The Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, has made a plea to the Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, to drop the criminal charges against James Gyakye Quayson, the Member of Parliament-elect for Assin North.
Quayson is currently facing trial for perjury at the High Court in Accra.
Quayson is being charged with forgery and perjury in relation to alleged offenses during the 2020 Assin North parliamentary election. He has entered a plea of not guilty to five counts, including forgery of passport or travel certificate, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury, and false declaration for office.
The prosecution alleges that Quayson made a false statement to the Passport Office, stating that he did not hold a passport to another country when he applied for a Ghanaian Passport. Additionally, they accuse him of making a false declaration to the Electoral Commission (EC), claiming that he did not owe any allegiance to a foreign country when filing to run as a candidate for the Assin North seat in 2020.
Before the 2020 parliamentary election, Quayson held dual citizenship with allegiance to both Canada and Ghana.
He had initiated the process of renouncing his Canadian citizenship, although he had not yet received his renunciation certificate by the time of filing with the EC.
According to the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution, since Quayson had not obtained his renunciation certificate, he was still considered a Canadian citizen when he filed to contest the 2020 election, thereby disqualifying him.
As a result, the 2020 parliamentary election results in Assin North were annulled, and the seat was declared vacant.
However, after receiving his Canadian citizenship renunciation certificate later in 2020, Quayson became eligible to contest the subsequent by-election.
He emerged as the winner against the New Patriotic Party’s Charles Opoku and is now poised to be sworn in as the MP for Assin North.
Despite his electoral victory, the charges of forgery and perjury relating to the 2020 Assin North election still remain pending.
In response to this, the Dormaahene is appealing to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the Attorney-General to file a nolle prosequi, thereby discontinuing the criminal case against Quayson.
He argues that it is unnecessary for the A-G to proceed with the charges, as the people of Assin North have demonstrated their trust and belief in Quayson by re-electing him.
The Dormaahene made this appeal during the Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, and Western North regional version of the Professor John Evans Atta Mills Commemorative Lecture held in Sunyani on July 1, 2023. The event also featured the launch of a book titled “Atta Mills Speaks to the World,” which carries statements made by the late Prof. Mills during his presidency at the United Nations General Assemblies.
Throughout the lecture, various speakers hailed Prof. Mills as a unifier, peacemaker, truthful, God-fearing man, humble, tolerant, and selfless, among other qualities. The lecture was aimed to commemorate Prof. Mills ten years after his passing.
By Vincent Kubi