We’ve not been served with court summons – Haruna Iddrish on no-show in court
The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, says members of the Minority Caucus charged with unlawful assembly following their march to the Electoral Commission’s (EC) head office in Accra in December have not been served with any court summons.
He thus told the press they will not honour what he described as “social media invitations” from the state over the charges.
They were expected in court earlier on Monday morning but did not show up.
The Accra Circuit Court 11 which was to hear the matter subsequently adjourned the case to 19th January 2021.
Speaking to the press in Parliament on Monday, Mr. Iddrisu said, “we don’t respond, and we will not respond to social media invitations by the Ghana Police Service. I have not been personally served as is the requirement of the law as well as many of my colleagues.”
Mr. Iddrisu added that “the Ghana police service is allowing itself to be used as a tool of manipulation.”
The statement of offence said they unlawfully assembled and conducted themselves “in a manner likely to cause persons in the neighbourhood reasonable fear where a breach of the peace is likely to be occasioned.”
The MPs charged are Mr. Iddrisu, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, Samuel George, John Abdulai Jinapor, Rockson Defeamekpor, Ras Mubarak, Mutawakilu Adam, Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, A.B.A. Fuseini, Kwabena Minta Akando, Yusif Issaka Jaja, Isaac Adongo, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, James Klutse Avedzi, James Agalga, Collins Dauda, Abdul Rashid Pelpuo, Richard Quashigah and Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings.
In addition to the MPs, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Deputy General Secretary, Peter Boamah Otokunor, has also charged with the same offence.
But Mr. Iddrisu said there was some confusion because some of the MPs charged did not take part in the march, like Dr. Agyeman-Rawlings and Mr. Adongo.
“So somebody somewhere rehearsed enemies that they are targeting for purposes of humiliation to project us as if we are not law-abiding citizens,” the Minority Leader insisted.
The State had earlier sued the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, and 10 other members of the Minority caucus in Parliament over the march.
The Minority caucus was trying to present a petition to the Electoral Commission over the results of the 2020 presidential and parliamentary polls.
They are in particular challenging the results of the Techiman South Parliamentary polls.
The Caucus in the six-paged petition asked the EC to re-collate the Techiman South constituency parliamentary and presidential elections results from all the 266 polling stations.
However, the legislators were met with resistance from the police officers who applied some force to stop them from going to the premises of the EC.
