Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, has stirred fresh debate around the limits of parliamentary immunity following a controversial visit by the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) to the home of Assin South MP, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour.
Fuseini, who appeared on Channel One TV’s The Big Issues, explained that the legal protections afforded to Members of Parliament are not as watertight as many assume. According to him, parliamentary immunity in Ghana is more of a convention than a hard-coded legal principle.
“The immunities of members of parliament are not absolute. It is a convention that came into being when Abodakpi was arrested. And the person who drove the convention was Mike Oquaye. The convention came into being during Ayariga’s time. So, it is not in law,” he stated candidly.
His remarks come in the wake of the April 9 incident, when NIB officials reportedly stormed Rev. Fordjour’s residence to question him over claims he made regarding two flights that allegedly entered the country under suspicious circumstances.
The move has sparked outrage and reignited conversations about whether state security agencies are crossing lines when it comes to dealing with sitting MPs.
Inusah Fuseini argued that political motivations could threaten the functionality of parliament, especially under a regime seeking to suppress opposition voices.
“We argued that when you have a vindictive president who wants to go after the minority, he will decapitate them by pressing criminal charges against them.
“When this happens, you will be going to court and you will not be able to perform your duties,” he explained.
While immunity exists in theory, Fuseini noted, it isn’t foolproof.
“So, even though the immunity is there, it is not absolute. Because if it is to be made absolute, it will infringe against Article 17 of the constitution, which is equality before the law,” he concluded.
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