Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, will today, February 21, 2023, appear before court to answer contempt charges brought against him by Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng.
Ahead of the trail, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa took to social media to comment on the issue.
“Even if Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng/Kwabena Adu Gyamfi succeeds in having me imprisoned tomorrow as he so desperately desires, I shall always be proud of the fact that those who declared support for truth, justice, and parliamentary oversight far outnumber the forces of oppression,” the lawmaker said in a Facebook post.
Reverend Victor Kusi Boateng, Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, filed a motion requesting that Mr Ablakwa be imprisoned for his actions.
This was after Ablakwa had kicked a writ meant to be served on him by a court bailiff on Friday, February 3.
The lawmaker gave the excuse that was on his way to Parliament when the bailiff approached him at the forecourt of Metro TV to serve him Rev Kusi Boateng’s writ.
The writ was to prevent the lawmaker from making any further statements about the clergyman’s case of double identity while the matter was before the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
“When the Bailiff of this Honourable Court reminded the Respondent that Parliament was in recess, the Respondent then claimed that he was on his way to a meeting of one of the committees of Parliament, an allegation which has since turned out to be a falsehood told by the Respondent merely to evade service of the court processes on him.
“I am informed by my Counsel and verily believe same to be true that the immunities available to members of Parliament from being served personally with court processes can only be invoked when that member of Parliament is either on his way to or way from Parliamentary proceedings or activities; an immunity which the Respondent could not have invoked on the 3rd of February 2023 because the Parliament of Ghana was on recess at that time.
“Dissatisfied with the excuses that the respondent was giving to evade service of exhibits VKB1 and VKB2, the court officer proceeded to discharge his statutory duty of serving court processes personally on the respondent by leaving the processes as close as possible to the respondent.”
“I am informed by my Counsel and verily believe same to be true that this Honourable Court has the power to commit the Respondent to prison for his conduct to protect the whole administration of justice and serve as a deterrent to other persons,” Rev Kusi Boateng, also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, prayed the court.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu
