Parliament: Ken Agyapong escapes Ejection; faces Suspension

Parliament’s Privileges Committee has charged the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, guilty of contempt for describing the House in a bad manner but an apology and a show of remorse has saved him from being expelled from the House.

By a split decision of 10-10, some of the Committee members rooted for suspension of the MP for the rest of the year, with others also taking cognizance of the remorse and voted for just a reprimand of Mr Agyapong.

“The Committee noted the apology rendered by the Member and therefore did not consider expulsion as a sanction to be imposed,” the Committee, Chaired by First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joe Osei-Owusu, stated in its report.

The report added that: “In the light of the totality of the evidence gathered, and, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the Standing Orders and other relevant enactments, concluded that the Hon. Member for Assin Central Constituency, Mr Ken Ohene Agyapong is, indeed, in contempt of Parliament for the remarks he made that ‘Parliament is cheap’ and ‘Parliament is useless’”.

The Committee further recommended that the House sanctions “Hon. Ken Ohene Agyapong by suspending him for the rest of this Session or reprimand him”.

In July last year, Mr. Agyapong reportedly described Parliament as “useless” for having Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu as its Majority leader.

The comments compelled the Minority Chief whip, Muntaka Mubarak, to file a motion that led to Kennedy Agyapong been referred to the Privileges Committee.