforms will matter unless the electorate holds political elites and state actors accountable to their oaths of office.
Amidu argued that the issue lies not with the 1992 Constitution but with the lack of integrity to uphold it without political bias.
He noted that the December 2024 election revealed a more conscious Ghanaian electorate.
He urged patriots to remain vigilant as the 8th Parliament reconvenes, ensuring no anti-people decisions are made before it dissolves on January 6, 2025. “Political self-interest must give way to Ghana First”.
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