The Speaker of Parliament in Ghana, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has ruled that a Private Member's motion seeking a parliamentary inquiry into recent narcotics seizures linked to Ghana is inadmissible. He stated that the proposed inquiry could prejudice the interests of parties involved in ongoing investigations and criminal proceedings before the courts. The motion was filed by the Minority Caucus following the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at the Port of Dunkirk from a container reportedly originating from Ghana.
The ruling was given during an emergency sitting of the House on Tuesday, September 29. Mr. Bagbin said that the proposed parliamentary inquiry could require Parliament to determine issues that properly fell within the remit of the courts. He cited Standing Order 103(f), which provides that a motion shall not be the subject matter of an action on which a judicial decision is pending where, in the Speaker's opinion, consideration of the matter may prejudice the interests of parties to the action.
The Minority Caucus had petitioned for the House to be recalled to consider what it described as matters of urgent national importance. The petition was triggered by the seizure of the cocaine at the Port of Dunkirk. The Minority subsequently filed a Private Member's motion seeking the establishment of an ad hoc committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shipment and other major narcotics seizures linked to Ghana. The proposed committee was expected to conduct a total, transparent, and full-scale bipartisan enquiry into major narcotics seizures linked to Ghana.
Mr. Bagbin stressed that his ruling did not prevent Parliament from exercising its constitutional oversight responsibilities over narcotics trafficking, port security, border controls, or the performance of state institutions. He explained that the Minority had met the constitutional requirement for an extraordinary sitting, with the members who petitioned him representing more than the 15 per cent threshold required under Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution.
The Speaker said that national investigative and law-enforcement bodies had already commenced investigations into the reported narcotics seizures and that some of those processes had progressed into criminal proceedings before courts of competent jurisdiction. He said official searches available to him indicated that four substantive narcotics-related cases connected to the matters covered by the proposed inquiry were pending before the courts, involving about 21 persons standing trial.
Mr. Bagbin said that a parliamentary committee could be required to hear evidence and witnesses on factual matters that could simultaneously arise in the pending criminal proceedings. He referred to previous parliamentary discussions on the relationship between parliamentary proceedings and pending judicial cases, saying the sub judice rule did not automatically prohibit Parliament from considering matters connected to litigation.
The Speaker emphasised that Parliament retained its oversight mandate, and the ruling was a procedural determination, not a determination of the underlying allegations. He added that summoning Parliament did not automatically mean that the substantive matter in the petition had been approved for debate. The motion was filed on Monday, September 28, by the First Deputy Minority Whip and Member of Parliament for Tolon, Habib Iddrisu.
Key points
- The Speaker of Parliament in Ghana, Alban Bagbin, has dismissed a Private Member's motion seeking a parliamentary inquiry into recent narcotics seizures linked to Ghana.
- The proposed inquiry was dismissed due to the risk of prejudicing the interests of parties involved in ongoing investigations and criminal proceedings before the courts.
- The ruling does not prevent Parliament from exercising its constitutional oversight responsibilities over narcotics trafficking and related matters.
