Clarify ‘on his way to’, ‘attending at or returning from’ in Article 117-Law lecturer to Parliament

A lecturer at the KNUST Faculty of Law, Maame Ekua Addadzi-Koom has called on Parliament to amend Article 117 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

According to her, clarification on the phrase ‘on his way to’, “attending or returning from” relative to the timeline would clear all doubts

Speaking on the Law Program on JoyNews on October 31, 2021, the lecturer further noted that in Australia you cannot serve any process on an MP if you arrest him five days on his way to parliament or five days on returning from parliament.

“In Australia, for instance, if you arrest an MP five days on his way to parliament or five days on returning from parliament, which will be working days, you cannot arrest or serve any process on him. But, then we don’t have that in Ghana,” she said.

Referring to the case of the Madina MP, Miss Addadzi also noted that clarification of the phrases; ‘on his way to, and attending or returning from’ will provide the police a clear guideline and direction as to when they can serve notice on an MP or arrest him.

This comes after the Speaker of Parliament referred some Police officers to the Privileges Committee for attempting to arrest the Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu during a Demonstration in his Constituency on Monday, October 25, 2021.

The MP, after the incident, made an official report to the Speaker of Parliament.

Afterward, the Speaker of Parliament in a letter signed by the Deputy Director of Legal Services of Parliament declined an invitation by the police to release the Madina MP for interrogation on his role in the said demonstration.

“I am directed by the Rt. Hon. Speaker to inform you that proceedings of the 3rd Meeting of the 1st Session of the 8th Parliament commenced on Tuesday 26th October 2021, and having regard to the limitations of articles 117 and 118 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic, he is unable to release the Member of Parliament as requested in your letter,” it said.

“The Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament further directs that I refer you to the provisions of article 122 of the 1992 Constitution and to inform you that on Wednesday the 27th October 2021 he referred to the Privileges Committee of Parliament, allegations of breach of parliamentary privilege and contempt by ACP Isaac Kojo Asante and ACP Eric Winful of the Accra Regional Police Command and the Adenta Divisional Command respectively,” the letter added.

Notwithstanding, on Sunday, November 31, 2021, there were reports that Police had attempted for the second time to arrest the MP during his visit to a church in his constituency.

The Police Service however has denied the allegation in a statement indicating that any plane clothed Police personnel found on the premises of the church were there for intelligence purposes.

Later in the evening, another statement by the Ghana Police Service conveyed the message of the interdiction of the bodyguard of the Madina MP, Inspector Daniel Agbavor for alleged misconduct.

“He is alleged to have recklessly driven into a crowd after a protest last Monday, October 25, 2021, in the Madina Constituency, directly endangering the lives of the Senior Officers and other civilians,” the statement read in part.

In conclusion, the lecturer urged parliament to amend Article 117 to deal with its different interpretations.