General News of Friday, 16 August 2002

Source: Concord

Equality Before Law A Must - Kwesi "SIL" Prempeh

DIRECTOR of Legal Policy and Governance of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Mr. Henry Kwesi Prempeh, has said that ex-President Jerry Rawlings could be prosecuted if his speeches have a tendency of disrupting the constitutional order.

“The fundamental principle of the rule of law is that people should not be exempted from legal liability simply by virtue of the position he or she occupies…whether you are a President, former President or coup maker you should face the full rigours of the law”, he underscored.

According to him, Rawlings should not be allowed to directly or indirectly subvert the current democratic dispensation through his scathing remarks. He noted that, Rawlings’ speeches have the penchant of inflaming the already combustible situation in the country, adding that, it distracts attention from pressing national issues.

According to him, Ghanaians should by now have known Rawlings’ personality and manner of speaking and advised that his carping remarks should be put in that context. The law supremo advised ex-President Rawlings to sit down, examine himself and start writing his autobiography so that posterity could profit from his experiences in politics and in government.