Parliament is putting measures in place to ensure the safety of MPs as well as its staff when they are in the House.
This follows an attempted suicide by a man, believed to be 35 years, in the chamber on Thursday.
The man, who tried to end his life was said to have requested to see the MP for Kwesimintim, Joseph Mensah who was not readily available to meet him.
The unfortunate incident was averted by the security in Parliament and the man was later whisked away by the police.
Parliament in a statement urged citizens who want to observe proceedings in the public gallery to comply with the rules governing attendance in the House.
“The Parliament of Ghana would like to put on record that it is very much aware of the security concerns raised about the country and reported in the media and has taken great care to ensure that the precincts of Parliament is properly secure to avert any incident. Parliament is consciously maintaining high security presence to ensure the safety of the Members and staff of Parliament as well as the general public.”
“Parliament would also like to assure citizens that they are welcome to observe proceedings in the public gallery and urges all those wanting to do so to comply with the rules governing attendance.”
Giving details on what transpired in Parliament on Thursday, the statement said “Mr. Kojo Mensah had come to Parliament and indicated that he wanted an audience with the Member for Kwesimintim. As is the practice, Kojo went through the security checks and no weapon or harmful material was found on him.”
“Mr. Kojo Mensah was admitted to the public gallery of the Chamber and conducted himself fairly well until he took out a bandage and tried to ostensibly strangle himself with it. The security in Parliament acted timeously and averted what would have been a fatal incident if he had succeeded. Mr. Kojo Mensah was escorted from the Chamber and handed over to the Police for his own safety and for the safety of the public at large.”
