IPNEWS: Vandalark R. Patricks, a Liberian Human Rights Defender has petitioned the government of Ghana for a formal constitutional demand for the immediate arrest, interrogation, and prosecution of the woman whose calculated and misleading statements that directly led to the brutal murder of a Liberian national, identified as Austin.
Patricks warned that failure of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) to take her into custody suggests an alarming selective application of the Ghanaian law, potentially shielding a primary perpetrator of a capital offence under the guise of her pregnancy or social status.
The petitioned also mentioned under Section 20(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) of Ghana that a person is guilty of abetment if they “instigate, command, counsel, procure, solicit, or in any manner aid, facilitate, encourage, or promote the commission of a crime.”
Patricks, said the facts indicate that the suspects currently in custody acted solely upon the misleading information provided by this pregnant woman that the deceased (Austin) allegedly assaulted her. In legal terms, she is the “Proximate Cause” of the violence meted against our fellow Liberian, which led to his gruesome murder. Her false outcry or statement created the criminal intent in the minds of the attackers. Without her deceitful input, the homicide would not have occurred.
Patricks further stated that by providing misleading information that she had been assaulted, she has violated Section 251 (Act 29):
Section 251 (Act 29) sates that “Deceit of a public officer (she reported this to her fellow Ghanaians, including her husband that Austin allegedly assaulted her)
Section 208 (Act 29): Publication of false news leading to a breach of public peace. She falsified the information and gave false news that she was assaulted.
III. CHALLENGING POLICE INACTION (THE PREGNANCY MISCONCEPTION):
“It is a grave legal error for the Ghana Police Service to suggest that pregnancy provides immunity from arrest. While Section 312 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Act 30) of Ghana provides for the stay of execution of a death sentence for a pregnant woman, no law in Ghana prevents her arrest, charge, or trial.
The shielding of this woman by the GPS undermines Article 17 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, which mandates that “All persons shall be equal before the law.” By failing to arrest the source of the misinformation (the pregnant woman), the Police are effectively endorsing “Instigation to Murder.”
As a Liberian Human Rights Defender (HRD), who have fought against INJUSTICE and championed the application of the RULE OF LAW that benefits both Liberians and foreign nationals in Liberia, including Ghanaians, I hereby make this passionate constitutional demand that the Ghana Police Service carries out the following:
1. Effect an Immediate Arrest: Take the pregnant woman into custody for her role as an abettor under Sections 20 and 46 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) of Ghana.
2. Investigate Motive: Determine the level of conspiracy between her and the physical attackers, who are now in police custody.
3. Ensure Non-Discrimination: Treat this case with the same severity as the lynchings of Ghanaian officials, ensuring that the nationality of the victim (Liberian) does not result in a diluted pursuit of justice.
The Ghana Police Service has a history of arresting “instigators” in mob justice cases (e.g., the Major Maxwell Mahama case). The deliberate attempt to ignore or failing now to arrest the pregnant woman, who is the source of the misinformation in Austin’s case, suggests a selective application of justice that undermines the integrity of your noble institution.
Justice for Austin is not complete until the one who “pulled the trigger with her tongue” is held to account before a court of competent jurisdiction in Ghana. Vandalark R. Patricks petition to several Countries and international bodies concludes.
