Assin North traditional rulers call on government to discontinue Gyakye Quayson’s criminal prosecution

The traditional rulers of the Assin North Constituency have joined forces with Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, in calling for the discontinuation of the criminal prosecution of James Gyakye Quayson, the elected Member of Parliament for Assin North.

Addressing the media, after the swearing-in of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, the traditional rulers appealed to President NanaAddo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Attorney General, Godfred Dame to bury the hatchet and end the case against their MP.

“We plead with the Attorney General and the president that the ongoing trial should be aborted. Now that we are done with the election let us become one to develop the country because if Assin North is always in court, there will be no development. So, we are pleading with the president and the attorney general that they should end the trial because the harm has already been caused,” one of the rulers said.

She continued that as a constituency, the Assin North electorates voted for James Gyakye Quayson to lead them and it is time to become one people for the benefit of the entire country.

“We have voted for Gyakye Quayson to lead us. So, the many court cases and the back and forth will not help. Let’s all be one people just like the broom adage; when you pick one, and you attempt to break it, it does breaks but if you put them together and you do same, it doesn’t break.

“We are pleading with the president that let’s all come together, we are all one blood. Because the period when we didn’t have an MP, we were struggling and now that we have one, he should be made to work to help us just as the Dormaahene,” she added.

Background

The Traditional ruler of the Dormaa Traditional Area and President of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, has appealed to the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, to as a matter of urgency, abort the trial against James Gyakye Quayson.

The traditional ruler while addressing a gathering said that the minister for justice should immediately file a nolle prosequi to discontinue the case for the sake of the public.

According to Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, it is always the case the people in Ghana will try hard to leave the country for the US or the UK because of the economic woes in the country.

However, an individual did the opposite by returning from Canada to assist in the development of the country but he is being frustrated from doing so.

“Just now if I say, there is a plane outside waiting to take some of us to the US or the UK, I’m sure there will be a stampede. That is where you will see a chief who will throw away his regalia and lead the race to enter the plane. If that should happen, do you think the linguist will stay back? what about the slave? that will result in a big stampede.

“Highlighting this, I would like to talk about an honourable person who is a citizen of Canada. He said he was not willing to stay in Canada, he dropped his citizenship and returned to Ghana to help out. When he got here, he had a bit of a challenge and the Supreme Court ruled that his mandate as an MP should be nullified,” he said.

The Dormaahene expressed his discontent with the court's decision, stating that he would have taken a different stance if he were a member of the Supreme Court

“Some of us were not happy with that. If I were in the Supreme Court, I would have taken a left position and not a right. The reason why I will opt for the left will raise another issue so I will not say it,” he added.

Osagyefo questioned the continuation of Gyakye Quayson's trial, highlighting the fact that the MP's name was expunged from Parliament and subsequently went through a by-election, where he secured an overwhelming majority of 57.56%.

“But I am pleading with the attorney general of Ghana. As we know the constitution permits him to discontinue any case in the interest of the public.
“When the man [reference to Gyakye Quayson] had his name expunged from parliament, didn’t they go to vote again? Was he voted for or not? Didn’t he get an overwhelming majority, 57.56%, is that a mere victory?” he asked.

He, thus, appealed directly to the Attorney General and the president to step in and discontinue cases in the interest of the public.

“As a matter of urgency, I am appealing to the attorney-general, president of the republic, if he has any role to play, that trial should be aborted. The attorney-general should as a matter of urgency file a nolle prosequi to end that particular decision,” he emphasised.

NW/DA



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