The Member of Parliament for Damongo, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, has dismissed allegations that he verbally attacked the MP for Klottey Korle, Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, daughter of the late former President Jerry John Rawlings.
During parliamentary proceedings on Tuesday, February 4, a male voice was heard shouting, “Daughter of a murderer, sit down! Daughter of a murderer, sit down!“ The outburst occurred while Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin was addressing the House and calling for calm.
The remark came during heated discussions on the 60th anniversary of the death of Joseph Boakye Danquah. Tensions escalated when Tamale Central MP, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, challenged what he described as exaggerated praises from the Minority regarding JB Danquah’s legacy.
The exchange grew intense, prompting the presiding Speaker, Andrew Asiamah, to limit contributions to only parliamentary leadership, effectively silencing other MPs.
As Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings attempted to seek permission to speak, the Speaker overlooked her, instead allowing Afenyo-Markin to continue. This led to further disorder in the chamber, culminating in the offensive remark directed at Dr. Rawlings.
Following the incident, social media reports accused Jinapor of making the remark. However, in an interaction with journalists on Wednesday, February 5, he vehemently denied the allegations, describing them as baseless and untrue.
“Anybody who followed my career, and my involvement in my public life in all modesty will attest to the fact that I don’t speak in that nature and manner, the words which are forcefully being attributed to me are not words that I will use, secondly, I didn’t even know that such words had been altered.
“I found out this morning when the trending video was brought to my attention, and what I can say about that, is that it is false. I don’t even speak across the aisle in parliament. If I want to speak I draw the attention of the speaker before I speak, the allegations are false. I have huge respect for Former president Rawlings.”