Parliament has rejected claims that it is obstructing the work of the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu in the prosecution of Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga.
There appears to be tension between Parliament and the Office of the Special Prosecutor over the case.
While the Office of the Special Prosecutor demanded that Ayariga be present in court to answer to his charges, Parliament insisted that Mr. Ayariga’s privileges as a legislator do not support him being made to face the law in a way that interferes with his duty as a Parliamentarian.
According to Parliament, its engagement with Martin Amidu was to draw his attention to some articles in the 1992 Constitution which offers Ayariga some protection from legal proceedings in a way that interferes with his parliamentary duties.
It stressed that it had informed the Special Prosecutor that the MP could be tried any day during the long three-month vacation (August to October) but is surprised that an impression is being created that Parliament is sabotaging the prosecution of the Member of Parliament.
Martin Amidu had accused the Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Ocquaye, of interfering in his work of prosecuting corrupt parliamentarians who have abused their office.
“He wrote to the judge with a certificate directing the judge how he should behave, the judge turned it down…there is nothing like bipartisan interference in the work of the office of Special Prosecutor when the legislature which made the law and gave the independence tries to interfere as to how it is executed,” Mr Amidu said to host of ‘Time With David’, David Ampofo.
But Parliament in the statement rejected Amidu’s claims.
Below is Parliament’s full statement:
