Former Deputy Attorney General, Joseph Dindiok Kpemka has questioned calls for the discontinuation of criminal prosecution against Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyake Quayson.
Speaking in an interview on State of Our Nation, the former Member of Parliament for Tempane Constituency asserted that it will be discriminatory should the state drop the charges against Mr. Quayson when it made others accused of similar crimes face the full rigour of the law.
“The question is why do we treat this case in an isolation of all other cases and as others have argued, won’t it be a discrimination? Because our constitution is very clear that all of us should be treated equally no matter the background, the ethnic affiliation, whatever it is,” he argued.
He said while the law gives the state the power to discontinue any criminal prosecution, the exercise of such discretionary power must be fair and not be bent to favour some persons.
Mr. Kpemka is of the view that others like former MP for Bawku Central, Adamu Dramani Sakandi who were not spared by the wrath of the law will be discriminated against should the Assin North MP be given preferential treatment.
“You remember that the late Adamu Dramani Sakandi faced a similar situation, he was prosecuted for false declaration, perjury etc and he was convicted. So is it the case that we should pick and choose which one to treat what way or we should treat all cases equally?”
He wants Ghanaians to push for the repeal of laws they believe are draconian and do not serve any meaningful purpose rather than demanding a selective application.
“As a nation, I will call on all of us to speak in one accord and with one voice. We should not approbate and reprobate, we should not pick and choose. Whenever it’s in a favour, it should go a certain way but when it’s not in our favor, to hell. We should be consistent.
If we think as a people that a particular law which we have made to govern us has become an albatross and it is not serving the purpose but it is rather a draconian way of dealing with the situation and therefore, absolutely unnecessary, the best to do is legislate to make sure such things are taken off the books. But so long as they remain there, you have to exercise them” he said.
Since his near landslide victory in the by-election which followed the Supreme Court’s nullification of his election in the 2020 polls, there have been mounting calls for criminal charges slapped against him to be dropped.
Mr. Quayson, who has been facing legal battles for close to 2 years now, is currently standing trial on charges of forgery and perjury for allegedly breaching the laws barring dual citizens from contesting and/holding political offices in the country.
But following his resounding victory in the by-election, many are asking the Attorney General to halt his prosecution.
One of them is a chief and a High Court Judge, who thinks it will be insulting to the people of the Assin North Constituency should the state press on with the criminal trial despite the overwhelming endorsement he got in the just ended by-election.
But sharing his view on the Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II’s position, Mr. Kpemka said his request has no basis.
