Legal team member of the opposition NDC has expressed great dissatisfaction with the posture assumed by the NPP-government, in addressing recommendation made by the Emile Short Commission of enquiry into the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence.
According to Abraham Amaliba, it is difficult to fathom how a government staffed by high-level legal practitioners can overlook a case of assault, particularly, that which was perpetrated by a National Security operative in an electoral violence.
“I am shocked that we have a president who is a lawyer, his executive secretary is a lawyer, the Information Minister is a lawyer, we have for the first time in the country, two deputy attorney Generals adding up to the attorney General herself and what we can hear and read from a White Paper is that the man who slapped Sam George was provoked and for that matter, it was right for Sam George to be slapped by him...” Mr Amaliba lamented.
The Emile Short Commission of enquiry was in February 2019, sworn-in to investigate the violence that marred the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.
After several weeks of a public probe to unravel causes of the disturbances, the Commission presented its final report to the president in March.
The Commission of enquiry amongst other things recommended that "the criminal prosecution for the offence of assault, to wit, the slapping of Mr. Samuel George by Mohammed Sulemana”.
But a government White Paper issued this week rejected the sanctions recommended by the Commission with regards to the criminal prosecution of Sam George’s attacker.
The government explained in the Paper that Mr. Sulemana, who slapped Sam George in the face did so as “a valid defence of provocation for the said assault”.
Reacting to this, the legal team member of the NDC in an exclusive interview with Ghanaweb said, “…there’s no law anywhere and I want to challenge them to it, that one of the defences for assault is provocation. In any case, if the thing is a defence, why don’t they allow the man to go to court and raise that as a defence”.
he added, “Once again, the clearing agent (President Akufo-Addo) has done his work”.
That aside, he was quick to praise the commissioners for executing their roles without fear or favour.
“They have shown that the interest of Ghana, supersedes that of parochial interest and I want to congratulate them, the three commissioners for a very good work done.”
The Commission of enquiry was chaired by Justice Francis Emile Short, law professor, Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu and former Inspector-General of Police, Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong with former Dean of GIMPA school of law, Kofi Abotsi as secretary to the commission
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