It appears the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is running away from accountability under the rule of law in Ghana as it seeks protection for some of its members fingered for wrongdoing in nations abroad.
A number of NDC members are facing prosecutions in court for various offences, which were said to have been committed when the party was in power.
However, the main opposition party has petitioned the Commonwealth of Nations to monitor the human rights situation in Ghana and what it said was the criminal persecution of its members.
The party has also urged the international political organisation to investigate what it described as human rights violations against its members by the Ghanaian government.
At a news conference in Accra on Monday, the NDC General Secretary Mr Johnson Aseidu Nketiah said the party had sent a petition detailing its grievances to the Commonwealth.
He said the petition was necessitated by the “harassment, criminal persecution and human rights violations” against some leading members of the party including its National Chairman, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo.
“There are some practices that are not in accordance with good governance and the principles of the Commonwealth so we have petitioned them to take the appropriate action,” he said.
Mr Nketiah explained that the party’s petition to the Commonwealth doesn’t suggest that Ghana was not an independent country but rather, the petition seeks to draw the attention of the organisation to the lack of good governance in Ghana’s body politic.
“Membership to the Commonwealth means the member state must adhere to good governance, so if you are not practicing good governance, you can be suspended like we saw in Zimbabwe and elsewhere,” he said.
Cases cited
Speaking on the alleged persecutions and harassment, Mr Asiedu Nketiah cited some cases that are currently being prosecuted in court as the basis for the petition.
The NDC General Secretary said in the case of the Republic v Stephen Kwabena Opuni and two others, the Judge hearing the case, Mr Justice Clemence Honyenuga had made some pronouncements on the case which “in any fair legal system would warrant his recusal from the case on the ground of real likelihood or appearance of bias.”
He also cited the case involving the Republic vrs Samuel Ofosu Ampofo and Anthony Kwaku Boahen and the Republic Vrs Cassiel Ato Forson and two others as examples of some of the criminal persecution of NDC members by the government.
“The conduct of the government of Ghana in this matter has been dreadful leaving no doubt the government is bent on a conviction regardless of the quality of the evidence,” Mr Nketiah said.
With regards to case involving Dr Ato Forson, Mr Asiedu Nketiah said he believes that the charges are politically motivated and engineered to weaken his opposition to the passage of the Electronic Transaction Levey (E-levy).
“This is a brazen abuse of power by the government,” Mr Nketiah claimed.
Objective
According to the NDC General Secretary, the party is calling on the Commonwealth to call upon the government to stop the alleged human rights violations.
“These actions of the government create conditions that threaten Ghana’s political stability and further erode our democratic values,” he said.
The petition, according to Mr Nketia, also urged the Commonwealth to engage with a broad range of actors, including government officials, political parties, representatives of civil society, to respect, promote, and protect human rights in the country.
