NPP Press Statement

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