My suspension from NPP is unlawful and capricious - Dr. Wereko Brobbey

Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobbey, a founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has described his suspension from the party as unlawful and capricious.

According to him, “the NPP, as the group seeking justice and redress from the highest legal body of the land, the Supreme Court of Ghana, has itself acted unlawfully and capriciously in its apparent suspension of my membership of the party.”

The National Executive Council (NEC) of the NPP reached a decision to suspend Dr. Wereko-Brobbey from the party on Thursday after it considered his comments and criticisms of the party going to court to challenge the results of the 2012 elections.

According to the NEC, the decision to suspend Dr. Brobbey was taken in accordance with the party’s constitution which allows such disciplinary action to be taken against members whose conduct is deemed to have brought the NPP into disrepute.

Reacting to the suspension in a letter copied to Myjoyonline.com on Sunday, the NPP founding member said his suspension from the party was a “supreme irony!”

According him, he only got to know about the suspension after the name of Perry Okudzeto, the Deputy Communications Director of the NPP was mentioned as having gone on record, to confirm “the surreal tale of my purported suspension from the NPP.”

Dr. Brobbey stressed that, he has “heard nothing and recognise nothing about any purported decision by the New Patriotic Party to suspend my membership of the party.”

He noted that his view on the situation is founded on the processes set out in the constitution of the NPP which are stated in Article 4, 4, namely:

“(a) A Disciplinary Committee shall: (i) Investigate complaints concerning the misconduct of a member; (ii) Make a full, faithful; and impartial inquiry into any complaint referred to it; (iii) Report in writing the results of the inquiry and the reasons leading to the conclusions reached; (iv) Make recommendations to the Executive Committee based on the results of the inquiry,

“(b)The Executive Committee SHALL, within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the recommendation of a Disciplinary Committee, adopt, modify or reject same and SHALL COMMUNICATE its recommendations and the reasons leading thereto IN WRITING to affected parties.

“(c) The Executive Committee SHALL make any recommendations deem fit to promote discipline within the party, including SUSPENSION/EXPULSION of the Member. The recommendation automatically comes into full force and effect where NO APPEAL is lodged against it in accordance with the provisions of this constitution.”

Dr. Brobbey observed that, there is no provision in the NPP constitution that allows the pronouncement of guilt before evidence has been adduced to establish culpability.

“Neither is there any place for custodial preventive detention or remand in prison during the legal proceedings against the accused member,” he added.

The NPP founding member said he is not worried about the decision of the party to suspend him considering the fact that Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, the General Secretary of the party, had gone on record to declare: “Wereko-Brobby is not a member of the NPP.”

According to him, “this is the type of behavior which confirms my description of some of the party’s actions as illogical nonsense,” and quizzed, “How do you suspend someone whom you claim is not a member of your party?”

“So [is it] that the party of the rule of law has taken to the lawlessness of uncontrolled mob hysteria to seek to lynch and hound me from its membership,” Dr. Brobbey wondered.

He noted that, with such “careless disregard” for the tenets of the very rule of law that the party is seeking redress from its electoral defeat, “all I can say to my brothers and sisters in the NPP is that I may consider a voluntary divorce from the party, and if I do, I will send them in the words ‘Please accept my resignation. I don't want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member’.”

He said until he resigns, anyone wanting him out of the NPP must go by the constitution of NPP.