Emile Short Commission a "great concert" – Franklin Cudjoe

General News of Sunday, February 17, 2019

Source: citinewsroom.com

2019-02-17

Franklin Cudjoe, president of IMANI Africa, expects no significant impact from the work of the Emile Short Commission.

He described the Ayawaso West Wuogon Election Violence Commission's investigation as a concert in a speech delivered during Citi FM / Citi TV's news badysis show, The Big Saturday issue.

"What we've seen, what we've heard so far, is a big concert and there's a lot more because at the end of the day we're just going to talk about it," he said. -he declares.

At the center of his concerns is the fact that the commission's findings will not give rise to any prosecution.

"Where criminal acts may have been committed, there must be some responsibility. If the commission indicates that the people who will come and give this proof, they will be absorbed by any form of punishment, so I wonder for what purpose?

The work of the commission has already highlighted shortcomings in the security protocol and the lack of coordination between security agencies.

DSP George Lysander Asare, the East Legon District Police Commander, for example, noted that the scene of the confusion had not been properly treated as a crime scene and that the evidence had been mismanaged.

"It just testifies that we play too much with serious policy issues and, in this case, with the security architecture that we have. It may be a semblance of great concerts that [we] keep playing, "said Cudjoe.

"For me, what I see confirms the fact that we have never had coherence in policy making in most of our national lives and that security is one of them."

He also noted that the issue of political vigilance had not been adequately addressed.

According to him, "the most important problem we face is political vigilance" and for the moment, "we are running away from our own shadow".

Why there will be no prison

Article 280 (2) of the 1992 Constitution provides: "When an inquiry commission makes a decision against a person, the report of the inquiry commission is deemed, to purposes of this Constitution, be a judgment of the High Court. Court; As a result, the decision of the commission is likely to appeal the decision of the Appeals Board. "

Article 19 (7) also provides: "Anyone who proves to have been tried by a court of competent jurisdiction for a criminal offense and to have been sentenced or acquitted shall not be tried again for that offense or for any other criminal offense of which he may have been victim. have been convicted at trial, except on the order of a superior court, in the course of an appeal or review proceeding relating to the conviction or acquittal. "

In addition, Article 279 states that an investigating commission may require a witness to provide any relevant information that may even incriminate him or her.

But this information can not be used to incriminate a cooperating person with the commission.

Indeed, Article 19 (10) also provides that "no person who is tried for a criminal offense shall be compelled to testify at the trial".