Kwame Ohene Frimpong: Parliament confirms detention of Asante Akyem North MP in Netherlands<\/a><\/p>\nRole model<\/p>\n
He explained that MPs were expected to serve as role models because they represented not only their constituencies but the entire nation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole nation is your constituency. MPs are expected, at all times, to conduct themselves in such a way that they earn the honourable title we give to them,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Avoid speculation<\/p>\n
Dr Draman, however, cautioned against rushing to conclusions regarding the circumstances surrounding the MP\u2019s detention, noting that the details remained unclear.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not know the reasons behind his detention. People are speculating, but it could be due to many reasons. We have to be very circumspect and not pronounce him guilty until the details emerge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He stressed that, regardless of the circumstances, the development was unfortunate for the country\u2019s image.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not a good day for Parliament. It is not a good day for all of us as Ghanaians because once the individual is in custody, they say a Member of Parliament of Ghana,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Dr Draman further called on Parliament to make public any information it had concerning the matter to prevent misinformation and rumours.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Parliament has information, the earlier they make it public, the better. Otherwise, the speculations are going to go in all kinds of directions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to him, democratic systems in advanced countries operated without preferential treatment for public officials, making it likely that details surrounding the case would eventually become public.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn those countries, there is no big man syndrome. Whether you are a prime minister or an ordinary citizen, you face the law equally,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Broader discussion<\/p>\n
Dr Draman also suggested that the incident could trigger broader national discussions about the processes used in selecting and vetting parliamentary candidates.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on this case, there might have to be some discussion on the way forward for our country and the kind of system we have regarding who qualifies to go to Parliament,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Recall<\/p>\n
Parliament, in a brief statement, confirmed that the Independent MP for Asante Akyem North has been detained at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
The statement posted on Facebook, \u00a0said the matter had been brought to the attention of the House and that efforts were underway to obtain full details surrounding the incident.<\/p>\n
The statement, signed by the Clerk to Parliament, Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, indicated that the Speaker of Parliament and the leadership of the House were engaging Ghana\u2019s diplomatic mission in The Hague over the development.<\/p>\n
The statement did not disclose the reasons for the detention, the duration of the MP\u2019s stay in the Netherlands, or whether any formal charges had been preferred against him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Executive Director of the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), Dr Rasheed Draman, has described the detention…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10991,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[23],"class_list":{"0":"post-11515","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-amsterdam","8":"tag-amsterdam"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}