The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has put on hold plans to invite and interrogate the NDC’s 2020 parliamentary candidate for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, whose entry into Parliament has been short-lived.
The CID had been petitioned by the Central Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Takyi Mensah over allegations that Mr. Quayson falsely declared that he owes allegiance to only Ghana while filing nomination to contest in the 2020 parliamentary elections.
Mr. Quayson was found guilty by the Cape Coast High Court last week, leading to the annulment of the elections in Assin North.
But sources within the CID said the investigations have been put on ice due to hints that, Mr. Quayson will appeal the judgement of the High Court.
The CID was petitioned to investigate Mr. Quayson’s participation in a number of activities in Parliament, including his participation in the election of the Speaker of Parliament, although the High Court in Cape Coast had barred him from holding himself as an MP at the time.
Complaint
In the complaint sighted by Mr. Takyi Mensah argued that the MP appended his signature before a judicial officer that he did not owe allegiance to any country other than Ghana, at the time he was fully aware that as a matter of fact, he owed allegiance to Canada at that material time of making the said statutory declaration.
He also makes the point that the MP in his quest to acquire a Ghanaian passport on July 30, 2019, was asked whether he held dual citizenship, but he answered in the negative when in fact at the time of filling the said Ghanaian passport application forms, he was holding on to the Canadian Citizenship.
In this regard, he insisted that Mr. James Gyake Quayson has perjured himself by lying under oath hence, “the petition for criminal investigations to be conducted” against him.
Assin North: Don’t waste resources on criminal case against Gyakye Quayson – Kpebu
Private Legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu over the weekend shot down attempts to have criminal charges pressed against Mr. Quayson.
Mr. Kpebu believes such criminal action against Mr. Quayson will be a waste of time and resources given the poor nature of the case in law.
“He [Quayson] sent in the renunciation on 19th December 2019, and they said it takes about six to nine months. So it’s very clear that he had good faith. So this is not something I think that we should waste time on and press criminal charges. We do not have resources, there are better cases to pursue. This is not a good case for criminal prosecution”, he said.
