By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.

The decision by the Vetting Committee of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to temporarily put the kibosh on the chairmanship candidacy of Mr. Paul Afoko, while it conducts an investigation into whether the would-be candidate has a criminal record or not, appears to be quite in order, if also because balloting for the NPP national chairmanship position has been frozen until Mr. Afoko's dilemma has is resolved (See "NPP Vetting Committee Freezes Afoko's Candidature; Clears Five" MyJoyOnline.com 2/19/14).

If the alleged prison sentence, or purported act of criminality occurred in Ghana, as contained in at least one news report (See "NPP Slams Afoko's Rants" MyJoyOnline.com 2/18/14), then it shouldn't take much time to get to the bottom of the same. Likewise, if any offense as might be determined to have been committed occurred while Mr. Afoko was a juvenile, then, of course, it may not be relevant in the present context, if since the period of the commission of such infraction, the now-adult Mr. Afoko has led an exemplary life worthy of emulation by our youths.

About the only troubling aspect of this case is Mr. Afoko's rather immature decision to take his case to the media, and even delve into matters that evidently had not been raised by the Vetting Committee. But here also, there appears to be an extenuating edge to it; and it is the fact that Mr. Afoko may want the Ghanaian public to fully appreciate the fact that he has absolutely nothing to hide from anybody. Of course, such glaring lack of self-control could also be genuinely used against the would-be candidate. In sum, his decision to make this aspect of his personal record public before a final decision has been taken by the Vetting Committee is a double-edged sword.

I am not privy to the process for filing one's candidacy, but it well appears to me that a comprehensive questionnaire containing the verification of a candidate's criminal record, or the lack thereof, for that matter, ought to have been included in the application package, after which a prompt and private investigation into the accuracy of information collected from all the candidates should have been conducted. The preceding notwithstanding, I am quite impressed by the tact and professionalism with which the Vetting Committee appears to be going about its terms of reference.

As afore-hinted, we have been offered a bit of information regarding an unspecified possible past prison record of the candidate in question; but this does not necessarily mean that any serious act of criminality or felony was involved. We fervently hope, however, that Mr. Afoko has not compromised his integrity by having provided any false testimony or documentary evidence. On the other hand, the Vetting Committee has a bounden obligation to ensure that a sophisticated political trap, or booby trap, may not have been engineered by some opponents and detractors of the NPP to scuttle its chances of regaining reins of governance come the 2016 general election.

It is also heartening to learn that the candidacy of some five party members, which had earlier on been suspended, for various reasons, has now been lifted. What this means is that the Vetting Committee takes it work seriously, and is going about its duties with utmost care, making sure that any decisions arrived at are carefully reviewed to ensure that the highest level of fairness and justice is maintained. This way, both the candidates and Ghana's democratic culture would have been duly served.

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*Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.
Department of English
Nassau Community College of SUNY
Garden City, New York
Feb. 19, 2014
E-mail: okoampaahoofe@optimum.net
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