Francis Sosu
A High Court in Accra has dissmissed an application for interlocutory injunction filed by the embattled Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu against the Inspector General of Police, George Akuffo Dampare.
The court presided over Justice Barbara N. Tetteh-Charway described the motion inappropriate because of the substantive application before the court.
Somewhere last year, the Ghana Police Service secured criminal summons and served on the lawmaker to appear in court to face charges of unlawfully blocking a public road as well as the destruction of public property after he joined his constituents in a demonstration on October 25, over poor roads in parts of his constituency.
The police have since been unsuccessful in their attempts to arrest him, with parliament flagging its privileges and requesting proper procedures for MPs who must face criminal prosecution.
However, the Madina MP described the two attempts by the Ghana Police Service to arrest him as a violation of his human rights as a Ghanaian against unlawful arrest.
Sosu cited that Article 33 of the Constitution, 1992 protects his rights against arrests and prosecutions that are false, spurious, and malicious.
Furtherance to that the lawmaker was of the view that the exercise of the Administrative functions of the Police Service to arrest, investigate and prosecute him fell short of the high standards of fairness and reasonableness, and compliance as provided under Article 23 of the Constitution, 1992.
According to him, since the beginning of the said arbitrary and unlawful conduct by the Police, he has suffered priceless losses which have affected his life; emotional and psychological trauma; His wife and children, and parents have been seriously traumatized; and his work as an MP has been greatly affected.
Meanwhile, Justice Barbara Tetteh – Charway directed parties to file their written submissions by April 15, 2022, and reconvene on April 27 for a date to be fixed for judgment.
BY Vincent Kubi