Minority condemns dawn raid on Dr Donkor's residence
The Minority in Parliament has condemned the dawn raid of the residence of the former Minister of Power, Dr Kwabena Donkor, describing it as shameful and sad in a country that upholds the rights of its citizens to privacy.
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It said the raid on the residence of Dr Donkor, who is a sitting Member of Parliament (MP), by security agencies amounted to contempt of Parliament.
A statement signed by the Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, said "The Minority considers as unacceptable any action of any state agency that impedes the work of a sitting Member of Parliament and this improper conduct amounts to contempt of Parliament under article 122 of the Constitution.
"This breach of privilege clearly undermines the ability of the Honourable Member of Parliament to perform his legitimate duties and by extension negate the work of Parliament."
Personnel from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service last Monday picked a laptop and four pen drives from Dr Donkor’s residence.
The action of the CID followed a court order which directed the police to retrieve his laptop, iPad and mobile phones in connection with investigations into the AMERI deal in which the former minister was cited.
Explaining the action, the Deputy Director of the CID, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACOP) Mrs Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, said the CID had begun investigations into a case in which Dr Donkor had been accused of causing financial loss to the state through the AMERI deal.
She said as part of the evidence gathering procedures, the police went to court for an order to search the premises of the former minister.
Read also: ID invites Kwabena Donkor over AMERI
Inadequate defence
The statement said the claim that the raid was based on the order of a lower court "provides an inadequate defence."
It said under the country's Constitution, the integrity of citizen’s private communication was highly protected and it was only under exceptional circumstances that it could be breached.
"It is even more troubling that the Honourable Member has never been informed, until he was shown the court order that he is a suspect in any investigation", it said.
Calculated harassment
The statement said the dawn raid on the residence of Dr Donkor had nothing to do with the Ameri project.
It said the government itself had publicly claimed just recently that it had in its possession all relevant documents in respect of the Ameri project following the establishment of the Phillip Addison committee.
The statement said the invasion of Dr Donkor’s residence signaled the era of a calculated programme to harass and intimidate vociferous members of the Minority and stifled the progress of the country's democratic process.
"Our democracy and the freedoms it guarantees is under attack and we in the minority will not sit idly by and watch. We will resist it with all the force at our disposal", it said.
Cooperation
The statement said the Minority was willing and ready to cooperate with the government and its agencies to investigate any claim of malfeasance pursuant to proper due process.
However, it said, "we abhor the use of crude tactics only intended to instil fear and terror amongst our members."
The statement said available records from Parliament would attest to the fact that, the Ameri agreement which was submitted to the august House for approval was considered by the relevant committee and approved unanimously on the floor.
Therefore, it said, it was surprising for the same side that spoke favourably about the project which culminated in its approval could suddenly claim it was fraught with irregularities.
The statement said Ghanaians could attest to the hard work, strategic investment and clear vision brought to bear by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to resolve the debilitating power crisis that crippled the nation.
It cautioned "by the continues act of vilification, threats and gorilla tactics on the Ameri project and persons associated to its successful implementation, Ghana risks a return to the era of load shedding which the NDC Government had resolved before leaving office."
The statement affirmed the resolve of the Minority to continue to hold the feet of the Akufo Addo-Bawumia government to the fire of accountability and no amount of intimidation brute force or cowardly acts such as was being perpetrated would cow or petrify them into inaction, adding that:"We are a law abiding people."