Blame game over chaos in parliament
Sports Minister recovers from injury during parliament brawl
Kweku Baako calls for punishment for MPs who engage in a fight
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, has offered an unreserved apology to Ghanaians over the chaos that occurred in the house on December 20, 2021.
The Majority Leaders said he is ashamed of the incident and wants Ghanaians to forgive the MPs for causing the country shame.
He bemoaned that the reputation of Ghana’s parliament is being dragged through the mud by repeated fights.
The Suame MP said that when the house resumes in the coming year, discussions will be held on instituting punishments for MPs who engage in such acts.
“As a leader of the house, I feel ashamed. I feel ashamed to be a leader of this house. Ultimately, I bear the responsibility. If a team loses a game, the coach takes the blame despite not being a member of the team. That is why I’m taking the blame despite not being the one who orchestrated the violence. We apologize to Ghanaians for our disgraceful conduct.
“We have disgraced the whole country. Until recently, Ghana’s Parliament used to be referenced as the ideal Parliament. We started with shame but some thought this it one-time event only for it to happen again. This is so embarrassing. It’s a very sad situation,” he said on Okay FM.
What happened in parliament
On Monday night, the First Deputy Speaker decided to take leave of the speaker’s chair for the Second Deputy Speaker to take charge allegedly to enable him to participate in voting, which occasioned disagreement from the Minority, and a subsequent tussle over the speaker’s sitting area ensued.
Dozens of the opposition parliamentarians exchange fisticuffs with their colleagues on the Majority side while some officials of parliament tried to protect the speaker’s seat and the mace of parliament from being attacked.
However, calm returned moments after, before the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, adjourned the sitting.
Meanwhile, the House, without the Speaker, Alban Bagbin has adjourned sitting to take a break for Christmas and will resume sitting on January 18, 2022.
