Addressing participants in a breakfast meeting in Kumasi, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has stated that the decision of the Ghana Police Service to arrest the Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu was contemptuous of the House.
After taking apart in a violent demonstration in his constituency over government’s negligent of the poor states of their roads, the MP for Madina reported to parliament of the failed attempt of the police to arrest him.
The police wrote to parliament for a permission to invite Mr. Sosu to help them in investigation into the matter which was turned down by the speaker on the grounds that the police had no power to arrest the member of parliament.
This ignited a lot of views from the public over the interpretation of article 117 and 118 of the 1992 constitution. Many believed that this articles have been misused by parliament to shield it’s members.
According to Mr. Bagbin, MPs are not above the law as there is evidence of members of the House being currently under prosecution. However, the due processes must be followed to the letter.
“Nobody is saying that MPs are above the law, but in this particular instance of the Madina MP, I can put my neck for it, that you [the police] have no such power,”
He believes that the attempts of the police to arrest the MP is a contempt. “That is obstruction and Article 122 is very clear on that. The move of the Police equals contempt,”
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