Gyakye Quayson case: Kwamena Duncan 'dismisses' Ayikoi Otoo's nolle prosequi call

Former Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan has fired shots at former Attorney General under the Kufour regime, Nii Ayikoi-Otoo for supporting the call on President Nana Addo and the Attorney General to discontinue the criminal trial of the Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson.

Nii Ayikoi Otoo, who doubles as a former Minister of Justice and Chairman of the New Patriotic Party Constitutional Committee, says it will be good for the NPP in future elections at Assin North if they drop the criminal case against James Gyakye Quayson.

"In the matter of negotiations, if we [NPP] want to win elections in Assin North next time and we go on with this trend and then we convict him, in the likely event that we convict him, and then he gets out again, we are going to go into another by-election, this time not with him, but what will the people of Assin North think of the NPP. Will they be ever comfortable voting us into power, will they decide never to forgive us anymore. This is what we should be looking at."

“It will be a good thing to enter a nolle prosequi and stop all this to show more maturity but you cannot as an Attorney-General do it on your own, you are not independent, you are part of a whole," he said in an interview on Citi FM.

But Kwamena Duncan has registered his displeasure with Mr. Ayikoi Otoo, challenging the basis for his assertions.

He wondered what sort of precedent that Mr. Ayikoi Otoo and his likes criticizing the Attorney General want to set for the nation.

"Granted that what they are asking for, we do this, in the future; can we ever [ever] get a Member of Parliament ever for whatever reason, for whatever crime he is alleged to have committed to face the law? Can we ever do that?", he questioned.

He also asked why they are not equally defending the Minority Leader in Parliament, Ato Forson, who is similarly facing a criminal charge.

"If that is the point, why is he not calling for discontinuation of the criminal trial of Ato Forson. Ato Forson is also a Member of Parliament representing people.

"That Ato Forson's alleged crime is prosecutable, that one the law can go on with him and that for another, that cannot proceed? Is that what a former Attorney General is telling the entire country? Is that a new philosophy of the law?"

Kwamena Duncan rubbished Ayikoi Otoo's position regarding the Gyakye Quayson's saga.

"What is the basis? He must give us the basis whether political or legal. If it is political, I ask myself that is it because he's (Gyakye Quayson) been gone back and he's been re-voted and so then the question comes back again.

"Does the vesting of political authority in a person, does that lead to the cancelling or the cancellation of the effect of the law if it is political?"

He further questioned the allegiance of the NPP bigwig, who also served as Ambassador of Ghana to Canada within the first term of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to the party stating "when you are part of a group and you are not motivated by the ideology of the group and your motivation is personal, I discount you".

Kwamena seemingly believed Ayikoi Otoo's criticisms about the NPP have something to do with him being removed from his position as an Ambassador.

"If you are a member of a political party, you must have that understanding that positions are limited and not all at any point in time can be appointed into positions."

The former Minister made these submissions on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo".