Ghanaian US-based legal practitioner, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare believes the former Member of Parliament for Bawku Central Constituency, Adamu Dramani Sakande was persecuted by the state.
Kwaku Azar as he is popularly known said he firmly holds the view that the former Bawku MP was persecuted with the aid of the Justice system of the country which he said does not serve Justice.
While extending his condolences to the family of the late Adamu Sakande, Professor Asare described the prosecution of the former MP which led to his subsequent conviction and imprisonment as a cruel act on the former lawmaker which he never recovered from until his death on the night of Tuesday, September 22, 2020.
Eulogizing the late MP in a post on social media, Professor Asare said Mr. Asakande’s only Crime for which he was prosecuted was his desire to serve his constituents.
“He was a very good man whose only crime was his desire to serve his people, the good folks of Bawku, who elected him as their MP. For that he was prosecuted, incarcerated, imprisoned, eventually pardoned but never recovered from the mental cruelty he was subjected to. I said then and continue to believe that he was persecuted, aided by a justice system that does not work. Condolences to his family. May Adamu Sakande Rest In Peace,” Professor Asare said in the post.
Adamu Dramani Sakande, former MP for Bawku Central died at age 58 with persistent heart problems last night while receiving medical attention in London in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Adamu Sakande contested the Bawku Central seat on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2008 General Elections and snatched the seat from the incumbent MP, Mahama Ayariga. He beat Mahama Ayariga in a keenly contested elections which saw ballot papers conveyed from the Constituency to the regional capital Bolgatanga, for a recount over security concerns.
Soon after his victory, he was dragged to the law court over dual citizenship allegations. A cattle dealer from the Constituency filed a civil suit against him accusing him of holding British citizenship which he had not renounced before contesting for the seat.
The 1992 Constitution prohibits persons with dual citizenship from becoming members of the National Assembly.
Charges were preferred against him following the suit and he was subsequently found guilty of false declaration of office, perjury and deceit of a public officer and sentenced to two years jailed term by the Accra Fast Track High Court in 2012.
Suspicions were rife that his contender had instigated the businessman to file the suit against him.
While serving his sentence, Mr. Sakande spent time receiving medical attention at the cardio thoracic unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.
On December 31, 2012 he was granted a presidential pardon on medical grounds by the then president, John Dramani Mahama.
It was reported in 2013 that he had been flown outside the country for a medical attention due to his deteriorating health condition.
Mr. Sakande, however, denied the reports stating that though he had not been well at the time and was preparing for a medical check-up outside the country, he was disturbed by the impression created by the reports as though he was bedridden and rushed out of Ghana for medical attention.
