I used physical restraint to subdue obstreperous Akandoh – Ursula justifies sitting on laps

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister-nominee for Communication and Digitization has defended sitting on Kwabena Mintah Akandoh’s lap on the 7th of January in the chamber of Parliament.

During the election of a Speaker for the 8th Parliament, MPs disagreed over sitting arrangements, creating chaos.

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, who at the time was occupying a seat meant for Collins Dauda, had to go to the washroom briefly. When she returned, the seat had been occupied by the NDC MP for Juaboso, who refused to vacate the seat.

Kwabena Mintah Akandoh’s refusal left Ursula Owusu-Ekuful with no other option than to sit on her colleague’s lap even though there was a vacant seat behind the duo.

At the time, all her NPP colleagues had moved to the left side of the Speaker and were urging Ursula Owusu-Ekuful to join them but she did not budge.

At the Appointments Committee on Monday, when she was asked if she would apologise for that act, Owusu-Ekuful explained “After all the excitement of that day, I didn’t want to be a party to such a thing. But I did need to sit down. So, I sat in the chair that I was occupying before I went to the washroom, which he happened to be sitting on. When I sat down (on him), he started trying to shake me off and was moving back and forth before he quickly realized that it would have unintended consequences that would not be good for him.

“And so, he quickly stopped and froze. And at that point, I decided to restrain him from causing any further damage to himself.”

The MP cum nominee for Communication and Digitization explained further: "I used physical restraint to subdue him. So, it was a physical restraint to subdue an obstreperous adult."

She stated further: “Even when there are seats available, the gentlemen get up to offer their seats to ladies who may not have a seat in the house. They do not leave the chair that they are sitting on to come and occupy the seat that the lady is sitting on.”

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful noted that Kwabena Mintah Akandoh whose seat was empty was “hoping to provoke an incident” by his actions.