The embattled opposition National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson will today, Tuesday, February 15, 2022, appear before an Accra High court, following weeks of evading court summons.
The MP last week was forced to take a court summons from the Police at his Manet residence after his bodyguard allegedly assaulted a bailiff at the Job 600 Office, who stormed there to serve him court summons two weeks ago.
The Cape Coast High Court in July 2021 annulled the Assin North Parliamentary elections saying. Mr. Quayson was not eligible to contest the polls.
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Mr Quayson has since been legally fighting to set this aside with the matter currently pending at the Court of Appeal.
A resident of the constituency Michael Ankomah Nimfah who initiated the action against the MP at the High Court has sought the intervention of the Supreme Court to stop the MP from performing Parliamentary duties as the matter is still pending.
After the Police managed to serve him, he has finally agreed to submit himself to the legal processes.
The NDC “Canadian” MP as gathered is expected to be accompanied by some National Executives of NDC and the leadership of the Minority in Parliament to the court to show solidarity with him.
This is the first time the MP will be appearing before the High court adjudicating on his criminal matter.
Mr. Quayson has already indicated that he has nothing to fear.
According to him, “I cannot comment on any matter that is in the court but I can tell you I am in a very high spirit. An innocent person has nothing to fear, that is all I can say. All I will say to you at this point is, as you are all aware this matter is in court. I believe and trust in the judicial system because that is the way for people to measure their innocence”.
Meanwhile, a member of NPP’s Legal team, Gary Nimako Marfo who is leading the law suit has indicated that the decision by the Attorney General’s department to prosecute the embattled Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson is both political and legal.
According to him, all charges levelled against the MP and other NDC lawmakers will be fully pursued to their conclusions.
The Attorney General’s office has also filed criminal charges against the MP including forgery, perjury and also deceiving a public officer and knowingly making a false declaration.
Contributing to a panel discussion on Accra-based Joy TV/Joy FM on Saturday, Mr Nimako Marfo said the party will employ all legal means necessary to injunct the MP from attending to parliamentary business as soon as possible.
“You agree with me that a criminal matter and a civil matter can run side by side. There is no law or rule of practice that says that a criminal matter and a civil matter cannot run side by side. Therefore, we cannot wait; the law permits what we do.”
He explained that “It [the decision to prosecute] is political and legal because the Article 88 [of the Constitution] makes it very clear that it is at the behest of the Attorney General to decide to prosecute or not prosecute so as it stands now, the criminal matter and the civil matter are going to be run side by side.”.
He added that “Justice delayed is justice denied. This matter ought to be done expeditiously so that one way or the other, we’d all know whether Mr Quayson, at the time of filing his nominations in October, was indeed right to have done so or wrong to have done so. Both the criminal matter and the civil ought to be dealt with expeditiously”.
“We must be very clear in our minds as a country that the laws that are made in this country are not for the fun of it, but the laws are meant to guide our actions and inactions.”
“If somebody commits a crime, would we say that because for some reason, if the courts decide one way or the other it will give one party an advantage or otherwise, the court should not decide, they should delay the case ad infinitum?” he quizzed.
– BY Daniel Bampoe