I have read a piece written by one Ebo Buckman criticizing the Minority Leader, Osahen Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, and Titus Glover, to the effect that the two have suggested that politicians accused of embezzling state funds should be spared prosecution.
He went on to say that Afenyo-Markin and Titus Glover would prefer backroom negotiations to be conducted instead of taking such offenders to court for prosecution. He also claimed that the Minority Leader said President Akufo-Addo allowed the double-salary MPs to walk free after private discussions.
Ebo Buckman is peddling falsehoods as he also seeks to twist some of the issues he mentioned in his piece. For the avoidance of doubt, Afenyo-Markin never said that double-salary MPs walked free after private discussions.
First, if Ebo Buckman were an honest gentleman, he would have provided complete details regarding the results of the private discussions held over the double salary for MPs. Let it be put on record that those who received double salaries agreed to refund the monies over time, which they did.
It is also important to note that President Akufo-Addo’s decision not to prosecute all those MPs in court was aimed at preserving the sanctity of our Legislature. The image of Parliament would have been entirely jeopardized if President Akufo-Addo had allowed those many MPs to be prosecuted. There was wisdom in what the President did, and that is what Ebo Buckman does not seem to get.
Let me also emphasize that Afenyo-Markin is not advocating for those accused of embezzling state funds to be allowed to walk free. He is requesting the proper procedures to be followed in handling their cases.
Afenyo-Markin has not stated anywhere that former appointees and party persons are accused of one wrongdoing or the other. His position is that such persons should be taken through established processes, rather than being picked up like common criminals and hauled into cells for days without being sent to court. That is what he has advocated ought to be done.
I have taken the trouble to watch and read many of the things he puts out there and realized he seems to have a bone to pick with Afenyo-Markin for reasons best known to himself. This is more personal than a genuine agenda being pursued by Mr. Buckman against Osahen Afenyo-Markin.
It is disingenuous on the part of Ebo Buckman to twist the facts as stated by Afenyo-Markin and engage in spewing outright fabrications against the Minority Leader. Afenyo-Markin advocates for security agencies to go about their business lawfully and correctly, without resorting to reckless arrests.
The writer is P. K. Sarpong, Whispers from the Corridors of the Thinking Place.
