PRESS STATEMENT BY THE NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY USA ON
RECENT POLITICAL PROSECUTIONS!!!
The New Patriotic Party is firmly committed to the Rule of Law and the pursuit of
justice. It is our firm belief that if any officer of the party or the government
which was formed by it involves or involved himself in any impropriety, that person
must not be protected or shielded from facing justice. However, events leading to
the investigations and the initiation of prosecution against certain frontline
personalities of the party give cause for concern.
It would be recalled that a little over three years ago, the former President of
Ghana, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings openly and brazenly called upon the then Kufuor
Administration to expand the facilities at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison to
accommodate the Ministers and other officials of that Administration who would be
thrown into prisons on the assumption of power by the National Democratic Congress
of which he is the Founder. The Ex-President persistently and true to his
character described, labeled and branded the former Ministers and some key officials
of the Kufuor Administration as “murderers”, “thieves” and “corrupt”.
He repeatedly made such pronouncements at practically every available local or
international forum that he found himself at.
President Rawlings never on any such occasion provided any credible evidence of
murder, thievery or corruption but hoarsely poured out his jaundiced tantrums. The
2008 manifesto of the NDC at many places asserts that the NPP government was
“corrupt”. They provide no proof.
It is not surprising that thereafter some adherents and apologists of the National
Democratic Congress including, rather unfortunately, a retired Justice of the
Supreme Court of Ghana and some otherwise senior journalists who ordinarily should
know better, have entered the fray. It is important to remind ourselves that Mr.
Justice Kpegah, contrary to the code of ethics of a Judge and the true import of his
judicial oath has stated that whilst he was a sitting member of the Supreme Court,
the most august court of our land, he assiduously assisted to bring the National
Democratic Congress into power. These immense political pressures apparently
constrained the incumbent Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Hon. Betty
Mould-Iddrisu to openly proclaim at a political function in Kumasi recently and
prior to the arraignment and prosecution of some former Ministers and key officials
of the Kufuor Administration that she would jail those officials.
The Honourable Attorney-General and Minister for Justice unfortunately transgressed
her position as a member of the Executive branch of the Government under our
democratic dispensation and arrogated to herself the sacred role of the
Judiciary. That pronouncement was a veritably unpardonable constitutional
aberration. Not quite surprisingly the Honourable Attorney-General has thereafter
hurriedly bundled the officials and arraigned them before an Accra Fast Track High
Court. It is significant to note that the names of the officials were mentioned
in some pro NDC newspapers as having been charged with specific criminal offences
when only police investigative statements had been taken from them. It is in only
three cases that police caution statements had been taken from them. The same
trace of unpreparedness was demonstrated in court when the Hon. Professor
Gyan-Baffour’s name was mentioned as one of the accused persons “at large”
when no
police caution statement had been taken from him. Is this evidence of the rule of
law or the work of men and women in “authority”?
The Attorney-General appears to be the embodiment of contradiction. Barely a week
before the commencement of these prosecutions she is on record as having lamented
the situation that whereas there is a cacophonous instigation for the prosecution of
officers of the former administration the current sector ministers, fifteen months
into Prof. Mills regime, have not produced any incriminating evidence based on which
prosecutions should commence. What credible evidence has been assembled within
five days which have engendered the initiation of prosecution now? Or are we
laying the ground rules for persecutions instead of prosecutions? We may also
remind ourselves of the President’s statement when he delivered his message on the
State of the Nation to Parliament on February 25, 2010. The President at a point
in his delivery paused and looking at the gallery boldly declared: “And let me say
we are in the process (to vigorously prosecute all past
and present officials of state) and very soon you will begin to see results”.
It is instructive to observe that this addition which the President made was not
part of the original text submitted to Parliament. What was this meant for?
Recently President Atta Mills was confronted starkly with the case of alleged
misappropriation and corruption at the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The
investigations into the allegations were clearly manipulated and the President
crowned it with his pronouncement that what happened in that Ministry was a case of
‘exercise of the Ministerial indiscretion rather than official thievery and
corruption’. The alleged acts were prosecutable but the self-proclaimed Father
for all citizens irrespective of one’s political affiliation, race, religion or
parenthood discriminatorily failed to prosecute his officials.
On the other hand, the President and his Attorney-General have kowtowed and
succumbed to the unjustifiable political pressure from the Founder of the Party,
Jerry Rawlings and some adherents to accelerate with disturbing alacrity the
prosecution of NPP former Ministers and officials whilst the murderers, arsonists,
rapists, dangerous assailants and unauthorized gun-wielders at Tamale, Chereponi,
Bawku, Nalerigu, Garizlegu, Agbogbloshie, Akwatia, and other places roam the roads,
streets, lanes and alleys of these respective communities untouched. One cannot
forget to mention the irate Karaga gangster attack on a journalist and the infamous
Karl Wilson Tema Harbour debacle which remains unresolved. We recount these
episodes because, apparently, under President Atta-Mills, criminality is assuming
political colours, which is a dangerous threat to our security and democracy.
It is worthwhile to remind ourselves about the public inquiry into the affairs of
Ghana at 50 secretariat. The Auditor-General had by then completed their auditing
of the secretariat and were in the process if submitting their report to Parliament
as constitutionally mandated. The obvious intent of that circus of an inquisition
when the Auditor-General had completed their investigation was to arrest the
constitutional process. Without doubt the integrity of the Auditor-General was at
issue. What is the status of the report of the so-called probe into the Ghana @
50? To the NDC if the constitutional process has to be circumvented to embarrass
the NPP, so be it.
The Leadership of the NPP would like to assure the rank and file of the New
Patriotic Party that, we continue to have confidence in the independence and
integrity of our Judiciary to deliver. The Rule of Law and Democracy will triumph
at the end of the day over pernicious prosecution of a political agenda against
visible political opponents. This agenda and their sponsors will undoubtedly suffer
irrecoverable defeat in 2012. The days of selective and discriminatory justice are
numbered and Freedom and Justice which is the dream of our country will triumph.
Justice contrived and brewed in the pot of propaganda and populism is justice
denied. God bless our homeland Ghana.
NANA KWAKU ADJEI YEBOAH
CHAIRMAN NPP USA - INC.
New Patriotic Party
April 7, 2010
