The Speaker has gone outside the prescription of the law – Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu questions suspension of MPs

Former Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has raised concerns about the Speaker of Parliament‘s authority to suspend Members of Parliament (MPs), questioning whether such power is granted by the Constitution or the Standing Orders of Parliament.

Speaking on Newsfile on JoyNews, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu acknowledged that the Speaker acted within Order 342 of the new Standing Orders by referring the suspected misconduct of MPs at the Appointments Committee to the Committee on Privileges and Immunities. However, he argued that the Speaker’s decision to impose a two-week suspension on four MPs was beyond his legal authority.

“The Speaker is right to have availed himself of the imperative of Order 342,” Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated, referring to the action taken after the chaos at the Appointments Committee. But he questioned, “Now the question to ask is from where the Speaker is deriving his authority. Neither the Standing Orders nor the Constitution grants the Speaker any of such authority.”

The suspended MPs, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Alhassan Sulemana Tampuli, and Jerry Ahmed Shaib, were involved in a chaotic incident during a vetting session at the Appointments Committee, leading to broken tables, damaged microphones, and a near physical altercation among MPs.

Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu emphasized that while Order 35 permits the Speaker to order a member’s withdrawal for disorderly conduct, such action should last only for the remainder of the sitting day. He noted, “The Speaker has the authority to cause the withdrawal of that person from the presence of Parliament,” but this should not extend beyond 24 hours.

He further argued that since the incident took place in a committee, the chairman of the committee should have taken the appropriate action, not the Speaker. “The Speaker has not only jumped the gun but has gone outside the prescription of the law to impose his sanction,” Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu concluded, calling into question the Speaker’s conduct and attitude in the matter.

The suspension of the MPs follows a decision by Speaker Alban Bagbin after the chaotic scenes in Parliament, which he described as an embarrassment to the institution. He has set up a committee to probe the incident further.