Francis-Xavier Sosu
A Kaneshie District Court in Accra was yesterday informed that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, who was due to appear before the court after the Ghana Police Service secured criminal summons against him, could not be in court.
This was because the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, wrote to the court to explain that the MP was on official parliamentary duties outside the jurisdiction.
Mr. Sosu, who has been evading arrest since October 26, was expected to appear before the court yesterday for his alleged involvement in a demonstration that led to road blockade and destruction of property in some parts of his constituency.
The police, unable to arrest the MP following the decision of the Speaker of Parliament not to release him, went to court to secure criminal summons to aid the process of arrest.
Sosu has been charged with obstruction of public way, causing damage to other road users and unlawful damage.
The Speaker’s letter stated that the MP who is on the assignment with some ranking Members of Parliament would return to the country on November 16, but did not indicate which country the MP had travelled to.
The court presided over by His Worship Oheneba Kuffour therefore, adjourned the matter to November 16, 2021.
Evading Arrest
The Madina MP’s blatant refusal to honour police invitation following the violent scenes recorded during the demonstration he organised on October 25, to push for good roads in his constituency, sparked heated debate on whether or not a Member of Parliament who has committed an offence can be arrested by the police.
Video Evidence
In one video, Sosu was captured instigating the youth to block roads and cause mayhem, and he later run to Parliament to claim that he was being harassed by the police and wanted the officers looking for him rather punished by the legislature.
Sosu has been evading arrest since the police made it clear that they are looking for him as part of the investigations into the violence, and has blatantly refused to honour the invitation, hiding behind parliamentary privileges.
The police said that during the demonstration which occurred between Ayi Mensah and Amrahia in the Madina Constituency on Monday, October 25, the youth he had organised, blocked roads and burned tyres, caused destruction to property and even prevented an ambulance carrying a pregnant woman from seeking medical attention at the Dodowa District Hospital.
It took the intervention of the police from the Adentan Division to restore normalcy.
MP’s Bodyguard
In the ensuing heat, the police said the MP’s bodyguard who is also a policeman, drove dangerously through the crowd and put the lives of some senior officers at the scene in danger.
The policeman has since been interdicted by the Ghana Police Service.
Sosu after causing the chaos then run to Parliament to claim victim and rather caused the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, to invite two top policemen who were instrumental in pressing for his arrest, to the Privileges Committee.
Church Drama
On Sunday, October 31, the police determined to arrest the MP, reportedly swarmed a church in Madina where the MP was said to be preaching, but it was unclear if the law enforcers were there to effect the MP’s arrest.
Some of the NDC MPs thronged the Believers Church at Ritz Junction, Madina, to prevent the police from arresting the MP, and subsequently whisked him away in a vehicle.
Police Clarification
ACP Kwesi Ofori later clarified in a statement that they were not there to arrest the MP but rather to gather intelligence, saying “any plain-clothed police personnel found on the premises of the church may have been there for intelligence purposes and not to effect an arrest.”
Bagbin On Police
In what looked like an act of defiance, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin described as “disingenuous and a blatant affront” to Parliament, the attempt by the Ghana Police Service to arrest the NDC MP.
According to him, for the police to ignore his letter received on Friday, October 29, 2021, detailing the reasons the MP could not be released to assist in investigations, is a “clear violation of the provisions of the 1992 Constitution and gross disrespect” to him as Speaker and Parliament as an institution.
Mr. Bagbin expressed grave concern about the “recent attempts by the Police Service” to arrest the NDC MP, and said the manner and fashion of the said attempted arrest offend not just the latter, but the “very spirit that underpins our 1992 Constitution.”
Defending Policeman
The Speaker caused a statement to be issued by the Deputy Clerk, Eric Owusu Mensah, condemning the ‘posture’ of the Ghana Police Service as well as the interdiction of Inspector Daniel Agbavor, who was providing personal protection to the MP during the demonstration.
According to the police, the Inspector had disobeyed his superiors and drove dangerously among the crowd and put the lives of two senior officers in danger and had to be interdicted.
The Speaker asserted that the Ghana Police Service, instead of engaging him and the leadership of the House, “surreptitiously attempted” to arrest the MP on Sunday, November 1, 2021 whilst in church.
“The Rt. Hon. Speaker acknowledges that Members of Parliament are not above the law. The issue is not that a Member of Parliament cannot be investigated or arrested. The issue is the procedure to follow to investigate or arrest a Member of Parliament. It is worthy to note that several Members of Parliament from both sides of the House have been investigated, arraigned before court and tried since 1993,” he stated.
“Let it not be suggested per these happenings that Members of Parliament and Parliament are not subject to the Law. The Police Service is a vassal of the Constitution and a Statute passed by Parliament. It forms part of the Public Services of Ghana and equally must not uphold itself to be above the law,” he posited.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak