Don’t be used as tools of manipulation - Minority fires back at Police over court case

The Minority leader Hon Haruna Iddrisu has stated that the Minority MP’s who matched to the Electoral Commission (EC), have not been personally served with any court summon as required by law for them to appear in court.

The legislator says the NDC MPs do not respond to social media summons and has asked the police to do the needful.

He said the MPs are not cowards and will not allow themselves to be intimidated.

He slammed the police saying they have allowed themselves to be manipulated to serve a political interest.

He said the police are not only allowing themselves to be manipulated but they are also confused.

The leader said the names of some MPs including Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings and Mr. Isaac Adongo have been added to the MPs charged when they didn’t take part in the march.

To him, this shows that somebody somewhere rehearsed enemies they are targeting for humiliation and project them (MPs) as persons who are not law-abiding.

He asked the police to resolve the confusion and come back per the law.

He quizzed why persons who shot voters in Techiman South have not been arrested and charged but MPs who embarked in the lawful procession have been charged with an unlawful assembly.

The MP for Tamale South addressing the parliamentary press corps elaborated that the NDC party is a law-abiding party and would have answered the invitation if the right thing was done.

“Regrettably, we don’t respond and we will not respond to social media invitations by the Ghana Police Service .

“I have not been personally served as is the requirement of the law and many of my colleagues and therefore, I should only be walking to court if there was personal service of that writ of summons .

“But I should presume without fear or contradictions that the Ghana Police Service is allowing itself to be used as a tool of manipulation.”

Meanwhile, the court hearing the matter was forced to adjourn because the MPs failed to appear before it on Monday.

Some twenty NDC Minority MPs including the leader Haruna Iddrisu have been charged in court over their march to the Electoral Commission (EC) head office.

These Minority MPs walked from Parliament to the EC Head Office on December 22 2020 to present a petition to the electoral body demanding re-collation of the parliamentary results for Techiman South.

The police in a statement of offence accused the minority MPs of failing to notify the police before holding a special event contrary to sections 1, 2 and 9 of the Public Order Act.

The police have also charged them with unlawful assembly contrary to section 202 of the Criminal Offences Act.

According to the police, the MPs did unlawfully assemble with a common purpose and conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause persons in the Ridge neighbourhood reasonable fear.

“You are hereby commanded in the name of the republic to appear before this court at Accra on the 4th of January 2021,” the summons distributed in the pigeonholes (shelves) of each of the 20 MPs read.

The affected MPs include Deputy Minority Leader James Klutse Avedzi, Minority Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak, Ningo Prampram MP Samuel George, former Deputy Interior Minister James Agalga, John Jinapor, Rockson Dafiamekpor, Adam Mutawakilu, Ebenezer Terlabi, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, A. B. A. Fuseini, Kofi Buah, Rashid Pelpuo and Richard Quarshigah.

The rest are Collins Dauda, Yussif Jahja, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, and Kunbungu MP Ras Mubarack. NDC Deputy General Secretary Peter Otukunor is the other individual charged in connection with the alleged offences.