Former Asante Akim North MP Andy Appiah-Kubi has urged Ghanaians to exercise patience over the detention of incumbent MP Kwame Ohene Frimpong, insisting that he must be presumed innocent until the legal process is concluded.
Appiah-Kubi said an extradition request from the United States had reportedly been granted in the Netherlands, but Ohene Frimpong had appealed the decision, with the appeal expected to be heard in early November.
“My good friend, my honourable MP has appealed against that decision, and I’m told that the appeal will be heard in November, early November,” he said on TV3’s Keypoints.
He explained that Ohene Frimpong would remain in custody pending the outcome of the appeal and urged the public to avoid conclusions about the allegations against him.
“Nobody can pronounce him guilty of anything for now because the law, that is an international phenomenon, is that he is considered innocent until proven guilty,” Appiah-Kubi said.
He called on Ghanaians to remain patient and pray for the MP, expressing hope that he would be cleared of the charges.
Appiah-Kubi also cautioned against calls for action against Ohene Frimpong’s parliamentary seat or political future while the legal process remained ongoing.
“I don’t also hope that anybody will hope or think that anything must be done to him or to the seat or to his political fortunes,” he said.
On whether the MP’s continued absence from Parliament could lead to the seat being declared vacant, Appiah-Kubi argued that the circumstances of his detention mattered.
“He is not able to come. It is different from ‘I am absent’,” he said, explaining that the MP’s inability to attend sittings because of restrictions on his movement should not be treated as a voluntary absence.
He acknowledged that the situation could create difficulties for Parliament but said the law must be followed.
