Lawyer Egbert Faibille Jnr. has explained there is nothing wrong with obtaining an out-of-court settlement for a politician accused of assaulting a Member of Parliament (MP). 

The lawyer who is counsel for New Patriotic Party (NPP) regional chairman, Mr. Bernard Antwi Bosiako explained that an out-of-court settlement he secured for his client does not mean the law has been stopped from taking its full course.

A magistrate court in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, granted Mr. Bosiako bail to the sum of ¢20,000 with two sureties.

Mr. Bosiako allegedly assaulted Manhyia North MP, Collins Owusu Amankwah last Sunday. But the lawyer told the court the incident is a “family matter”.

Sections of the public are calling for Chairman Wontumi to be punished. The NPP regional Chairman’s bail and subsequent out-of-court settlement have also been interpreted as preferential treatment for a politician. It has been suggested that the possibility of punishment for Chairman Wontumi has been removed.

But Egbert Faibille has dismissed these suggestions. He said the law is also interested in promoting reconciliation and not retribution.

The reconciliation option is also part of the rule of law, he explained, noting that the NPP’s brand as a promoter of a rule of law has not been damaged by the out-of-court settlement.

“There are no double standards. There is a single standard, which is the law of Ghana and the law of Ghana promotes reconciliation” he said.

He said Mr. Bosiako’s supposedly gentle treatment by the law was not because he is a politician.

The charge sheet does not indicate that Mr. Bernard Antwi Bosiako is a politician, he said. The law only recognizes Wontumi as a private citizen, he noted.

He also said the withdrawal of the complaint by the MP is also not an abuse of his rights. A man’s rights is not enhanced by exacting punishment, he suggested.

“We should not reduce peoples’ rights under the law to an equalization conundrum,” the lawyer said.

His client was entitled to bail by the nature of his offence stated as a misdemeanor under the law and out of court settlement is an option available to persons if the law so permits.

“We should not be emotional about some of these things”, he dismissed suggestions of double standards.