Nigerian-born Justice Minister and Solicitor General for Alberta, Canada, Kaycee Madu, has been suspended from his ministerial duties by the Premier of the province Jason Kenney, pending the completion of an investigation into an alleged traffic offence.
Madu was said to have been handed a $300 distracted driving ticket by the Police for talking on his cellular phone as he drove through an Edmonton School zone on March 10, 2021.
Subsequently, he was alleged to have immediately called city’s chief of Police, an act now interpreted by the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) to mean political interference.
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Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing Calgary-MCCall Irfan Sabir said regardless of whether he asked the chief to cancel the ticket, Madu’s actions were ‘wholly unacceptable’ and called for his resignation.
“I have asked Minister Madu to step back from his ministerial duties. Minister Sonya Savage will act as Minister of Justice and Solicitor General during Minister Madu’s leave of absence,” Kenney said in a tweet on Tuesday.
The premier also disclosed he had conveyed to Madu, his ‘profound disappointment in his decision to contact the Edmonton Police Chief after receiving a ticket for a traffic violation’
In his defence, Madu noted that he did not ask to have the ticket rescinded, nor was it his intention to interfere in the case, and that he promptly paid the ticket fine.
“To be abundantly clear, at no point did I request that the ticket be rescinded. I would never do that. However, in that particular call, I regret raising the issue at all with the Chief McFee.“
Due to the timing of the incident, I wanted to ensure that I was not being unlawfully surveilled following the controversy surrounding the Lethbridge Police Service. I also raised concerns around profiling of racial minorities that was in the media at the time,” Madu said.
It would be recalled that when Madu was appointed in August 2019, Kenney had noted that as one who had experienced racial prejudice firsthand, the appointment came at a time when Albertans had grown more sensitive to racial prejudice.
The premier also confirmed Tuesday that based on comments from the Police chief, at no time during the call did the minister seek to have the ticket rescinded.
He, however, insisted that “it’s essential the independent administration of justice is maintained,” adding that an independent investigator would be appointed to review the relevant facts and determine whether there was interference in the administration of justice in this case.