Confirmation of Prof Richard Frimpong Oppong: Is the Minority Leader, Dr Cassie Ato Forson a Hypocrite?

The Appointment Committee of Parliament met on Tuesday 13 August 2024 for the vetting of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s two nominees to the Supreme Court. I was shocked and disappointed to read in the media later that, the Minority Leader and member of the committee, Dr Cassie Ato Forson asked one of the nominees, Prof Richard Oppong to renounce his dual citizenship before the minority will approve his nomination. (see, “Renounce your dual citizenship before we approve you – Minority Leader to Supreme Court nominee”, Myjoyonline, 13 August 2024). According to the report, he argued at the vetting that Prof Oppong does not qualify under Articles 8(1) and (2) and 94(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution and Article 16(2) of the Citizenship Act 2000 (Act 591) to be nominated to the Supreme Court.

This article is a brief discussion of the ongoing conundrum on Ghanaian dual citizens’ ineligibility or otherwise to hold some specified public offices in Ghana.

The position of the Minority Leader is not only disappointing but also a smack in the face of those of us who supported NDC’s Assin North MP, Mr James Gyakye Quayson when the Attorney General prosecuted or persecuted him for contesting the 2020 parliamentary election allegedly as a dual citizen of Ghana and Canada. Second, I was shocked that the Minority Leader or the minority in general failed to do their homework before the vetting. Had they done so, they would not have exhibited such ignorance this important constitutional subject at the Appointment Committee.

It beggars belief that the minority members of the committee were unaware that in a recent Supreme Court judgement in the case of Francis Osei-Bonsu versus The Attorney General, Writ Number J1/18/2023, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Article 16(2) of the Citizenship Act 2000 (Act 591) is in contravention of Article 289(2) of the 1992 Constitution and accordingly annulled sections of Article 16(2) of Act 591. This ruling was dated 15 May 2024 and the seven-member panel was presided over by the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo.

In other words, this judgement by the Supreme Court means that there are no more impediments to Ghanaian dual citizens holding the specified public offices. This is precisely why President Nana Akufo-Addo knowing that Prof Oppong was a Ghanaian dual citizen nominated him to the Supreme Court. It was therefore pathetic that the Minority Leader made such argument at the vetting. It did not only show his ignorance about the subject matter but also his duplicity on matters of national importance.

Dr Cassie Ato Forson’s duplicity or double standards is unpardonable because he and his MPs were the very people who boycotted parliamentary sitting when Mr James Gyakye Quayson was standing trial for the same offence that he accused the president of committing by nominating a dual citizen to the Supreme Court. This double standard will neither serve his party nor Ghana and should be consigned to the dustbin because what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander.

Personally, I felt led down when I read the argument of the Minority Leader because I am one of those who have consistently fought against the exclusion dual citizens from the specified public offices because it’s divisive, and do not add value to national development. It does not make sense for a country to exclude some of her valuable assets with knowledge, skills, experience and resources from nation building. The irony such exclusion is that, when the two leading parties, NPP and NDC are in election year, they travel to Europe and North America to raise fund from Ghanaians in the Diaspora, some of whom are dual citizens.

Moreover, I am also one of those supporting the Private Member’s Bill (Constitutional Amendment Bills) spearheaded by my good friend and classmate, Prof Stephen Kwaku Asare (Azar) to amend Articles 8(1) (2) and 94(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution.

I have been engaged in lobbying MPs from both sides to support the bill. On the minority side, I spoke to the former leader, Haruna Iddrisu who assured me of his members’ support for the bill in the house. When Dr Cassie Ato Forson became the Minority Leader, I emailed him to seek his party’s support for the bill and he also assured me of same. On the majority side, I engaged my senior Perscoba and then Majority Leader, Mr Osie-Kyei Mensah Bonsu on WhatsApp, another fellow Perscoba and Anyaa Sowutuom MP, Dr Dickson Adomako Kissi as well as others, including my fellow APSU and Winneba MP now leader Majority Leader, Mr Alexander Afenya-Markin. For the avoidance of any doubt, I quote from Dr Ato Forson’s reply to my email of 9 May 2023 as follows:

“Dear Samuel, Thanks so much for the short but very important write up, I will like to assure you that the NDC have already flagged the subject matter to be included in our 2024 manifesto. Therefore, if a private member’s bill seeks to deal with a bottleneck that we have identified then the NDC will be very committed to join the train to fix the problem. In short, you can count on the support of the NDC minority in parliament on this issue. Regards. Cassiel Forson”.

I therefore felt deceived and asked myself whether this is the same person who is seeking to deny a dual citizen the right to contribute to Ghana jurisprudence when the problem he assured me of his support to address has been resolved by the Supreme Court, yet using it as a weapon against a Supreme Court Justice nominee?

I emailed him again on Wednesday 14 August to let him know about my disappointment over his position, but I am yet to receive his response. I will accept that he made a monumental error of judgement because he was unaware of the Supreme Court judgment of 15 May 2024. The question is, did he seek the advice of the NDC Legal Team before making such ignorant and baseless case on an important constitutional matter at the vetting and if not, why?

The double standards of Ghanaian politicians do not even serve their selfish interest let alone the nation. The party-political shenanigans of both NPP and NDC on every matter in Ghana is dangerous because it is stifling the progress and development of Ghana. Prof Richard Frimpong Oppong by all standards has impeccable record in the field of Law and most qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice of Ghana. Denying him such role simply because he is a dual citizen is a disservice to nation building. Thank God the Supreme Court has removed the exclusions and Prof Oppong can be confirmed as Supreme Court Justice.

Both NPP and NDC must be told in no uncertain terms that, Ghanaian dual citizens have had enough from them of abusing the exclusions to prosecute or persecute them. In 2012, NDC persecuted and jailed the late NPP MP for Bawku Central, Mr Adamu Dramani Sakande for being a dual citizen of Ghana and UK at the time he contested the parliamentary election, though President Mahama pardoned him, and was released early from prison. The NPP also persecuted the Assin North MP for the same offence with the intention to incarcerate him. The Supreme Court has put an end to his madness of persecution of dual citizens, therefore respect the judgement.

Though the exclusion has been removed, however since it was through a secondary legislation by a Supreme Court judgement and not primary legislation by Parliament, it is not totally safe because another Supreme Court panel could reverse the judgment as Supreme Courts do not have to follow their own judgments. I therefore call on all parliamentarians to vote for the Constitutional Amendment Bills to amend Articles 8(1) and (2) and 94(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution when Parliament returns to end the exclusions permanently and beyond doubt. I also urge both NPP and NDC to stop taking party political positions on matters of national importanc, put Ghana first and not party first.

Kofi Ata