The Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, has made an earnest plea to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, through the Attorney-General (A-G), Godfred Yeboah Dame, urging him to withdraw the criminal charges against James Gyakye Quayson, the elected Member of Parliament for Assin North.
In a display of respect and concern, the Dormaahene humbly requests the President’s intervention in this matter. He believes that dropping the charges against Mr. Quayson would be a just and fair decision, considering the circumstances surrounding his election.
James Gyakye Quayson is facing trial for perjury at the High Court in Accra.
He is facing charges of forgery and perjury in relation to certain alleged offences in the run-up to the 2020 Assin North parliamentary election.
He pleaded not guilty to five counts of forgery of passport or travel certificate, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury, and false declaration for office.
It is the case of the prosecution that Quayson allegedly made a false statement to the Passport Office that he did not hold a passport to another country when he applied for a Ghanaian Passport.
The Dormaahene speaking at the Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, and Western North regional version of the Professor John Evans Atta Mills Commemorative Lecture in Sunyani on Saturday [July 1, 2023], the Dormaahene appealed for the A-G to drop the criminal charges against Quayson.
“As a matter of urgency, I [Dormaahene] am appealing to the President of the Republic [Akufo-Addo], if he has any role to play, that trial should be aborted, and the Attorney-General should as a matter of urgency file a Nolle Prosequi to end that particular decision” and abort the criminal case against Mr. Quayson,” he said.
He insisted that it was needless for the Attorney General to continue the case after the chiefs and people of the Assin North constituency re-elected Quayson.
Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu who doubles as the President of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs said the law has a provision that permitted the A-G to discontinue any case if citizens were not interested.
He said continuing with the criminal trial was an insult to Ghanaians and the people of Assin North.
He added that he does not see any benefits coming to the country, should the A-G decide to continue to prosecute James Gyakye Quayson, and that prosecuting him will prevent him from doing his job as a legislator.
“Mr. President [Nana Addo], you know I love you, this matter cannot go on”, he added.
Gyakye Quayson won the Assin North has won by-election held in the constituency.
His win defied a series of predictions in the run-up to the elections that went against his performance in the election.
Quayson garnered 17,245 votes representing 57.56 percent to defeat the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Charles Opoku, who secured 12,630 votes representing 42.15 percent of the total votes cast.
The third candidate, Bernice Enyonam Sefenu of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) managed 87 votes representing 0.29 percent.
Quayson won the seat during the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections after securing 17,498 votes, representing 55.21 percent as against the incumbent, Abena Durowaa Mensah who garnered 14,193 votes representing 44.79 percent.
Source: Pulse Ghana
