My colleagues and I won’t honour your court summons – Ras Mubarak tells Police

Minority members of Parliament have declared their intention not to honour a Police summon served them to appear before the Accra Magistrate Court on Monday, January 4, 2020.

The NDC MPs led by the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu were charged with two offenses against the state for walking to the headquarters of the Electoral Commission on December 22, 2020, to present a petition.

They were accused of failing to secure a permit from the police before embarking on such an event contrary to sections 1, 2, and 9 of the Public Order Act.

The MP’s numbering 20, were also accused of unlawfully gathering and conducting themselves in a manner which created fear and panic in the Ridge neighbourhood.

But reacting to the issue, Mr. Ras Mubarak who spoke on behalf of the NDC MP’s has called the bluff the police’ summons.

To him, it is illegal to execute a criminal summons on members of Parliament without the permission of the Speaker.

“In any case, Parliament is sitting tomorrow (Monday) at 10am. And they of all people should know better that when Parliament is sitting, unless the speaker explicitly releases any MP, no one can summon them to any court. This is according to Article 117 of the 1992 Constitution. So, this is an illegality. They should follow the Constitution. They should contact the Speaker to inform him of what they want to do, the Speaker will give directions, invite the parties, and discuss it before any such summons can be served on MPs. But you don’t send these things to MPs and leak it to the media and expect that any MP will take you seriously. They are taking us into the abyss,” he told Joy News.

Mr Mubarak says he and his colleagues will not grant the court summons until the right thing is done.

“Personally, I will not be in court. Because the proper thing has not been done. I get the indication that is the position of my colleagues too. I have not seen any letter from the Speaker’s office permitting them to serve me as an MP,” he explained

The MPs affected by the summons 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 Mubarak. NDC Deputy General Secretary Peter Otukunor is the other individual charged in connection with the alleged offences.