Four lawmakers suspended after exchanging blows in Ghana’s parliament
By Jeffrey Agbo
Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has suspended four lawmakers for two weeks following a violent clash during a ministerial screening session on Thursday.
The suspended lawmakers—Rockson Dafeamakpor, Frank Annor-Dompreh, Alhassan Tampuuli, and Jerry Shai—were penalised for what Bagbin described as a “gross affront to the dignity of Parliament and a blatant contempt of the House.”
The altercation erupted during the vetting of ministerial nominees from the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). Opposition lawmakers from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) accused the vetting committee of rushing the process, while NDC members alleged that the opposition was intentionally stalling proceedings with excessive questioning.
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Tensions escalated when NPP’s parliamentary leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, questioned communications minister nominee Samuel George for over five hours. Frustration boiled over, leading to a physical brawl in which furniture was overturned, microphones were damaged and lawmakers exchanged blows.
In response, a special seven-member committee has been appointed to investigate the incident and submit its report within 10 days. Additionally, lawmakers found responsible for damaging parliamentary property will have the costs deducted from their allowances.
This is the third major brawl in Ghana’s parliament in the past four years. Similar incidents occurred in 2021 during the election of a new speaker and later that year during debates on the electronic transaction levy bill.
