Ghana: Prez. Mahama breached antiterrorism law – Hamid

A lecturer at the Department of Religion and Human Values of the University of Cape Coast, Mustapha Hamid, has accused President John Mahama of violating the nation’s laws on anti-terrorism, for hosting two former Guantanamo Bay detainees. Mr Hamid argued that the President should have asked Parliament to review the anti-terrorism Act 762 before accepting the two. “…The Antiterrorism Act 762 section 35 states that the Director of Immigration or an officer authorized by the director shall not grant an endorsement or authority to permit a person to enter this country if there is reasonable ground to suspect that the person is, will or has been involved in the commission of a terrorist act.

The sovereign laws of Ghana states that people like this cannot come into our country. So if the president was going to bring people like that what he should have done was to seek a repeal or a review of this law to make it possible,” he added. Two former Guantanamo Bay inmates; Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby are currently in Ghana as free men at the behest of the US government who had assured that the two pose no security threat to the nation.

Meanwhile the decision has generated massive public outcry despite the assurances. President John Mahama while interacting with the media called for compassion for the former detainees. But speaking on the Point Blank segment on Eyewitness News, Mustapha Hamid who wants the detainees repatriated said the action by the President will send Ghana back to authoritarian rule. “I am calling on all Ghanaians that it is important that we stand up and protect the laws of our country.

Once we have opted for democracy…we ought to stick to the rudiments of rule of law otherwise future presidents are going to use compassion as ground to violate Ghana’s laws with impunity and that will send us back to authoritarian rule. Now, today, he violates the antiterrorism Act and goes scot free, tomorrow which other law do we know he is going to violate because of compassion?” Mohammed Hamid questioned.