Chaos In Ghana’s Parliament: Four Lawmakers Suspended After Violent Ministerial Vetting Clash

The incident occurred on Thursday evening when tensions erupted among members of the vetting committee, assigned to screen nominees from the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). The altercation escalated into chaos, resulting in damaged furniture within the parliamentary chamber.

The committee, comprising representatives from various political parties, was reviewing ministerial candidates when friction arose. NDC lawmakers accused their New Patriotic Party (NPP) counterparts of deliberately stalling the process with prolonged questioning. One notable case involved NDC’s communications minister nominee, Samuel Nartey George, who faced over five hours of intense interrogation.

Frustration over these tactics sparked heated arguments, which quickly devolved into physical confrontations, with overturned tables and broken microphones.

On Friday, Speaker Bagbin condemned the incident, labeling it a disgrace to Parliament and a serious breach of conduct. He announced the suspension of Rockson Nelson Etse Kwame Dafeamakpor, Frank Annor-Dompreh, Alhassan Sulemana Tampuuli, and Jerry Ahmed Shaib for their involvement in the melee.

Additionally, Bagbin established a special seven-member committee to investigate the incident, with a report expected within 10 days. He also declared that the costs of repairing the damaged property would be deducted from the salaries of the lawmakers found responsible.