Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, instructed the Marshal of Ghana’s Parliament to escort Member of Parliament for Sefwi-Wiawso, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, out of the Chamber during proceedings on Monday, July 22, 2024.
The incident occurred after the NPP MP challenged the Speaker’s authority to allow preliminary comments on the referral of nominees to the Supreme Court to the Appointments Committee.
During the session, Dr. Afriyie was held in contempt of the chair for remarks that the Speaker deemed disrespectful. This followed objections raised by Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, regarding the limited time frame for considering the nominees.
When ruled out of order by the Speaker, Dr. Afriyie expressed dissatisfaction with the Speaker’s comments on the referral, stating, “With due respect to your chair, these preliminary remarks you’re making about the judiciary… it doesn’t lie in your mouth to remind us of the things that you said.”
The Speaker did not tolerate this challenge and reportedly heard further comments from Dr. Afriyie off the record. Consequently, Speaker Bagbin instructed the Marshal to remove the Sefwi-Wiawso MP from the chamber, stating, “Marshal, take him out of the House. I will not entertain such disrespect.”
