Politics
I’m confident the government is participating in judicial proceedings against me – Quayson
James Gyakye Quayson, Member of Parliament for Assin North Constituency, has accused the Akufo-Addo government of meddling in his daily trial.
During the campaign for the Assin North by-elections, then-candidate James Gyakye Quayson was ordered to stand trial on a daily basis.
Until the trial was switched to a daily schedule, he commuted from his constituency to the court on a weekly basis.
Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney General, claimed that given the allegations against Quayson, he might be convicted and imprisoned if found guilty, therefore the necessity for a speedy trial.
James Gyakye Quayson formally asked that the General Legal Council (GLC) launch disciplinary proceedings against the Attorney General in a letter.
Quayson’s request derives from charges of professional misconduct levied against Dame during his criminal trial in the High Court.
During an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Citi TV’s Face to Face, the legislator said, “The daily trial began during the 2023 campaign. I interpreted it as an attempt to prevent me from campaigning and winning the seat. That was the best they could do. I never believed that the government could be involved in the judiciary, but now I am convinced.”
“An AG can just walk into court and request that the file be moved. Before, it was mostly every two weeks, but suddenly they say I have to come every day. In fact, I was on the campaign trail. I went from my constituency to court from 12 pm to 2 pm, and then I was back in my constituency by 4 pm to campaign until about 11 pm.”
He recognised that the daily trial put some strain on him, but it had no bearing on his chances of winning the seat.
“During the elections, the pressure of the daily trial was there, but that daily trial didn’t work. I even joked that they could give me a chamber in the court, and I would still win the seat. I didn’t have to be on the grounds,” he asserted.
Asked if he was not afraid of ending up in Nsawam prison, he said, “Why should I be? I believe in the justice system. The fundamental issue in any judicial matter is whether or not the person intended to commit the crime. Did he plan it? I have not planned anything of the sort.”
The High Court in Accra deferred till July 4 a motion for a stay of proceedings in the criminal prosecution of James Gyakye Quayson, the recently elected Member of Parliament for Assin North.
The trial judge, Justice Mary Yanzuh, stated that the delay was necessary since the court had not received all of the application materials.
The motion, according to Mr Quayson’s counsel, is to suspend proceedings in the High Court so that the Court of Appeal can assess whether or not the High Court was correct in ordering that Gyakye Quayson’s criminal trial be heard on a daily basis.
Mr Quayson, who was representing the Assin North seat following the 2020 elections, was booted out of Parliament when the Supreme Court ordered that his name be removed from the record.
Mr Quayson was arrested for possessing dual citizenship.
Mr Quayson won a subsequent by-election in the Assin North constituency.
Politics
OccupyJulorBiHouse: Organisers’ derogatory depiction of the presidency is reprehensible – Richard Ahiagbah
The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Communications Director, Richard Ahiagbah, has voiced his concern with the disrespectful captioning of the Jubilee House by leaders of the pressure organisation, Democracy Hub.
The organisers of the scuttled demonstration in Accra on Thursday, Democracy Hub, had dubbed the protest to occupy the precincts of the seat of government, Jubilee House, #OccupyJulorBiHouse, with ‘julorbi’ being a parody of the official name of the presidency in the Ga language, which loosely translates as ‘the child of a thief’.
Mr Ahiagbah, who backed citizens’ freedom to demonstrate, disagreed with the disparaging portrayal of the presidency.
“I don’t agree with the derogatory caption of the Presidency by the organizers of the demonstration, but impeding their right to peaceful assembly is an affront to democracy, plain and simple.”
The NPP Communications Director pointed out that there have been numerous peaceful demonstrations during President Akufo-Addo’s presidency, including the Arise Ghana demo and the Kume Preko demo, which he said did not record such events as happened on Thursday, and wondered why anyone would think the government was behind the disruption of Thursday’s demonstration.
“This is not the publicity we need on a day such as this…Allow!,” he said, in apparent condemnation of the police action.
He highlighted that the Ghana Police Service’s meddling and arrest of demonstrators who took part in the #OccupyJulorBiHouse movement is a violation of the people’s rights.
Mr Ahiagbah stressed in a post on Thursday, September 21, that “the people’s ability to engage in peaceful demonstrations is an inherent democratic right.”
Any action that prevents persons from enjoying this basic freedom, in his opinion, is just wrong.
According to Democracy Hub, the rally was held to stress their demands for lower living costs, an end to corruption, and improved governance, among other things.
However, in the early hours of Thursday, September 21, police detained 49 protestors, accusing them of unlawful assembly and violating the Public Order Act.
The detained individuals ignored court documents filed on the organisers, Democracy Hub, to prevent them from carrying out the scheduled rally.
Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s 2020 running mate, has responded to the arrest of #OccupyJulorBiHouse activists.
It is undemocratic and useless, she claims.
The former Education Minister stated on Twitter that the police should have engaged the demonstrators rather than arrest them.
As a result, she has supported demands for the demonstrators to be arrested immediately.
https://x.com/NJOAgyemang/status/1704832264251601273?s=20
Several demonstrators were detained and escorted to the Regional Police Headquarters, including Fix The Country chairman Oliver Barker Vormawor.
They were detained in the early hours of September 21 for violating a police order prohibiting the march.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has voiced grave worry over the growing number of coups on the African continent.
He links these military takeovers to nations’ difficult economic situations, which resulted in the deposition of democratically elected governments.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II spoke out strongly against military coups as a solution to Africa’s issues during the St. Andrews Africa Summit in Scotland.
He emphasised that, regardless of the circumstances, armed takeovers are not the solution.
“Let me make it categorically clear that regardless of the circumstances, I do not think that a military takeover offers the solution to the problems of our continent. There was a time when circumstances produced the notion that the gun was the solution, those times are over. We are in completely different circumstances now. The critical problems confronting Africans’ economy from North to South, East to West, the burden is the economy,” the Asantehene said.
Several African nations, including Niger and Gabon, have undergone coups in recent years.
The most recent event happened in Gabon on August 30, when military soldiers took control and proclaimed the annulment of election results that had pronounced President Ali Bongo the winner.
The announcement of the Electoral Commission generated suspicions of fraud by the opposition.
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