Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) National Chairman Freddie Blay has called for the removal of the indemnity clause in Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, arguing that it provides constitutional protection for coup makers and poses a long-term threat to democratic governance.
Mr. Blay said the Constitution Review Committee (CRC) missed a crucial opportunity by failing to recommend the repeal of Section 34 of the Constitution’s transitional provisions, which indemnifies those involved in past military regimes against legal liability for acts committed during their administrations.
Speaking to Channel One News, he said the issue should have been one of the committee’s central priorities during the constitutional review process.
“To me, one of the main proposals that should have even preoccupied them was the issue of the indemnity clauses. They were silent on it,” he said.
Mr. Blay argued that maintaining the clause sends the wrong signal and could encourage individuals who seek to overthrow constitutional governments.
According to him, removing the indemnity provision would strengthen Ghana’s democratic order and reinforce the principle that unconstitutional seizures of power should not enjoy constitutional protection.
“It even makes it possible for adventurers who want to change things without resorting to the Constitution, that they could also do it and then clothe themselves,” he said.
He stressed that his position was not primarily aimed at reopening prosecutions against individuals involved in previous military regimes.
Instead, he said the objective was to ensure that future coup plotters could not rely on constitutional indemnity as a shield against accountability.
“You must lift it so that future adventurers may also not end up overthrowing the Constitution,” he added.
The comments come amid ongoing national discussions on the Constitutional Review Committee’s proposals, which seek to amend aspects of the 1992 Constitution to strengthen governance, democratic institutions and constitutional accountability.
