The last surviving member of Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s cabinet, Franklin Jantuah, has been sued for verbally attacking Ivor Greenstreet, flagbearer of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), and a person living with disability.

Mr Jantuah, in a recent radio interview, stated: “I don’t think a cripple can lead a political party [CPP]. The CPP itself is no more. It’s not functioning.”

He added: “If you have a CPP with a leader who is a cripple…I wonder how he is going to rule.”

But the Ghana Disability Forum (GDF) believes Mr Jantuah has violated the Ghana Disability Act 715 by his description of the CPP flagbearer. It has, therefore, resorted to court action to protect the rights of Mr Greenstreet.

A statement issued by the chairman of the association, Alex Tetteh, stated: “Following a media report as published and entitled ‘Ivor’s Disability Makes Him the Wrong Candidate’, as purportedly attributed to Mr Franklin Jantuah on Starr FM, an Accra-based station, and cited by Ghana Web, we [GDF] have sought for legal action against the defendant as of 8 June 2016 [in the High Court of Justice Human Rights Division].

“We the members of Ghana Disability Forum were also mentioned in the reported publication, and we wish to advise the general public to desist from making mockery, stereotyping, and discriminating against persons with disability, as any of the above mentioned acts is contrary to the Ghana Disability Act 715.”

The statement further urged the general public to respect the fundamental human rights of Person With Disabilities (PWDs).

“We recommend every citizen to treat persons with disability with respect, inclusion, and offer them equal opportunities for a better world, as we do not wish to be going to the court of law to enforce these rights perpetually, also as per Ghana’s Persons with Disability Act 715,” the release stated.

It added: “Premises are yet to be made accessible as the moratorium lapses in August 2016 under the Ghanaian jurisdiction.”