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Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, also known as Kwaku Azar, has called on Parliament’s Privileges Committee to thoroughly investigate the unsavoury remarks made against Dr Zanetor Agyemang-Rawlings, Klottey Korle MP and eldest daughter of the late former President Jerry Rawlings.
According to him, the comment was below the belt, unnecessary, highly unparliamentary, and an affront to the dignity of the House.
His reaction follows an incident in which an NPP MP labelled Dr Agyemang-Rawlings a “daughter of a murderer” during parliamentary proceedings on Tuesday, 4th February. The incident occurred when members from both the Minority and Majority sides were contributing to a statement commemorating the 60th anniversary of the passing of Dr Joseph Boakye (J.B.) Danquah.
A video shows Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin addressing the floor when he was interrupted by the voice of a yet-to-be-identified NPP MP shouting, “Daughter of a murderer, sit down!”—directed at Dr Zanetor Agyemang-Rawlings.
Reacting to the incident in a post on Facebook, Kwaku Azar questioned the reasoning behind the comment:
The attack on Dr Rawlings was way below the belt, unnecessary, highly unparliamentary, and an affront to the dignity of the House. It is to her credit that she did not respond to the utter provocation, but she does not deserve this while simply attending Parliament and doing her job. What exactly did she do to incur such unwarranted hostility?
He therefore called for stringent action against the perpetrator:
Such a remark could never have come from the 2nd Parliament, whose members arguably lived through the experiences of the PNDC. Civility in the House is not just declining; it is deteriorating at an alarming rate, often over the most trivial of matters.
The Privileges Committee must get to the bottom of this and impose severe sanctions to send the right signals. Decorum and respect should never be casualties of political discourse.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Damango, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, has vehemently denied responsibility for the remarks, affirming his utmost respect for his colleague and the Rawlings family.