Alban Sumana Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has issued a stern warning to politicians who turn funerals into campaign grounds.
According to Alban Bagbin, anyone who attends his funeral wearing a T-shirt promoting someone seeking to succeed me will not return.
Bagbin decried that anyone a member of parliament dies, the priorities go to his or her replacement in parliament.
Speaker Bagbin asserted that they are shocked by the demise of their colleague. Ernest Yaw Kumi.
On the floor of parliament, Speaker Bagbin stated, “We are all shocked by the demise of our colleague. But we’re just trying to do the proper thing. And it could be any of us. That is what gave the public the impression that you don’t matter.
You don’t even respect yourself. So, immediately it happens, nobody cares about the dead. They are looking at who is going to replace the dead,” Bagbin lamented.
He further recounted an incident, “I recalled that at Fomena I made a statement when I went to that funeral, they were wearing the T-shirts of the candidate, and I told them that in the unlikely event that I am no more as a Member of Parliament, anybody who comes to my funeral with a T-shirt of another person will not go back…
God being on my side, I am still alive, so please, take this seriously and let’s do the proper thing,” he stressed.
Ernest Kumi death
His comment comes on the back of Ernest Kumi’s passing away on Monday, July 7, 2025.
Ernest Kumi was serving as a first-term member of parliament after his victory in the 2024 elections.
The lawmaker’s death came just weeks after the Supreme Court overturned his contempt conviction related to the disputed 2024 parliamentary election results.
The late Ernest Kumi, in February 2025, was found guilty by the Koforidua High Court after he defied an interim injunction barring him from presenting himself for swearing-in as an MP.
The Koforidua High Court issued a bench warrant for his arrest, alluding to his failure to attend court hearings and his disregard for the court’s authority.
Meanwhile, the Akwatia parliamentary seat has been declared vacant.
Ghana’s Article 112(5) of the 1992 constitution states that whenever a vacancy occurs in Parliament, the Clerk of Parliament notifies the Electoral Commission in writing within seven days.
A by-election is then held within thirty days after the vacancy occurred, except that where the vacancy occurred through the death of a member, the by-election shall be held within sixty days after the occurrence of the vacancy.
The 112(5) added that a by-election shall not be held within three months before the holding of a general election.
Watch the video below:
I recall making a statement at Fomena that anyone who attends my funeral wearing a T-shirt promoting someone seeking to succeed me will not return… – Speaker Bagbin#GHOneNews #EIBNetwork#GHOneTV #NewsAlert pic.twitter.com/ESazs1vuH4
— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) July 17, 2025
