Legal practitioner Justice Abdulai has argued that the arrest of Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North, Kwame Ohene Frimpong in Netherlands without any notice to Ghanaian authorities raises concerns about the motives behind the operation.
He noted that the FBI’s action of violating diplomatic protocol in the matter speaks of a “mischief” by the institution.
“To go beyond us and do the thing that they have done, it speaks of mischief rather than bad faith,” he stated in an interview on TV3 NewsCentral, Wednesday, May 13.
He referenced Ghana’s long-standing relationship with agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, noting that Ghana had consistently cooperated with international partners on extradition and cross-border criminal matters.
According to him, if foreign authorities had information concerning the MP, the appropriate step would have been to notify and engage the Government of Ghana.
“We have had a very long-lasting relationship with the FBI and we never ordinarily expected this kind of thing to happen. If they had information regarding the Member of Parliament, the most appropriate thing one would expect would have been to liaise with the government of Ghana. That is the normal thing that any institution would have done,” he said.
He described the arrest and detention as a “slap in the face” of Ghana and a violation of diplomatic protocol.
Mr. Abdulai argued that even where allegations of wrongdoing exist, foreign authorities should engage the Government of Ghana through appropriate diplomatic channels before effecting the arrest of a sitting Ghanaian lawmaker.
“To disrespect a representative of the people of Ghana as a Member of Parliament simply on the basis of an alleged crime, even if confirmed, without going through the appropriate channel by liaising with the authorities of Ghana and effect an arrest in this manner, it is a complete slap in the face of the people of Ghana,” he stated.
He further suggested that Ghana may need to formally petition authorities in the United States over the matter and reassess its bilateral relationship.
“This is the level of disrespect that we may have to petition the authorities in the US to look into this and see how best our relationship can be fashioned going forward,” he remarked.
Justice Abdulai described the incident as going beyond mere bad faith, insisting it reflected deliberate disregard for Ghana despite years of cooperation between Ghanaian authorities and foreign law enforcement agencies.
“This is beyond bad faith,” he stressed.
Justice Abdulai called for the issue to be addressed at the highest diplomatic level, insisting that Ghana must not continue to tolerate what he described as repeated disrespect toward its officials and institutions.
“I would rather at the highest level we take on this issue because this is not the first time we have been disrespected in this way,” he stated.
Mr Kwame Ohene Frimpong, has been detained at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
This was disclosed by the Clerk to Parliament, Mr Ebenezer Djietror, in a Facebook post on May 12.
“It has come to the attention of Parliament that, the Hon Member for Asante Akyem North Constituency, Mr Kwame Ohene Frimpong has been detained at the Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam in the Netherlands,” the post read.
It added that, “The Rt Hon Speaker and the Leadership of the House are in touch with Ghana’s Mission in The Hague for detailed information on the matter. The public will be duly informed appropriately on this matter.”
Ohene Kwame Frimpong is a Ghanaian entrepreneur and politician. Frimpong contested the 2024 parliamentary elections as an independent candidate and defeated the incumbent member of parliament, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi.
