Majority in Parliament has called for disciplinary action against members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) backbench following their continued silence over a derogatory remark made in Parliament earlier this year, which targeted Klottey Korle MP, Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings.
Addressing the House on Tuesday, May 27, as Parliament resumed sitting, the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga urged that all NPP backbenchers present during the incident be referred to the Privileges Committee for investigation.
He described the failure to identify the individual responsible as a “breach of privilege” and insisted the Majority Caucus would not allow the matter to be swept under the rug.
“The majority caucus will demand that all the NPP members of the backbench who were sitting in the direction where the unsavory statement came from, should be referred to the Privileges Committee for investigation of a contempt to breach of the privileges of a member,” he stated.
The call comes in the wake of a controversial incident on February 4, during a heated session commemorating the 60th anniversary of the death of Dr. J.B. Danquah.
As then-Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin addressed the chamber, an unidentified voice from the backbench shouted, “Daughter of a murderer, sit down!”—a comment widely interpreted as an attack on Dr. Agyeman-Rawlings, daughter of the late President Jerry John Rawlings.
The slur sparked immediate outrage and chaos in the chamber, drawing condemnation from both sides of the House.
Speaker Alban Bagbin subsequently issued a one-week ultimatum for the person responsible to come forward or face punitive action. However, months later, no MP has claimed responsibility.
Mr. Ayariga criticized the inaction and reiterated the National Democratic Congress (NDC) caucus’s position that the offensive remark has brought dishonor to Parliament.
He argued that all those seated near where the comment was made should be held accountable until the perpetrator is identified.
“We on the Majority side will not leave the matter unresolved. The Majority Caucus will demand that all the MPs at the back bench, from where the offensive statement was made, be referred to the Privileges Committee for investigation into a possible breach of a Member’s privileges,” he insisted.
