Indemnity clause is a covenant with coup makers – Obed Asamoah

By Samuel Osei/citifmonline.com

A former Attorney General and Minister of Justice under the erstwhile Rawlings administration Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah has warned against amendment of the indemnity clause in the 1992 constitution.
The founder and Life Patron of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) says an amendment of the clause “will rekindle old animosities, open old wounds and create more problem of reconciliation” in the country.

In an interview with Citi FM on Friday, January 22, Dr. Obed Asamoah said the indemnity clause “is more or else like a covenant (Ghana has entered) with the Coup makers.”

Repealing it from the constitution will therefore heighten political tension because people who suffered various degrees of violations prior to the passage of the 1992 constitution would be up in arms against perceived perpetrators. He said.

“Considering that the NPP administration set up the National Reconciliation Commission so that people who suffered injustices were compensated, I think that we should let matters rest there.” He added.

According to Dr. Asamoah, the clauses were thoroughly debated and approved by representatives of all the consultative and constituent assemblies that conceded to the constitution.

He said drafters of the 1992 constitution took a queue from the 1969 and ‘79 constitutions before adding the indemnity clause in the constitution.

“It really just followed precedence because after the ‘66 coup, when we made the ‘69 constitution; it was there and then after the ‘72 coup, we had the ‘79 constitution; it was also there so we were kind of just following tradition.”

The former Attorney General, who was also very pivotal in the drafting of the 1992 constitution, has also welcomed moves to review the 1992 constitution.

“I believe that there are some aspects of the constitution that need to be reviewed in the light of the difficulties that we have had to face; particularly the question of the transition period.”

He cited the case of the 2008 elections in which Ghana virtually had to go for a “third round” to decide the winner of the elections to buttress his point.

“That meant that you had so little time for the incoming administration to put itself together to get going. I believe that as far as that aspect (transition period) is concerned we need to look at it. There is no need continuing in that kind of difficulty.” He said.

Asked what his assessment of the NDC’s one year administration was, Dr. Obed Asamoah declined to comment.

The former National Chairman of the NDC told Citi FM that “I have deliberately refused to get involved in this kind of discussion or make any comment about the NDC. I don’t want to become a point of reference in this particular matter because there is a history of my association with the NDC and people will easily misunderstand your comment to mean that you are carrying some kind of bitterness so I won’t comment about that.” He said.