Hawa Koomson has “embarrassed parliament”; haul her before Privileges Committee – Ras Mubarak
Kumbungu MP Ras Mubarak has said the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East Constituency (Kasoa), Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson, should be hauled before the Privileges Committee of the House for disgracing the institution.
Mr Mubarak described the firing of warning shots by Hawa Koomson at a voter registration centre in her constituency on Monday, 20 July 2020, as “most embarrassing” and a situation that has “lowered our governance to a low degree”.
“She’s brought the name of parliament into disrepute, she’s embarrassed parliament”, the opposition lawmaker told Class91.3FM’s parliament correspondent Charles Akrofi.
He insisted that hauling her before the Privileges Committee for embarrassing parliament is the obvious thing to do.
Personally, Mr Mubarak said he was exploring the possibility of filing a motion for her to appear before the Privileges Committee “because what she did could have serious consequences”.
However, Majority Whip Mathew Nyindam, in a separate interview, disagreed with Mr Mubarak that Mrs Hawa Koomson should be hauled before the Privileges Committee.
The minister admitted on Monday to firing the warning shots that marred the voter registration exercise at Kasoa.
She said she took a gun to the centre for personal protection in her attempt to stop the parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Phyllis Naa Koryoo, from busing aliens to the area to register.
“None of my men carried guns to the centre”, she told Accra-based Adom FM, adding: “I fired the warning shots myself”.
“I’m a Member of Parliament, I need to protect myself. It was at dawn; my police escort had not started work yet. So, that is the modus operandi I engaged in his absence”, she said.
Mr Nyindam told Accra100.5FM’s parliamentary correspondent, Richard Appiah Sarpong on Tuesday, 21 July 2020, that: “I don’t agree with those calling on Parliament to drag Hawa Koomson before the Privileges Committee of Parliament”.
“Where I will side with them is if they allow the police to investigate the matter. The fact that she is a Member of Parliament does not mean that any action of hers should attract the attention of the Privileges Committee”, the lawmaker said.
“I cannot tell what necessitated the gunshot and, so, if the police have invited her, we should all allow the police to do their work”, he urged.
“I am sure she will tell her side of the story to the police for all of us to know. I think that it should be left to the police and not parliament”, he suggested.
