We're not under PNDC to be 'locking people up' arbitrarily - Mahama

Europa

November 16, 2016 11:54 PM

His comments come on the back of concerns by some Ghanaians over what they feel is a seeming delay in bringing people to book for various offences committed, particularly cases involving the drill ship saga.

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President John Dramani Mahama has said that the country is not under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) regime for the government to be making “arbitrary arrests” without going through the proper constitutional process.

Speaking at the GBC’s organized Presidential Encounter, the president said the delay is due to the constitutional process.

He assured that “the drill ship issue is still alive and I’m sure the Attorney General is looking at areas we can build dockets...it takes time because everybody is innocent until proven guilty. And so we can’t be adherents of constitutional governance but be lovers of arbitrary justice.

“People want me to arrest everybody who has been accused of a crime and lock them up because he did it in the PNDC. In the PNDC we would have locked them up. Yes, we would have locked them up and we know we didn’t have a constitution then...we can’t eat our cake and have it. People have to go through the process and the process is very slow...we just must have patience in the process,” the president added.

The governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) last month said it will ensure that a former deputy Energy Minister, Kobina Tahiru Hammond is arrested and prosecuted for his role in the sale of Ghana’s drill ship as soon as he loses his seat.

According to the General Secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, Kobina Tahiru Hammond, will stand trial if he loses his seat in elections this year.

A government white paper on a report presented by the Judgment Debt Commission directed the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) to investigate K.T Hammond on the disbursement of $900,000 from the sale of the drill ship which belonged to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) .

Per the directive K T Hammond must account for the difference of $900,000 after the drill ship was sold at $25 million to in 2001 to defray a $19.5 million debt owed Societe-Generale Bank.

KT Hammond subsequently sued the government for directing the Economic and Organised Crime Unit (EOCO) to investigate him over the drill ship saga.

According to K.T. Hammond, the directive “is unconstitutional, unlawful and a violation of my fundamental human rights.”

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) had earlier in March dared government to arrest and prosecute its Flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo, if they have concrete evidence to prove that he indeed caused financial loss to the state in the drill ship saga.

Europa