The President of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Gyamfi, has commended the Madina MP for leading the way to abolish the death penalty in Ghana.

On Tuesday, July 25 2023, and Thursday, July 27 2023, the Parliament of Ghana passed the Criminal and Other Offenses (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and Armed Forces (Amendment) Bill, 2022, to substitute life imprisonment for the death penalty.

Francis-Xavier Sosu filed a Private Members’ bill in parliament in June 2021, to abolish death sentence from Ghana’s constitution.

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These amendments which have been described globally by Human Rights watchers as historic were proposed by Member of Parliament for Madina Constituency, who also doubles as deputy Ranking Member of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu.

Prior to the amendments, the proposals had received widespread support from key stakeholders including the Catholic Bishops Conference, President of the Republic of Ghana, the Chief Justice and Justices of the Supreme Court, the Ghana Armed Forces, the Police and Prison Services, Civil Society Organisations, other religious organisations, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and the Diplomatic Community, among others.

In a short remark during the inauguration of the Ghana Chapter of the International Catholic Legislators Network at Parliament, Most Reverend Gyamfi, said “Mr Sosu must be highly commended for his efforts and perseverance in introducing and leading the way to ensure passage of the Bills, as the laws as amended are in conformity with biblical principles and social teachings.”  

Following the passage of the bills, Ghana has now become the 29th African country to abolish the death penalty from its statute books for ordinary offenses following neighbours such as Sierra Leone, Zambia, Benin, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso, Chad and Equatorial Guinea, among others.

The International Catholic Legislators Network (ICLN) is a private non-partisan association that exists to educate, empower and connect in fellowship with a new generation of courageous Christian leaders of unwavering professionalism, serving in or for public office whilst operating and cooperating effectively in a multi-faceted and crisis-ridden world.