Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has advised the Ghana Police Service to seek his consent before arresting and prosecuting any Member of Parliament.
“As I sit here, I gathered information that some members were arrested, were prosecuted, and are before a court without any notice to the Speaker. This cannot continue.
“Even when a member is alleged to have committed an offense and is been investigated, the Speaker must be given notice because one of the rights that we have are termed ‘immunities’ and those immunities are absolute,” he said in Parliament on Wednesday, June 9, 2021.
He stated that he must be informed of any arrest and prosecution of any member of parliament whom he said, are protected and immune from any process outside Parliament.
“For example, in parliament, during the plenary, whatever you say here is protected by law and you are immune from any process outside parliament.
“That is why the Speaker’s certificate and intervention are necessary because the Speaker will need to know why the member is being investigated or arrested,” he said.
“And when it’s one of the absolute immunities, the intervention of the Speaker will stop albeit or prevent a member from being prosecuted.
“But I’m aware some of our members are before the court now without notice to the Speaker and I’m taking action to make sure that these things come to my notice and we will take action to make sure that members are protected to perform their constitutional duties,” Bagbin stated.
He stressed that Ghana needs the legislators in the country to make laws for the country and take decisions.
He added that “We need members of parliament for good reasons. There are critical decisions that need to be taken. In some days where we need not less than two-thirds of members’ approval before they can pass through.”
“And, so, if we allow law enforcement bodies to pick members at will and detain them and interrogate them outside plenary sessions, it will affect the business of the house, the business of government and the progress of our nation and so even though members of parliament are not above the law, we passed the law and we must show leadership in the enforcement and application of the law, but we are, at the same time, given special rights that protect us because we are not here as individuals, we are here carrying the mandate of millions of Ghanaians.
“That is why the leadership position like the president is given those special rights and these must be respected by all. I don’t want in the future to hear or receive anything that is complete disobedience to this statement that I’ve made. I’ll take a serious view of it and the house will apply its full force to make sure that our democracy works by our rules of law,” he said.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Joseph Asare
