…On Health and Compassionate Grounds

Prison guards with incarcerated Bawku Central Member of Parliament, Adamu Dramani Sekande should be getting ready to bid him good-bye as unblemished information available to The Al-Hajj indicates that President John Dramani Mahama in the coming days will invoke the Prerogative of Mercy as enshrined in Article 72 of the 1992 Constitution to grant him a free, absolute and unconditional pardon

Reliable sources at the seat of government, the Osu Castle, disclosed to The Al-Hajj that this move by President John Mahama was necessitated by Adamu Dramani’s deteriorating ill-health and also the urgent need at national reconciliation. Official indications are that the grounds on which the former New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP, Adama Dramani was to be pardoned provides him the platform to also hold or stand for any public office in future, though he will be an ex-convict. However, an expert legal opinion told The Al-Hajj that, though Mr. Dramani’s seat in parliament is still not occupied, the former Bawku Central MP cannot be re-instated to his former post despite the president’s clemency since the seat has been declared vacant by the Speaker of Parliament.

Reports said the jailed Bawku Central MP some few weeks ago was rushed to the Cadio-Thoracic Centre at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital from the Nsawam Prison following an acute heart-related condition where he is currently receiving treatment.

Sources at the Nsawam Medium Prisons disclose to The Al-Hajj that Adamu Dramani felt unwell in prison where he is serving a two-year jail sentence, compelling the prison authorities to rush him to the cardio centre where he was immediately admitted and said to be in a critical condition.

An Accra Fast Track High Court some few months ago sentenced Adamu Daramani, who until his incarceration was the MP for Bawku Central, to two years’ imprisonment after been found guilty of perjury, false declaration of office for voting and deceiving a public officer.

The MP was on July 31, 2009, arraigned and charged with nine counts relating to his nationality, perjury, forgery of passport, election fraud and deceiving public officers to be elected as an MP. He was, however, exonerated on six of those charges on July 8, 2010. He later filed for a defense of no case when he was asked to open his defense but was overturned.

Giving reasons for his decision, Justice Quist noted that the accused person was a Burkinabe citizen because he was issued with a travel document from the neighboring country which stated that he was born in Ouagadougou.

The judge said even though the accused person said he was a Ghanaian born and raised in Bawku, he did not call any of his relatives to testify on his behalf and added that his own evidence that his sister was always in court with him was not enough.