S.B Kwame

HON. BAFFOUR & THE ATTEMPTED ARREST BY EOCO WITHIN THE PRECINCTS OF COURT —————————————— 1. Article 117 provides a terse procedure as to how The Speaker, MPs and the Clerk to Parliament shall be served with any Civil or Criminal processes. 2. This Constitutional protection applies strictly while the individual is on his/her way to, attending at, or returning from official parliamentary proceedings. 3. However, this provision has been effectively interpretatively enlarged to imply that, any arrest of any alleged erring MP or Clerk etc must first and foremost be channeled through the Speaker of Parliament of Ghana. 4. So far, this is the procedure in force in respect of an arrest of MPs in all cases. 5. It is therefore absolutely unacceptable for EOCO to seek to arrest a sitting Member of Parliament especially within the precincts of Court without applying the procedure in force regarding his Article 117 rights. 6. EOCO and other law enforcement agencies must not relate and conduct themselves in a manner that constitutes infra dignitata & affront the powers, image, dignity and the general standing of Parliament of Ghana as a coequal Arm of Government. 7. Where a law provides a procedure for a right to be exercised, it’s only that procedure that must be followed. See the case of Boyefio vrs NTHC. 8. As leaders in Parliament, we would resist any attempt to breach the established protocol & the cordial relationship that exists between Parliament and other institutions of state including EOCO. 9. As of this moment, Parliament of Ghana is host to the Ecowas Parliament in a major conference here in Parliament House in Accra. Such seemingly casual cases of procedural improprieties hurt the sterling image of Ghana here and abroad. 10. So therefore, if the Hon Barffuor-Awuah is alleged to have committed any offence, for which EOCO requires his presence, by all means, let the law speak but let the law follow lawful procedure in Article 117 in doing so. We must all be guided…