Former Member of Parliament for Asante Akim North, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, has broken his silence following the arrest and detention of the constituency’s current lawmaker, Ohene Kwame Frimpong, in the Netherlands over alleged criminal investigations linked to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The former legislator, who lost his parliamentary seat to Frimpong in the 2024 elections, urged the public to avoid rushing to judgment, insisting that the embattled MP remains innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
MP Ohene Frimpong reportedly detained in Netherlands
Reports emerged on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, which was later officially confirmed by Ghana’s parliament that Ohene Kwame Frimpong is currently being held at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands in connection with investigations allegedly being conducted by the FBI.
According to multiple reports, the investigations are linked to alleged financial crimes, including money laundering and suspected romance scams said to involve an estimated $32 million.
The development has triggered widespread reactions in Ghana’s political space, especially within the Asante Akim North constituency, where both Appiah-Kubi and Frimpong remain influential political figures.
Appiah-Kubi says allegations remain unproven
Appiah-Kubi, who is also a lawyer, cautioned against concluding that the MP is guilty before formal charges are filed and proven before a competent court.
“It is very unfortunate that a thing like that has happened. But professionally, I understand that a person is deemed to be innocent until proven guilty and, therefore, I would not jump into conclusions. He has the right to defend himself and I’m sure he will exercise that right,” he said, as quoted by GhanaWeb.
The former MP stressed that, at this stage, the accusations remain mere allegations.
“So, for now, every allegation remains an allegation that has not been proven and, therefore, I will consider them still as allegations. It is my prayer that we understand the situation as it is now and exercise the capacity to wait until charges are preferred.”
He further noted that no official charges had reportedly been filed yet.
“So, for now, they haven’t even preferred charges. So, we are still privy to the allegations without law,” he added.
Appiah-Kubi explains parliamentary immunity
Addressing claims that Members of Parliament cannot be arrested while in office, Appiah-Kubi dismissed such interpretations as legally inaccurate.
According to him, parliamentary immunity is limited and does not shield lawmakers from criminal investigations or arrest outside parliamentary duties.
“Even in Ghana, there is no immunity to wrongdoing or criminal action. There is no immunity. This is a wrongful interpretation of our statute,” he explained.
He clarified that the protection only applies under specific circumstances connected to parliamentary work.
“The immunity to arrest is limited to your presence in Parliament, on your way to Parliament, and on your way from Parliament,” he stated.
The lawyer further explained that MPs can still be arrested if there is evidence suggesting wrongdoing outside those protected circumstances.
“When you exit Parliament and go to your house, you could be arrested even as a Member of Parliament, provided you would have done something wrong that can be proved under the law,” he added.
“Crime is crime” — Appiah-Kubi on diplomacy and accountability
Appiah-Kubi also argued that diplomatic processes cannot be used as a shield against criminal investigations if the allegations are eventually proven.
“Diplomacy has its limits also. Diplomacy cannot be invoked in the commission of crime, so diplomacy cannot also exonerate an offender if it is so proven,” he said.
He maintained that no diplomatic platform should be used to avoid accountability.
“So, there cannot be an avenue for the diplomatic platform to be used to exonerate the commission of crime and, therefore, I don’t think this is available. Crime is crime,” he stressed.
How Kwame Frimpong Won The Asante Akim North Seat
Ohene Kwame Frimpong won the Asante Akim North parliamentary seat in the 2024 general election as an independent candidate after defeating incumbent NPP MP Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi by a landslide margin. Frimpong secured 26,926 votes, representing about 70.25% of the total valid votes cast, while Appiah-Kubi polled 8,933 votes.
Political observers attributed his victory to a combination of strong grassroots support, extensive philanthropy in the constituency, widespread name recognition through his ownership of Salt FM and Salt TV, and internal divisions within the NPP.
Appiah-Kubi later alleged that some local party executives worked against his campaign and secretly supported Frimpong. The election result was also viewed as part of the broader anti-incumbency wave that affected several ruling party candidates during the 2024 elections.
