PNF Petitions President, CHRAJ

The Progressive Nationalists Forum (PNF) has petitioned the President and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to initiate fresh investigations into the acquittal and discharge of Kwabena Amaning, alias Tagor, and Alhaji Issah Abass from prison.

A statement signed by Mr Richard Nyamah, the Spokesperson for the forum, said, “While we support due process in the administration of justice, we cannot but note with concern some coincidences in the Tagor and Abass saga.”

It alleged that it was on record that on April 14, 2009, Alhaji Bature, a known member of the ruling NDC, made a call on President J.E.A. Mills, when the latter met the press on his 100th day in office, to facilitate the release of the convicts in question, since they were not guilty of the charges preferred against them.

It said as much as the forum would want to celebrate with Tagor and Abass and their families for their release, there was the need for those ancillary matters to be resolved by a public institution to set the facts straight and protect the image of the President, as well as Ghana’s soaring international reputation and the integrity of our judiciary.

It said it was especially so after President Obama’s visit to Ghana and, more important, the commitment of the government to fight the drug menace which saw the “strip search” of President Mills at the Kotoka International Airport as prove to the international community.

“We are also of the view that the successes chalked up by Ghana in the democratic process are being eroded by the drug menace, thereby lending credence to the public perception that politics and the drug trade are interwoven,” the statement said.