Gyakye QuaysonÂ
A High Court in Accra has acquitted and discharged the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, who was accused of making a false claim in a bid to acquire a Ghanaian passport in the run-up to the 2020 parliamentary election.
This was after Justice Mary Yanzuh, the presiding judge, held that the prosecution could not lead evidence to substantiate the allegations levelled against the MP.
Mr. Quayson had been charged, among others, for deceiving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by making a false statement that he did not have a dual citizenship in order to acquire a Ghanaian passport.
He was arraigned in January 2020 and was facing five counts of deceit of public officer, forgery of passport of travel certificate, knowingly making a false statutory statement, perjury and false declaration of office.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and the prosecution called five witnesses to prove its case.
While the criminal trial was ongoing, the Supreme Court injucted him from performing his duties as an MP and later annulled his election.
This resulted in a by-election which he won, giving him an opportunity to resume his duties.
The prosecution, after calling five witnesses, closed its case and his lawyer, Tsatsu Tsikata filed a motion for submission of no case to answer.
The trial judge, in her ruling yesterday, held that there were discrepancies in the evidence, documents and dates of the prosecution’s case.
The court held that since Mr. Quayson had submitted an application for renunciation, his declaration was not dishonest, adding that such dishonesty must coincide with criminal intent before he could be pronounced guilty.
Justice Yanzuh also held that she was not confident that Mr. Quayson had no reason to believe that he owed allegiance to any country other than Ghana when he had applied for renunciation.
She, therefore, concluded that there was not enough evidence to call on the MP to mount a defence and therefore acquitted and discharged him.
Mr. Quayson, in a statement, described the court’s decision as a “triumph of justice,” thanking God the trial is over and his innocence has been confirmed.
He thanked the chiefs and people of Assin North, the Chairman and other executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the constituency for their support during the trial.
He used the opportunity to call on Ghanaians in the diaspora, who also wish to come and serve back home, that his triumph of justice should be a clarion call to them.
“They should not hesitate in their wish to come and serve, especially at this time of President Mahama leading us in building the Ghana we want together,” he added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak