Committee of Privileges in Parliament has set down today, Thursday, August 5, 2021, to consider the referral of an alleged breach of parliamentary privilege and contempt of Parliament filed against the NPP Member (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.
In an invitation addressed to the complainant, Suhuyini Alhassan Sayibu, who is the NDC MP for Tamale North, Principal Assistant Clerk to the Committee, Akua Durowaa Owusu-Agyekum, said the Committee of Privileges is scheduled to meet at 5:00 pm in Committee Room 1 & 2 of Parliament’s Administration Block.
“As you may recall, on Wednesday, July 14, 2021, you drew the attention of the House to an alleged breach of parliamentary privilege and contemptuous conduct by the Hon Member for Assin Central Constituency, Mr. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.
“The Rt. Hon. Speaker, having regard to the issue raised in the complaint, referred the conduct of the Hon. Member to the Committee of Privileges for consideration and report pursuant to Order 31 of the Standing Orders of Parliament,” the letter read in part.
The Principal Assistant Clerk indicated that she had been directed by the Chairman of the Committee, Joseph Osei-Wusu, who is also the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, to kindly request the complainant to furnish the Committee with evidence of the alleged misconduct prior to the meeting.
“You are also invited to attend upon the Committee to assist in its deliberations. The Committee counts very much on your kind cooperation in this regard,” the leaked invitation letter said.
The NPP MP was said to have made statements which Multimedia Group has said it amounted to threats on the life of one of its reporters with Luv FM in Kumasi, Erastus Asare Donkor, which the Tamale North MP said the alleged action of his colleague from the opposite side of the aisles amounted to a breach of the parliamentary privileges.
Following Alhassan Suhuyini’s report, the Speaker, Mr. Bagbin, then exercised his discretion under Order 27 of the Standing Orders of the House and referred Ken Agyapong to the Committee of Privileges which is chaired by the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Wusu.
The process leading to the referral compelled the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, to raise issues.
He insisted the complainant failed to ‘particulise’ the substance of the allegation of breach for a prima facie case to be established first before the Speaker, Alban S.K. Bagbin, made the referral.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin said that the applicant, Alhassan Suhuyini, only made reference to a “supposed letter” from Joy FM to the police without procuring the substance of the breach of parliamentary privileges.
He then cautioned that the House “may be sacrificing procedure” to create a “new path” that might set precedence for the future, but the Speaker ignored him, intimating that he was compelled by the circumstances to direct that the matter be referred to the Committee of Privileges for investigation and report to the House.
However, the Speaker stated, “This is my first time hearing this matter. As it is now, I am compelled to refer it to the Privileges Committee. It is a matter the Privileges Committee will have to go into and then report to the House, and it is for the House to decide whether the Honourable Member is contemptuous of the House.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House