Mr Kennedy Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central should have been punished by the house for describing the lawmaking arm of government as cheap, Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, MP for Juaboso, has said.
Parliament’s Privileges Committee pronounced Mr Agyapong guilty of contempt for making disparaging remarks against the house last year.
The Committee, Chaired by the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Joe Osei-Owusu, stated in the recommendations of its report that having “concluded the matter in the light of the totality of the evidence gathered, and, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the Standing Orders and other relevant enactments, concluded that the Hon. Member for Assin Central Constituency, Mr Ken Ohene Agyapong is, indeed, in contempt of Parliament for the remarks he made that ‘Parliament is cheap’ and ‘Parliament is useless’”.
The Committee further recommended that the house adopt the report and “sanction Hon. Ken Ohene Agyapong by suspending him for the rest of this Session or reprimand him”.
Mr Agyapong, on Thursday, 14 February 2019 apologised to parliament for making the ‘cheap’ comment.
He, however, denied ever describing parliament as 'useless'.
“I want to state clearly that I respect parliament and I will never insult parliament. I don’t feel shy apologising because the first day of the Privileges Committee hearing, I did apologise and today I maintain that as for calling parliament ‘useless’, I never said that," he said.
"I sincerely apologise to the house if they find it offensive. Whether I said cheap or cheapened I apologise,” he added.
He was subsequently asked by the Speaker of Parliament to “Go and Sin no more.”
But speaking in an interview with Accra100.5FM’s parliamentary correspondent Richard Appiah Sarpong, Mr Akandoh said: “Today is the saddest day in our democracy. We in the Minority stand to benefit nothing if Kennedy Agyapong is punished. This is about the democracy of Ghana, it is about the seriousness of parliament, it is about what the people are saying, it is about how Ghanaians take parliament.
“Everybody in Ghana is fed up with Kennedy Agyapong’s behaviour, so, it is only proper and fair that we, as MPs, would have done something about him if we want dignity.”
Source: classfmonline.com
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I PRAY AKANDOH LOSES HIS SEAT IN 2020. HE IS THERE FOR NOTHING HE HAS LOW IQ. WHEN MAHAMA AYARIGA LIED TO THE WHOLE WORLD AND GHANA THAT MR AGYARKO GAVE EVERY OPPOSITION MEMBER ON THE VETTING COMM. THREE HUNDRED GHANA IT TURNED OUT TO BE FALSE. HE ASKED FOR FORGIVENESS AND HE WAS PARDONED, WHY NOT KEN.AKANDOH I WANT TO ASSURE YOU THAT THIS IS YOUR LAST TIME TO BE IN THE AUGUST HOUSE YOU WILL LOOSE YOUR SEAT COME 2020.ALL YOU KNOW IS BRAGGING WHY DID YOU LOST YOU LAW SUIT, YOU COULD NOT EVEN FILE YOUR PAPERS CORRECTLY AND YOUR CASE WAS THROWN OUT BIG SHAME UNTO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
If you are fed up with ken, don't generalize it as its we are strongly behind him and everything he has done so far. If you were like him Ghana would have been Better by now, he isn't a corrupt person and not greedy like most of you guys. you have lost to Ghana, Ghana has won over all you guys who want the death penalty of Mr. Ken Akompreko Tutugyagu Kakapeipei Agyapong.
But pardoning Montia Radio presenters was right
PARLIAMENTARIANS ARE NOT ABOVE CRITICISMS. THEY WERE VOTED FOR BY US AND WE WILL CRITICISE THEM EVERY TIME THEY ERR IN THE DELIBRATIONS, ACTIONS AND INACTIONS OMISSIONS AND COMMISSIONS. IF PARLIAMENT TENDS TO BE A RUBBER STAMP THEY MUST BE TOLD GENUINELY THAT THEY ARE A RUBBER STAMP.
@ Robby, it is not going to be that easy. Do you remember during the Election Petition case, some contempt issues came up? How were they dealt with. Issues will be tacked on case by case basis. The fact that somebody has been pardoned does not mean you will be pardoned. Remember Ken Agyapong is also a Mp so it is likely the same colleagues in Parliament saved him from what other people were expecting and it was through a democratic process of voting. What happened to Mahama Ayariga on the bribery issue? He was asked to apologize to the very House and it ended there WE MUST LEARN TO RESPECT EACH OTHER ESPECIALLY PEOPLE IN AUTHORITY AND INSTITUTIONS.
Try it and see
With this decision no member of public can be punished if he also insults parliament, because his or her lawyer will go and make reference to ken agyepong's case and just apologize and go scot free. The legal game is played with precedence.