The Member of Parliament for Ofoasi-Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has explained the circumstances under which the New Patriotic Party is planning to petition the Chief Justice over the conduct of the circuit court judge in the Abronye case, stating that remarks made by the judge undermined the constitutional presumption of innocence.

Speaking in an interview with Moro Awudu on Metro Tv’s Good Morning Ghana, Mr Nkrumah said the party believes the judge had “conducted himself in a prejudicial manner” by allegedly concluding that the Kwame Baffoe also known as Abronye had committed an offence before evidence had been fully tested in court.

According to him, the party’s General Secretary announced that the party shall submit a petition to the Office of the Chief Justice.

He noted that the reason NPP is thinking of petitioning the Chief Justice is that the party believes that the judge has taken a decision even before hearing the substantive matter.

The lead counsel of Nkrumah and Associates argued that under Article 19 of the Constitution, every accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

“The matter has not even been prosecuted fully, yet the view appears to have been formed that the accused committed an offence and may commit further offences,” he said.

He explained that the NPP petition was based on the judge’s comments on record, as well as other concerns raised by the party.

He also stated that the NPP also defended the Minority Caucus’ decision to engage members of the diplomatic community over what it described as a growing pattern of arrests linked to free speech.

According to the lawyer, about 16 NPP members had been arrested and charged within 16 months under Sections 207 and 208 of the Criminal Offences Act.

The NPP claims the provisions are increasingly being used to suppress dissent and intimidate critics of the government.

He said the Minority Caucus wanted the diplomatic community and other interested groups to pay closer attention to developments in Ghana’s democratic space.

“These issues may not be at the top of everybody’s agenda, but we believe people need to know that something serious is happening,” he said.

Addressing criticism over the opposition’s decision to petition diplomats, the Oppong Nkrumah clarified that the move followed diplomatic protocol.

He explained that the Moroccan ambassador was approached because the envoy currently serves as Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.

“When you want to engage the diplomatic corps, you do so through the dean. It does not mean you are singling out that ambassador,” he said.

He compared the process to submitting petitions to Parliament through the Clerk of Parliament rather than directly to lawmakers.

Source: MetroTV