NDC Deposed MP Weeps Over Court Decision

James Gyakye Quayson

 

The embattled ousted Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson has expressed worry over the ongoing criminal case against him, as he describes it as an act of intimidation.

He said, “I think basically, it is an intimidation process because I haven’t seen any criminal trial where an accused person or suspect is arraigned before the court daily and so we all know that it is an executive influence on the process. The people of Assin North understand the circumstances and situation that I am going through and they also understand that the fight is not about me but about them.”

Mr. Gyakye Quayson attributed his removal from office to the hung nature of the current Parliament but expressed confidence in the support of the people of Assin North, adding that despite the challenges he is currently encountering, he remains resolute in his conviction and is determined to represent the interests of the people of Assin North.

James Gyakye Quayson who spoke on Joy News lamented that he is unshaken by the court’s decision to hear his perjury case daily.

“If they want, they can do so by giving me a bed to sleep on to enable me to attend the court but the New Patriotic Party will lose the by-election,” he said.

He added that “They can further give me a chamber to sleep in the court but Assin North will fall to me,” he noted.
Mr Quayson who is also the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) candidate for the Assin North by-election slated for June 27, 2023, made these comments in reaction to the court’s decision to hear his perjury case daily.

“They can share money ahead of the by-election but the people will vote against them.
“I want to even disguise myself and collect some of the money and distribute it to the chiefs and people of the area,” he added.

He noted that the people of the area deserve development and so if the government is bringing it because of the by-election there is nothing wrong with it.

The perjury and forgery trial against James Gyakye Quayson will be heard on a day-to-day basis beginning Tuesday, June 20, 2023, the High Court ruled.

This comes after the court presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh, had turned down a prayer by Quayson’s lawyer, Justin Terriwajjah which sought to have the trial continued after the Assin North by-election slated for June 27, 2023.

Counsel argued that his client was embarking on national duty in a bid to represent the people of Assin North in parliament, hence the need to continue the trial after the by-election for Quayson to have a leveled playing field in the campaign.
However, the Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, described the decision by Quayson to contest the by-election as a “voluntary and selfish quest” as opposed to the prayer stressing that nobody had given Quayson a national assignment.
He argued that considering the charges leveled against Quayson, he could be convicted and jailed if found guilty, hence the need to try the case expeditiously to bring clarity on Quayson’s status.

He, therefore, prayed the court to hear the case on a day-to-day basis, beginning next week. Mr. Terriwajjah agreed to the trial being conducted on a day-to-day basis but prayed for that to be done only after the by-election. His prayer was dismissed subsequently by the court.

Quayson, who is facing charges of forgery and perjury concerning certain alleged offenses in the run-up to the 2020 Assin North parliamentary election, will have his lawyers continue the cross-examination of the first prosecution witness.

The State prosecutors have charged Mr. Quayson on five counts of forgery of passport or travel certificate, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury, and false declaration for office.

It is the case of the prosecution that Mr. Quayson allegedly made a false statement to the Passport Office that he did not hold a passport to another country when he applied for a Ghanaian Passport.
In addition, the prosecution has accused Mr. Quayson of making a false declaration to the Electoral Commission to the effect that he (Quayson) did not owe any allegiance to a foreign country when he filed to contest as a candidate for the Assin North seat

The Court has since fixed June 20, 21, and 23 for the trial to continue.

 

-BY Daniel Bampoe

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