Sledge Hammers, Bulldozers And Rule Of Law;;; By Awal Mohammed.
Some African
nations have been torn apart by cruel wars. These peaceful and prosperous
countries have been ravaged. Men and women have been confronted with ghastly
realities of battle in countries where the sound of arms fired and the flash of
blades in anger had been long unknown.
The very children who are the
future leaders have suddenly known hunger and want, and have seen the fear of
death on the faces of their parents. The happy days of men and women at work on
their own occasions and for their profits disappeared for million of people.
War is always a terrible. War must
mean death, wounds and suffering. This was what occurred in Rwanda in 1994
between the months of April and June--- an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were
killed in the space of 100 days. Most of the dead were Tutsis and most of those
who perpetrated the violence were the Hutus. Even for a country with such a
turbulent history as Rwanda, the scale and speed of the massacre left its people
reeling.
It is ridiculous for anyone to say
that a fly is being killed with a sledge hammer or bulldozer is what will be
used in killing a fly that is stubborn. Incendiary and genocidal comments of
such huge proportion by an honourable
member of parliament calling on the Ashanti’s to beat up the ewes and
gas in the Ashanti region was very very unfortunate and deserved popular
condemnation by all, including those saying a fly is being killed by sledge
hammer.
It is unfortunate this incendiary
comment by the Member of Parliament for assin north, Mr. Kennedy Agyapong is
likened to Mr. Jamal’s (Baba Jamal) alleged declaration of ‘JIHAD’. Jihad in Islam
means crusade.
My questions as a citizen who
believes in rule of law and supremacy of the constitution as stated in the 1992
constitution as follows::
v Are
Mr. Kennedy’s statements treasonable?
v Does
he deserve the charges leveled against him?
v What
is the position of the constitution on this issue?
On the April 28, 1992, through a
referendum held nationwide, we approved of a book which was supposed to be the
set of laws that governs us as a nation and as Ghanaians. This book came into
force on January 7 1993 and has been in use. The constitution that is suppose
to be our bible or Qur’an, states in Article 3 that any person who;
By himself or in concert with others by any
violent or
Other unlawful means, suspends or
over throws or abrogates this constitution or any part of it, or attempts to
such any act;
Or aids and abets in any manner any
person referred to in paragraph (a) of this clause; commits the offence of high
treason and shall, upon conviction suffer death sentence.
The question boggling my mind since
these gargantuan unwarranted and elephantine charges were leveled against
Kennedy was that, has he in any unscrupulous manner sought to abrogate or throw
the constitution into the abyss? I guess the answer to this question will come,
but not now, hopefully some other time.
Also, the constitution mentions and
defines acts that may warrant treasonable charges in Article 19, clause 17,
paragraphs (a, b, and c) and I quote;
“Treason shall consist only;
- In levying war against Ghana or assisting any state or person or inciting or conspiring with any person to levy war against Ghana.
- In attempting by force of arms or other violence means to overthrows the organs of government established by or under this constitution; or
- In taking part or being concerned in or inciting or conspiring with any person to make or take part or be concerned in any such attempt.
Considering what the constitution
has stated and relating it to the principle of rule of law and its meaning,
which is a form of governance in which the citizenry is ruled under the
authority of a constitution and associated
laws and not arbitrary or uncountable rulers—every one is subjected to the laws of
the land. Therefore, all legal actions are to be carried out based on the laws
of the land and the judiciary is independent from any external sources {article
125(3)}
I guess my earlier question has
been perfectly answered by the constitution. Is good to believe in rule of law.
Based on the foregoing, then I can
confidently conclude that rule of law is what is being pursued.
Long live Ghana; long live the rule of law
