NPP Heads For Court

Shirley Ayorkor Botchway

At least three leading members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and former ministers in the John Agyekum Kufuor administration are heading to court over what they describe as persecution by the John Atta Mills government.

While Stephen Asamoah Boateng (aka Asabee), former Information Minister, is suing over infringement on his constitutional rights and attack on his family by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Akwasi Osei-Adjei, former Foreign Affairs Minister, will be going to court over what he says is the illegal seizure of his passport by agents of the National Security.

The case of the third person is obvious. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, former Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, whose car was seized last Sunday while she was in church, is also dragging the BNI to court.

DAILY GUIDE is reliably informed that former Attorney-General, Joe Ghartey, is the solicitor for both Mr. Asamoah-Boateng and Ms Ayorkor Botchway, while Godfred Yeboah Dame of Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co will be fighting the legal battle on behalf of Mr. Osei-Adjei.

The three will be asking the High Court to release the said seized items (passports, car, etc) and further issue an order of prohibition directed at the BNI to refrain from any further abuse and curtailment of the applicants' right to freedom of movement and to legally own property.

Osei-Adjei's passport, it is recalled, was seized on 26th May, 2009, by the Deputy Director of the BNI, who explained that he was acting upon instructions from above.

Before the seizure, the former Foreign Affairs Minister was placed under arrest by the BNI even though no charges were preferred against him.

He was released only after two agents followed him to his house and collected the travel document.

Asabee, his wife and two children were physically prevented from boarding a British Airways plane to London on Sunday. An attempt to seize their passports led to a fracas as the former Minister said those who confronted him failed to identify themselves properly.

Ms Ayorkor Botchway's Peugeot 407 car is still in the hands of the National Security.

And while government agencies are vehemently defending the actions, experts say they are infringements on the rights of the victims.

For instance, Deputy Information Minister, Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa, said passports were government property which could be revoked or seized when necessary.

But legal luminary and former chairman of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Sammy Okudzeto, said the Deputy Minister was treading in an arena he had no knowledge of.

According to him, a travel passport is a right guaranteed under the constitution, adding that it could only be seized with express direction from the court.

He said if government or any agency wanted to revoke a citizen's passport, it had to go to court explain the grounds for such action.

“I do not know how the Deputy Minister of Information got himself involved in what happens at National Security. BNI is a state security apparatus. It is not meant to be part of the work of government so that the Minister of Information should be explaining what BNI does,” he told Joy FM yesterday.

Quoting from the Ghana Law Reports, he said: “A Passport is the property of the individual. Let's not mislead ourselves simply because it is indicated that the passport is issued by the Government of Ghana”.

He advised that it would be in the interest of government to, as much as possible, extricate itself from what the BNI does.

The Mills administration had since January 7, 2009 embarked on series of seizures and arrests with the greatest impunity.

Other victims included former President John Agyekum Kufuor and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, 2008 NPP presidential candidate, whose private cars were intercepted on the streets of Accra and driven to the seat of government.

The cars are still said to be with the National Security.

Former Chief of Staff, Kwadwo Mpiani, was also detained by the BNI for 10 hours, while Frank Agyekum, former Deputy Information Minister, was also grilled.

Observers say today's legal battle could trigger series of others from members of the largest opposition party who claimed they are being persecuted.  

By Bennett Akuaku