The Executive Director of the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr Rasheed Draman, has said that Parliament has limited options over the detention of the Member of Parliament for Asante Akim North, Kwame Ohene Frimpong.

In an interview on TV3 on May 14, 2026, he said Parliament must fully cooperate with the Dutch authorities to fully understand the circumstances surrounding the case.

He said parliamentary immunity has limits and does not shield lawmakers if they commit crimes.

“The very least, I think what they can do is to cooperate with the Dutch authorities to try and understand why the honorable member was detained/

“Even in this country, the immunity that Members of Parliament enjoy has some limitation. If a Member of Parliament is involved in criminal conduct, I think that immunity is waived and he or she has to face the law. We have seen a number of members of parliament before the law courts in this country", he stated.

Dr Draman explained that if criminal conduct is established, the relevant legal systems would take over regardless of jurisdiction.

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“In terms of dealing with the government of the Netherlands, I think if indeed there is criminal conduct, because right now we hear at least this evening that it was the request of the United States government… If it is proven that indeed there is, then I believe the laws of that jurisdiction, whether the Netherlands or the United States, would kick in,” he stated.

Dr Draman suggested that extradition complexities may explain why foreign authorities sometimes act quickly without local collaboration.

“I suspect if indeed there's criminal conduct, this is where we are going to end up… if they had gone through the processes here, this issue might drag,” he said.

He further noted that sitting MPs face additional legal complications.

“And of course, being a sitting member of Parliament, that even makes it more complicated. So, I believe they use this route in order to get to the bottom of this issue very, very fast,” he explained.

Dr Draman said the development has wider implications for Parliament and democracy.

“It is very unfortunate that this is happening because it has implications for our Parliament, it has implications for our democracy, and it has implications for the member of parliament and his constituents as well,” he said.

Dr Draman suggested stronger background checks for parliamentary candidates.

“When we screen Members of Parliament, I don't think that any political party does this… to make sure that the people that are coming to represent a particular constituency are people of clean record,” he added.

Parliament has confirmed the detention of Ohene Frimpong at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

He was intercepted by Dutch security officials upon his arrival in the Netherlands over suspected financial crimes.

JKB/AM

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