Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, November 27, Bagbin noted that while the court’s decision nullifies the declaration of Matthew Nyindam as MP, its enforcement is temporarily suspended by law.

Quoting the court’s effect, he said:
“The effect of the order, to my understanding, is that the EC is to conduct a rerun election within 30 days, implying that the original declaration of Hon. Matthew Nyindam as winner is invalid and the member is no longer an MP.”

However, Bagbin highlighted statutory provisions that prevent an immediate declaration of vacancy. Citing the Court of Appeal Rules, 1997 (CI 19) as amended by CI 132, he explained that Rule 27(3) imposes a mandatory seven-day stay of execution on all appealable High Court decisions.

He referenced legal precedents, noting that the Supreme Court in Mensah v GCB (2005–2006) held that any execution before the expiration of the seven-day window is “premature and void.” The Court of Appeal also reinforced this principle in Clenam Construction Ltd v Valcum Crest (April 7, 2022), emphasizing that the automatic stay allows the losing party time to consider an appeal.

Bagbin added that this statutory stay remains active until December 1, 2025, and the High Court ruling “cannot form the basis for the Speaker to instruct the Clerk to notify the EC that the Kpandai seat is vacant.” He further noted that if Nyindam chooses to appeal, additional procedures under CI 27(1) would apply.

His clarification follows calls from the Majority caucus for the Speaker to immediately declare the seat vacant, citing precedents such as former Assin North MP James Gyakye Quayson. Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, however, insisted that Nyindam must not be barred prematurely and said the Minority will oppose any move that sidesteps due legal process.

With the Speaker’s explanation now on record, Parliament is expected to observe the mandatory seven-day period—and any potential appeal—before taking further action regarding the Kpandai seat.

According to Tsikata, he rejected the offer because he was determined to secure an acquittal for the MP in order to eliminate any future legal uncertainties.

Dr Ayine, just two months ago, extended immunity to several Ghanaians facing trial in various courts, including the Supreme Court.

This immunity was also offered to Gyakye Quayson, who had been on trial for three years on charges including deceit of a public officer, forgery of a passport, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury, and false declaration.

At the time the offer was made, a prosecution witness was still testifying. Many were surprised when Tsikata turned down the deal.

However, after Quayson was acquitted based on the merits of the case and the legal arguments presented by his legal team, Tsikata issued a statement explaining why he made the risky decision to reject the Attorney General’s offer.

Dr Ayine, during a press briefing on ongoing prosecutions, confirmed that he had offered to withdraw the case but noted that Quayson’s legal team had declined.

Tsikata elaborated that the decision was based on legal and security considerations.

“At the time the Attorney-General was withdrawing the other cases, the prosecution in Gyakye Quayson’s trial had not closed its case. The last prosecution witness was still testifying. If the Attorney-General had withdrawn the case at that stage, under section 59 of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30), the judge could only ‘discharge’ the accused,” he stated.

He further explained, “According to section 59(4) of Act 30, the accused could, at a future date, be recharged with the same offences and would not be able to claim he had already been tried and acquitted (‘autrefois acquit’).”

In contrast, Tsikata clarified why other accused persons, such as Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson and social activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor, accepted the Attorney General’s offer.

“In those cases, the prosecution had closed its case and the defence had begun testifying. So, when the prosecution withdrew, the accused were ‘acquitted and discharged’ under section 59(2)(b)(ii) of Act 30. This means the same charges cannot be brought against them in the future,” he said.

Tsikata concluded: “It is in the best interest of Gyakye Quayson that his trial should end with an acquittal and discharge—not a mere discharge that would leave him open to future jeopardy. That is why the defence preferred to make a submission of no case at the end of the prosecution’s case to secure an acquittal and discharge.”

With this outcome, the Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, walks a free man—shielded from the possibility of future prosecution, even if a new administration assumes power after future elections.

ALSO READ:

• Gyakye Quayson acquitted and discharged by High Court

• Gyakye Quayson reacts to ruling after 3 years of legal battle [Video]

He argued that the current restrictions unfairly marginalise Ghanaians abroad who are committed to the country’s development. “How we exclude them from leadership yet their heart, skills and resources are dedicated to building our nation,”he said.

Speaking in Parliament as part of the Black History Month, Mr Quayson, who faced legal action for contesting as an MP without allegedly renouncing his dual citizen status, said, “Our history allows us to reflect on the perseverance of our people throughout history slavery, institutional racism, and the ongoing fight for equality. Africa, despite being rich in natural resources, remains paradoxically underdeveloped due to centuries of exploitation, colonisation, and unfair global systems.”

He insisted that Ghana’s laws must evolve to align with the realities of its people, particularly those in the diaspora. “Our constitution, a beacon of democracy, it must evolve to reflect the global realities of our people. How do we marginalise those who have sought better opportunities abroad yet remain deeply connected to Ghana?” he questioned.

Mr Quayson, who was previously prosecuted over his dual citizenship status, said the issue goes beyond individual experiences and should be treated as a national concern. “The fight against dual citizenship restrictions and political ambition is not a personal battle but a national conversation,” he said.

He also suggested that if dual citizens are granted the right to hold public office, taxation policies should be examined to ensure fairness.

“If you are a dual citizen and you are entitled to be a Member of Parliament, Chief Justice, or any other high office, and you earn your income from a country like the UK, the Ghanaian tax regime should be able to catch up with you as well,” he said.

Mr Quayson urged Parliament to revisit the dual citizenship amendment bill, which had reached the second reading stage in the last Parliament but was not passed before the House dissolved, “The time is due for a change in the law,” he said.

ALSO READ:

• I support dual citizenship holders becoming MPs – NPP MP
• Supreme Court rules on appointment of persons with dual citizenship as Chief Justice, Directors

At the press conference, Dr. Ayine sought to provide reasons for his discontinuation of certain criminal cases filed against certain persons, most of whom were leading members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and persons who served in the NDC Government that exited office in January 2017.

As the public would observe, throughout my tenure as Attorney-General, I never made any comment or passed judgment on the work of any of my predecessors in office even though I was often at the receiving end of many unsavoury remarks from sections of the populace, particularly, personalities in the NDC.

Since leaving office, I have also stayed clear of subjecting the work of my successor to any form of assessment, leaving that to discerning Ghanaians to do.

Before this morning, I had made absolutely no statement or comment whatsoever about the conduct or performance of the new Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine. However, at the press conference of the Honourable Attorney-General, in a rather unconventional manner, he proceeded to malign my good self, immediate past Attorney-General, and peddled a host of untruths, half-truths and misinformation, a trajectory which is not only unfortunate but begs the question as to the actual motive and justification for his decisions.

The Judiciary was not spared the brush of the Attorney-General’s unwarranted scathing attacks, as some members were subjected to similar disparaging attacks under the guise of Dr. Ayine’s strained exercise of “assigning reasons” for decisions he has taken as Attorney-General.

I consider the attack on the Judiciary as part of the stratagem of the NDC to blame others for their resolve, long before they assumed power, to clear all of John Mahama’s appointees of any criminal liability for past acts by withdrawing criminal cases pending against them. Indeed, Dr. Ayine’s decisions are in furtherance of the RESETTING AGENDA of the NDC.

The material facts will bear this out. Dr Ayine was sworn in as Attorney-General on Wednesday, 22^nd January, 2025. On Friday, 24^th January, 2025, he caused to be filed a notice of abandonment of the appeal by the State in Republic vrs. Ato Forson and 2 Others. On Tuesday, 28^th January, 2025, he withdrew the case against Dr. Stephen Opuni and 2 Others, resulting in the complete white wash of their crimes by an acquittal and discharge through the backdoor.

On 29^th January, 2025, he entered another withdrawal in Republic Vrs. Ofosu-Ampofo & Another, again resulting in an acquittal and discharge of the accused. On 30^th January, 2025, Dr. Ayine withdrew two different cases against Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, resulting in his acquittal and discharge in one and a discharge in the other. There were more withdrawals and nolle prosequi to be entered by the NDC Government through the Attorney-General in the subsequent days. Indeed, what broke the trend of “one day, one withdrawal”, was the occurrence of weekends.

Fellow Ghanaians, these developments irresistibly point to only one conclusion – a calculated, preconceived ploy on the part of the NDC to wipe out all criminal cases pending against its leading members and officials of the John Mahama Government and clear them of wrongdoing, not by the courts, but through their Attorney-General.

Remarkably, there is no precedent for this kind of conduct in the Fourth Republic. Throughout the two 8-year terms of the NPP in Government, no Attorney-General appointed by either President J. A. Kufuor or President Akufo-Addo withdrew criminal charges or filed nolle prosequi in cases involving leading members of the NPP or senior members of the government.

By the time the NPP assumed power in 2017, all the cases filed by the erstwhile NDC Government against some Ministers and appointees of the Kufuor Government had been contested fully in the courts and won.

We secured acquittals through the courts, and not by resorting to delay tactics in the hope that an Akufo-Addo appointed Attorney-General would come and withdraw the cases and procure an acquittal. I speak from experience as I personally conducted some of the cases. Other lawyers within our ranks including my Deputies also handled some.

I must state that it is clearly unprecedented for an Attorney-General to hold a press conference and subject his predecessor-in-office to abuses and peddle falsehood in the manner displayed by Dr. Dominic Ayine. I am constrained, to set the records straight, to unveil the half-truths and manipulation of facts for well-meaning Ghanaians to decipher the true intentions of the NDC Government acting through the current Attorney-General in withdrawing charges against leading members of the NDC.

1. It is necessary to indicate at the outset that, the decision to charge a person with a criminal offence, especially in the high-profile cases in issue which held serious implications for the public purse, involved a prosecutorial discretion exercised pursuant to painstaking investigations conducted by duly authorised investigative authorities of State, inquiries and extensive deliberations  by career prosecutors in the Office of the Attorney-General, who indeed proceeded to conduct the cases. I continue to be grateful for the advice I received from the hardworking Attorneys at the A-G’s Office, investigators and my able Deputies, Mr. Alfred Tuah Yeboah and Ms. Diana Asonaba Dapaah, on the cases we personally initiated in office and the many others that had been commenced by my distinguished predecessor, Madam Gloria Afua Akuffo, which we continued. I cherish the robust discussions and debates we had while professionally moving forward with each of those cases.

• The nation would note that Dr. Ayine and other leading figures in the NDC and the Government of the day were counsel in many of the cases he has discontinued.  I say that, indeed, it is not uncommon for defence counsel, as Dr. Ayine and other NDC personalities were, looking at the same set of facts to come to different conclusions informed by their varying understandings of the law and the undeniable political considerations they hold. However, I daresay that in taking decisions as monumental as withdrawing those cases, the only consideration had to be the national interest and not that of defence counsel. The analysis I make of the reasons advanced by Dr. Ayine will expose the questionable intent behind the withdrawal of the criminal cases.

• Dr. Ayine’s unfounded allegation insinuating unethical conduct on my part in the conduct of the Ambulance Trial – Republic vrs. Cassiel Ato Forson is highly disingenuous and rather unfortunately, recaps the series of falsehoods persistently published by foot soldiers of the NDC and other uninformed members of society. I must say that I find it quite ironical for Dr. Ayine, who is the subject of disciplinary proceedings for professional misconduct still pending at the General Legal Council, filed by the Hon. former Chief Justice himself, to accuse me of unethical conduct. In the interest of the nation, the case of professional misconduct pending against Dr. Ayine at the General Legal Council, should have been determined before the parliamentary assessment of his suitability or otherwise for the high office of the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice of our dear Republic.

• The facts relating to the allegation by Dr. Ayine that I interfered with an accused person in the Ambulance case are well within the public domain and have been adumbrated in court proceedings. The record shows that there has been a judicial determination of that unfounded allegation frequently made by foot soldiers of the NDC and other uninformed people. Shockingly, Dr. Ayine, the current Attorney-General, ignored this fundamental fact in his 10-page Press Statement and over an hour conference with the media, for the simple reason that he knew that his allegation had been flatly debunked by the court when same was put to strict scrutiny.

If you would recall, the accused persons in the Ambulance Trial, filed an application for mistrial, hinging same on the alleged interference with one of the accused persons. On 6th June, 2024, the High Court coram Her Ladyship Justice Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe dismissed the application. You would all remember the learned Justice of the Court of Appeal, who sat as an additional High Court Judge, say that she had listened to the tape in question about ten (10) times and found nothing to warrant a mistrial. Specifically, she stated at page 24 of her ruling:

“After listening to the conversation between A3 and A1, the issue of whether the Attorney-General actually told A3 to implicate A1 is not borne out by the evidence on Exhibit CAF2. These words were uttered by A3 at about minute 09:00 to 10:00. In the same vein, the declaration that A3 was innocent and “going through ordeal” but was being asked to help make the case of the AG better was not made by the Attorney-General, but was made by A3, to which the Attorney-General responded at minute 10:20, “I am not asking you to help me …” at minute 10:30.

The statement made that “You and I, you’ve been meeting me at my cousin’s place …” (at minute 10:45) etc. when closely, together with A3’s alleged attack of conscience did not proceed from the mouth of the Attorney-General”. The judge proceeded to state at page 32 of her ruling that “the 3rd Accused by any stretch of imagination be seen to be the one procuring new evidence or cowed by the conversation”.

• In the face of this clear judicial determination of no wrongdoing as to warrant a mistrial, it completely defies logic and good reason why the Hon. Attorney-General of Ghana would say to the public that I was culpable of a “disgraceful and unethical conduct” in the Ambulance trial. Ghanaians want to know rather, how the current Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, will deal with the complaint of professional misconduct pending at the General Legal Council against him made by no less a person than the Chief Justice of Ghana in 2021.

RELIANCE ON DEFENCE COUNSEL TO WITHDRAW CASES AND ENTER NOLLE PROSEQUI

• Ladies, and gentlemen, in a chilling twist, the nation heard Dr. Ayine confessing to speaking with lawyers for the defence and engaging them on the cases that were pending against the leading members of the NDC before exercising his discretion to file nolle prosequi or withdraw the charges. He indicated that in Republic vrs. Gyakye Quayson, the lawyer for the accused person expressed an inclination to go on and prove the innocence of his client, and therefore, he decided not to enter nolle prosequi. Respectfully, what this betrays clearly, is that, the exercise of Dr. Ayine’s discretion to continue with the prosecution of cases or not is informed principally by the disposition of counsel for the accused in cases that the Republic is prosecuting against their clients. Thus, if counsel for the accused is in the position to strongly defend the interests of his client in court, the Attorney-General of the Republic will not enter nolle prosequi. Where the counsel for the accused are not convinced about the likelihood of success of their defence in court, Dr. Ayine would immediately enter a withdrawal (if the prosecution has closed its case), or nolle prosequi (if the prosecution has not closed its case).

• As I will show in an examination of each of the specific cases cited in Ayine’s press statement, the Hon. Attorney-General quite reprehensibly, relied solely on the case for the defence before exercising his discretion to discontinue the actions. He did not engage in any meaningful consultation with the Prosecutions Division of the Office of the Attorney-General before instructing the filing of the withdrawals and nolle prosequi in the cases against the senior members of the John Mahama Government and other leading members of the NDC. The dates of the filing of the said processes buttress the assertion I make here. I challenge Dr. Ayine to show any memorandum presented to him by the Prosecutions Division of the Office of the Attorney-General advising or indeed, expressing a view on the continuation, discontinuation or “termination”, as he calls it of any of the criminal cases in question. I can say without any fear of contradiction, that, there is none. He should also show evidence of consultation on any of the charges he held with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) before discontinuing the cases. You can be assured he cannot produce any.

• Listening to Dr. Ayine, one gets the distinct and chilling confirmation that he relied solely on the version of the facts of the case as presented by counsel for the accused as well as their erroneous views of the law on the subject matters in question. It is for this reason that the claims of alleged defects with the various charges only re-echo positions articulated by the defence counsel throughout the proceedings. In effect, Dr. Ayine came to narrate to the Ghanaian public on Wednesday, the perspective of defence counsel on the charges their clients had been charged with. The media would notice that, for each of the cases, the explanations of the Attorney-General for the withdrawal filed were only a rehash of argument already reported in the media as having been made in the court room by counsel for defence. Is that a reasonable manner of the exercise of the Attorney-General’s discretion to enter nolle prosequi and withdrawal of criminal cases?

• The people of Ghana should be very scared if we have an Attorney-General whose prime consideration for the discontinuation of criminal cases involving the loss of billions of Ghana Cedis is, the position of defence lawyers on charges preferred against their clients rather than the interests of the Republic in the prosecution of crime.

1. Even more scary and bizarre is the claim of Dr. Ayine that he did not consult the former President , John Dramani Mahama before taking the monumental decision to discontinue the criminal cases. The cases involved the loss of colossal sums of taxpayers’ money and some related to the banking sector crisis which affected the Ghanaian economy. The people of Ghana should indeed be extremely concerned and afraid by the vesting of prosecutorial authority in a person who can discontinue the prosecution of such important and high-profile cases without discussing with the President of the Republic and members of the Cabinet. Even defence counsel he consulted, how much more the President?

1. But Ladies and gentlemen, we ought to ask ourselves – is it true that Dr. Ayine did not consult the President or his Cabinet about the decision to discontinue the various criminal proceedings? A careful examination of the facts shows that this claim is palpably untrue. The nation has not forgotten the loud claims made by President John Mahama and the NDC that the NPP rather, was responsible for a collapse of the banking sector and that on assuming power, the John Mahama government will restore all the banking licences which were revoked. The withdrawal of the cases in question is only the first step of the clearing or whitewashing process of those whose acts led to the crisis that plagued the banking sector. Ghanaians are certainly more discerning than the NDC and Dr. Ayine think.

I proceed to examine Dr Ayine’s reasons for withdrawing some of the criminal cases Dr. Ayine mentioned in his Press Statement. I find, generally, that all his explanations are laden with contradictions and inconsistencies and betray the questionable motives for his actions.

1. REPUBLIC V. CASSIEL ATO FORSON & ANOTHER

1. The firs reason assigned by the Attorney-General for the discontinuance of the appeal is “ethical and professional”, since he was deeply involved in the conduct of the defence of Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson. According to him, he could not “in good conscience” continue the conduct of the appeal. This explanation is a sham as the Attorney-General’s prosecutorial authority under article 88(4) of the Constitution is exercised by himself or “any other person authorised by him in accordance with any law”. Pursuant to this, the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30) permits attorneys of the Office of the Attorney-General and other persons, including even private legal practitioners, to whom the Attorney-General may delegate his powers through an executive instrument enacted pursuant to Act 30, to prosecute. Thus, the fact that he, Dr. Dominic Ayine, found himself in a conflict of interest situation did not imply that the entire appeal had to be abandoned.

Dr. Ayine characterises the prosecution of the Ambulance case as a political witch hunt. I wholly disagree. The facts show that vehicles purporting to be ambulances were imported into the country in December, 2014 in violation of the contract governing the transaction. In the absence of any request by the Ministry of Health, and at a time that the period for supply of the ambulances under the contract had even lapsed, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, by letters dated and 7^th and 14^th August, 2014, instructed the Bank of Ghana and the Controller and Accountant-General to issue letters of credit which was the agreed means of payment for the vehicles.

The letters of credit were consequently established on 18^th August, 2014. Big Sea General Trading LLC, the suppliers of the vehicles based in Dubai, whose contract had no parliamentary approval, proceeded to ship the vehicles on receipt of the letters of credit. When the vehicles arrived, they were not of the kind specified in the contract and had serious defects with every material part of the vehicles which rendered them unfit to be described as ambulances. Indeed, a John Mahama appointed Minister for Health at the time, Dr Alex Segbefia described the vehicles as “ordinary vans” not fit for purpose.

The defects were so irremediable that from the time the vehicles started arriving in December, 2014 up to January, 2017 when the erstwhile John Mahama administration left office, they could not be converted into ambulances. To date, they cannot be converted into ambulances and the John Mahama Government is back in pwoer.

I am of the honest view that the split 2 – 1 decision of the Court of Appeal, far from confirming Dr. Ayine’s opinion that the case was flawed, was erroneous and the Republic’s chances of having same set aside by the Supreme Court was very high. If Dr. Ayine was convinced that his position would prevail on appeal, why did he not allow the appeal to run its course for a vindication of his views? What did he or his former client, Dr. Ato Forson stand to lose by a determination of the appeal by the Supreme Court? Ladies and gentlemen, I observe that the real reason for a discontinuance of the appeal by Dr. Ayine was that he did not wish to deepen the woes of Dr. Ato Forson any further.

• REPUBLIC V. OFOSU AMPOFO & ANOTHER

1. Dr. Ayine did not advance any reason whatsoever for the withdrawal of this matter save that he was on record as counsel for the defence. I have already pointed out above the absurdity of such a position. I would not recount same. The self-serving nature of Dr. Ayine’s decision is too apparent for the people of Ghana to see.

• REPUBLIC V. COLLINS DAUDA & OTHERS

1. The reason advanced by the Attorney-General for the entry of nolle prosequi in the case filed against Mr. Collins Dauda and 4 Others for their roles in the Saglemi Housing Scheme, is that in his view, the charges were defective. He claimed that the prosecution wrongly charged the former Minister, Collins Dauda with the offence of misapplying public property (funds) in the sum of Two Hundred Million United States Dollars (USD200million). In Dr. Ayine’s view, the prosecution should taken account of the fact that part of the US$200m was used to construct the houses at Saglemi. With the greatest respect, this analysis by Dr. Ayine portrays a complete misapprehension of the ingredients of the offence of misapplying public funds. The offence of intentionally misapplying public property consists in wrongly applying public property, which is defined under the Public Property Protection Act, 1977 (SMCD 140) for a purpose other than as lawfully approved. It is different from the offence of wilfully causing financial loss to the State whose defining ingredient is the actual loss occasioned the State through one’s wilful acts. In this case, Mr. Collins Dauda was charged with the offence because he intentionally misapplied the sum of US$200 Million for the construction of 1,412 housing units instead of the 5,000 housing units lawfully approved by Cabinet, the Parliament of Ghana and the Public Procurement Authority to be constructed. So, the question of how much was disbursed by the State during Collins Dauda’s tenure as Minister for Works and Housing, or the exact amount spent on the buildings when he was Minister, is immaterial. The real question is whether Collins Dauda authorised the application of the sum of US$200 Million for the purpose lawfully approved for the project, i.e. the construction of 5,000 housing units. The answer to this can only be in the negative.

I say that, in any event, if the Attorney-General was of the considered view that the sum of US$200 Million mentioned under the count of misapplying public property should have been US$94 Million, all he had to do as a good prosecutor acting in good faith, was to amend the count. The remedy is not a discontinuation of the entire case, especially when that offence of misapplying public property constituted only one out of seventy (70) charges filed in the case. What happens to the other sixty-nine (69) charges that Dr. Ayine does not fault, and did not talk about.? With the greatest respect, the State should be seriously worried if her Attorney-General demonstrates such ignorance of the basic principles in criminal law and ingredients of offences which border on the protection of State funds or public property.

1. The second factor cited by Dr. Ayine for the withdrawal of the Saglemi case is the alleged failure of the prosecution to charge other Ministers who took office after Mr. Collins Dauda left office. This is another palpable falsehood. The State charged all those whose roles in the Saglemi Housing Scheme implied criminal liability. This included Kwaku Agyeman-Mensah who signed and authorised the payment of money and who was John Mahama’s Minister after Collins Dauda until January, 2017. It also included a Chief Director, Alhaji Ziblim, who was in office until 2017 (covering a part of the tenure of Mr. Atta Akyea as Minister) and signed and authorised payment of money.

Dr. Ayine raises issue with the failure to join Hon. Samuel Atta Akyea as an accused person in the matter. It ought to be made clear that the prosecution of crime is not an arena to achieve political equalisation. A careful check of the facts would have disclosed to Dr. Ayine that Hon. Samuel Atta Akyea never authorised any payment for the Saglemi project. Mr. Atta Akyea was rather the one who called attention to the bizarre circumstances of the project and wrote a letter seeking the advice of the then Attorney-General, Ms. Gloria Afua Akuffo in or about 2019 for an urgent termination of the contract, a decision which stopped the State from unnecessary financial haemorrhage.

The sum of US$5 Million that Dr. Ayine alludes to, was authorised to be paid by the then Chief Director, Mr. Solomon Asoalla, and not Mr. Atta Akyea. The decision by the prosecution team not to charge Mr. Solomon Asoalla but rather to use him as a prosecution witness was, because a scrutiny of the record showed that, Mr. Asoalla in truth, tried to save the Saglemi housing project from total collapse. The sum of US$5Million was authorised by Mr. Asoalla to be utilised for the project to save the project. Further, he assisted in shedding light on the relevant facts of the project.  Hence our decision to use him as a prosecution witness.

• THE PROSECUTION OF DR. JOHNSON PANDIT ASIAMA

1. The narration given by the Attorney-General about why he discontinued the two different cases against Mr. Johnson Pandit Asiama disclosed a litany of untruths, half-truths and a skilful manipulation of the facts. Be that as it may, as it is with any manipulation of facts, the truth is always laid bare on being subjected to careful analysis.

• THE REPUBLIC V. KWABENA DUFFUOR & OTHERS – THE UNIBANK CASE

1. This case involved an approval by Dr. Johnson Asiam of the sum of GHC450Million for the benefit of Universal Merchant Bank. Part of that sum of was GHC300Million Cedis which was an unsecured facility approved by Johnson Pandit Asiama for Universal Merchant Bank for the benefit of Unibank Limited. The sum of GHC300Million formed the basis of a charge of making approvals in contravention of the Banak of Ghana law. The remaining amount of GHC150Million formed the basis for the offence of wilfully causing financial loss. It is necessary to state that, contrary to Dr. Ayine’s claim, the sum of GHC150Million to date, remains unpaid.
2. I must indicate that I find the line of thinking of Dr. Ayine that simply because an alleged loss to the State is recoverable after the offence has been committed or the charge filed, the offence of wilfully causing financial loss is rendered invalid very strange and insupportable. Also, an amount paid in violation of a law, when subsequently recovered, does not clear the person who gave the approval to be made of criminal wrongdoing in the first place.

1. The anchor of Dr. Ayine’s explanation for discontinuing the cases against Johnson Pandit Asiama is a memorandum allegedly delivered to my good self by attorneys at the Office of the Attorney-General purportedly “recommending that the charges against him be dropped”.

Let me state for the record, that, to the best of my knowledge, no such memorandum exists. I do not recall receiving any such memo from the Prosecutions Division. I challenge Dr. Ayine to produce such a memo for the examination of the public as he has touted same to the public at a press conference as the basis for his impugned actions.

Curiously, when probed further on that issue in the “Questions” session of his press conference, Dr. Ayine claimed that I might have disagreed with the memo, and that, he is yet to know the exact comments I made on the memo. This is bewildering and casts doubts on Dr. Ayine’s assertions that a memo was presented to me on the issue. Will my comments or the position I took on the memo not be expressed on the memo? How can Dr. Ayine see the memo but not see my comments in the memo? Clearly, the Attorney-General set out to throw dust into the eyes of Ghanaians who, in his view, are a bunch of unanalytical people. Ghana deserves better than the tales of Dr. Ayine.

• Assuming for argument purposes that a memo was prepared for the consideration of the former Attorney-General (by some state attorneys whose ranks the current Attorney-General does not specify and on a date he does not indicate), is such a memo binding on the Attorney-General? Is the view of the state attorney binding on the Attorney-General?

Dr. Ayine himself alleges that he had some discussions with the DPP before withdrawing the cases in issue. Where he disagreed, he made it known to the DPP. Was the DPP’s view binding on Dr. Ayine? Was it not his view of the charges he withdrew which prevailed? If Dr. Ayine could form a view of the charges he withdrew from the court in spite of what the DPP told him, how can he castigate Godfred Dame in the media for whatever views Godfred Dame took on a memo allegedly presented to him by some state attorneys who Dr. Ayine cannot name, on a date he cannot specify and affecting some accused persons he could not specify. (Mind you, there are 6 accused persons in the matter. Did the memo touch on all 6? Dr. Ayine fails to tell).

I say that Dr. Ayine, should with the greatest respect, be bold to fully accept responsibility for his action in withdrawing and filing nolle prosequi in all the cases, rather than purporting to blame former Attorneys-General for his decisions.

• REPUBLIC VRS. JOHNSON PANDIT ASIAMA & 5 OTHERS – THE UT BANK CASE.

• Dr. Ayine lumps up the facts of the two cases against Johnson Asiama and contends that the alleged memo presented to the former Attorney-General which discussed an amount of GHC450 Million the subject matter of charges against the gentleman in the Unibank case also covered the UT Bank case. This is another falsehood. The sum of GHC450Million was in respect of only the Unibank case.

• The UT Bank case involved the grant of approval by Dr. Johnson Asiama of GHC460Million facility to UT Bank in violation of the single obligor limits.

• Be that as it may, it suffices to note that Dr. Ayine provides absolutely no justification for a withdrawal of the charges in the UT Bank matter, save the allegation that an alleged memo was presented to me. It is also important to note that the Attorney-General conceals the simple fact that the prosecution had closed its case in the UT Bank case. Thus, by virtue of the notice of withdrawal filed by the Attorney-General, Johnson Pandit Asiama was acquitted and discharged. Dr. Ayine therefore secured, through the backdoor, a whitewash and clearing of sins of Johnson Pandit Asiama forever.

• REPUBLIC V. STEPHEN OPUNI & 2 OTHERS

• The reasons given by the Attorney-General for the withdrawal of the case against the three accused persons in the Stephen Opuni case and the consequential whitewash and cleansing of sins through an acquittal and discharge, again recounts the misconceived perspective of defence lawyers on the charges. That case involved the loss of GHC271Million to the State.

• Once again, the media would observe that the Attorney-General only presented to the public the same stories that had formed the line of defence of counsel for the accused, completely abandoning the formidable case built by the prosecution. The Attorney-General completely disregards the fact that the prosecution had been adjudged by all the courts in the Superior Courts architecture – the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court- as having established a case for the accused to answer. Dr. Opuni had closed his case. Seidu Agongo had called about 10 witnesses.

• Dr. Ayine, in the face of the holdings of the various courts that there was a case for the accused to answer in respect of the over 27 charges filed in the Opuni case, proceeded to embark on a scathing attack on the work of the Prosecutions Division of the Office of the Attorney-General over which he is now superintending, as a ruse to justify his withdrawal of the case. The simple question that begs for answer is this: why would the Attorney-General who is supposed to be acting in interest of the Republic be arguing strenuously in favour of the defence counsel and against the Republic when all the Superior Courts had stated that Dr Opuni and two others had a case to answer?

If the new Attorney-General, was of the view that the accused had a strong case and would be acquitted, why did he not wait for the accused to establish this through the trial? Is it the case that counsel for the accused told him after his extensive discussions with them, that they were not sure of securing the acquittal of their clients and therefore, they would prefer the A-G to bail them out through a withdrawal of the charges?

DISPARAGEMENT OF THE JUDICIARY AS A PLOY TO DEFEND THE WRONG WITHDRAWAL OF THE OPUNI CASE

• Fellow Ghanaians, in purported rationalisation of the Government’s decision to withdraw the Opuni case, the Attorney-General, most bizarrely, attacked the integrity of a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Clemence Honyenuga and the Honourable Chief Justice, albeit unjustifiably. Dr. Ayine claimed that a perjury application filed by Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni against a witness was not heard by Justice Honyenuga and that “this is most unacceptable”. Regrettably, this is another falsehood in Dr. Ayine’s press statement. The trial court ruled on the said perjury application. The applicant proceeded to the Court of Appeal.

I repeat that the tendency of an Attorney-General to peddle untruthful allegations against the prosecuting team and judges sitting on cases being prosecuted by his Office, is highly unprofessional. This is what we see from Dr. Ayine three weeks into his tenure! His actions constitute an attack on the very Office he is now head of.

• Dr. Ayine stated further in his press statement that, “when, in accordance with law and practice, Justice Anokye Gyimah decided he was going to hold a de novo trial in the same Opuni case, he was instantly transferred to Kumasi and the case was allocated to a new judge who then proceeded to adopt the proceedings”. This is another plain falsehood and a rehash of the unfounded allegations made by NDC commentators in the media space. If Dr. Ayine had taken pains to examine the file in the Opuni matter, as he should have done, he would have found that it was not a new trial judge who adopted the proceedings for the trial to continue. The then Attorney-General, my good self, was compelled to file an appeal against the order of Justice Anokye Gyimah for the proceedings to start de novo or afresh after the close of the prosecution’s case and the defence had opened their case. The Court of Appeal allowed the Attorney-General’s appeal and ordered that the proceedings be adopted before the trial court. It took about three months for the appeal to be heard and determined. Before the conclusion of the appeal, the Hon. Chief Justice in exercise of her powers under the Constitution, at a time that the proceedings in the Opuni matter had effectively been stayed owing to the pendency of the appeal, transferred the Justice Anokye Gyimah to the High Court, Kumasi. The display of unfamiliarity by the current Attorney-General of facts regarding cases he withdraws from the courts and speak about in the media, is shocking. Ghana must be seriously worried.

• Ladies and gentlemen, I deem the press conference hurriedly assembled by the Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, as a knee jerk reaction to genuine concerns raised by well-meaning Ghanaians on the attempt by the NDC Government to white wash the crimes of persons who served in the NDC government and as far as the law would allow, clothe them with perpetual immunity from being prosecuted for offences committed against the Republic of Ghana. The posture adopted by the Hon. A-G threatens to undermine Ghana’s democratic and good governance structures. I am however reassured by the fact that Ghanaians are discerning enough to discover the illegitimate motives for the discontinuance of the cases in question. The President, through his Attorney-General, has in a spectacular fashion, become the clearing agent to indemnify their allies who have duly been put before the courts for commission of crimes.

God bless us all!!!!

GODFRED YEBOAH DAME

IMMEDIATE PAST ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND MINISTER FOR JUSTICE

14/02/2025

Mr Quayson polled 18,023 votes, representing 56.35% of the total votes.

His main contender, Charles Opoku of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) obtained 13,599 votes, representing 42.52%.

The landslide victory reaffirms Mr Quayson’s grip on the constituency despite legal challenges and opposition from the NPP.

His political journey which began in the 2020 election was marked by controversy over a dual citizenship with Canada.

He was found to have violated Article 94(2)(a) of Ghana’s Constitution with his election annulled by the Supreme Court.

He, however, won the seat and returned to parliament in a by-election held on June 27, 2023, and was sworn in on July 4, 2023.

ALSO READ:

• I would have withdrawn if not the love i have for Assin North –…

• We won’t forget you should we regain power in 2024 – Mahama to Assin…

According to Dr. Aidoo, the apex court’s judgments have increasingly favored the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), a trend he believes raises questions about the court’s neutrality.

Dr. Aidoo shared his views on JoyNews’ Newsfile, pointing out a pattern he perceives as an overreach by the Supreme Court, particularly in cases with political implications.

“The Supreme Court has, over the past years, especially under the Akufo-Addo administration, behaved as if it is a supranational, supraconstitutional body that can interfere in every act of Parliament,” he stated.

Dr. Aidoo described this trend as a deviation from the court’s mandate, suggesting it may be acting as “an extension of the New Patriotic Party.”

He cited the recent case brought by Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, challenging the Speaker’s declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant. He questioned the court’s basis for accepting the case, asserting that it did not present a legitimate cause for interpretation. “Afenyo-Markin’s writ did not show any legal cause for interpretation,” he argued.

“All it showed were the consequences of the actions of the four Members of Parliament, namely that they would be deprived of their membership and so on. Those are not legal matters; they are the consequences of their actions under a constitutional provision that is clear and does not require interpretation.”

According to Dr. Aidoo, the court’s willingness to address matters that lack a legal basis for interpretation is indicative of judicial overreach, especially in cases where constitutional provisions are unambiguous. He expressed concern that such decisions may undermine the court’s credibility and weaken public confidence in the judiciary’s independence.

“What happened to the constituents in Assin North regarding Gyakye Quayson’s case? Weren’t they also deprived of representation? What about SALL? The thousands of people in SALL who have been denied representation for four years?

“The Supreme Court is not predictable in its application of the law. And I say that does not help our democratic process. Today, you stand here, and you contradict yourself. Tomorrow, you stand there, and you contradict yourself. Did we set up a supraconstitutional body to terrorize us or to guide our constitutional behavior?” he said.

On October 30, the Supreme Court dismissed an application by Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, who sought to overturn the Court’s ruling that suspended his declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant. This follows an initial suit filed by Effutu MP Alexander Afenyo-Markin, challenging the Speaker’s declaration.

The Speaker’s legal team argued that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction in this case, among other grounds canvassed in court. However, after hearing arguments from all parties, including the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, the Supreme Court maintained that its earlier ruling was appropriate, stating that the Speaker’s appeal was without merit.

“We have considered the application, and we have come to the conclusion that the grounds supporting the application have no merit,” the Chief Justice stated.

Prior to this decision, the Court also dismissed an objection raised by Thaddeus Sory, counsel for the Speaker, regarding the empaneling of Justice Ernest Gaewu.

ALSO READ:

• Vacant seats: Accept Supreme Court ruling – Alan advises Bagbin

• Vacant seat: Supreme Court rejects Speaker’s application to set aside earlier ruling

Mr. Quayson encountered legal obstacles, including an injunction questioning his eligibility to hold office due to alleged dual citizenship with Canada and Ghana.

On May 17, 2023, the Supreme Court deemed his election unconstitutional, ultimately declaring the Assin North seat vacant. This decision, reached unanimously by a seven-member panel, instructed Parliament to remove Quayson’s name as MP.

Undeterred, Mr. Quayson remained resolute and contested the by-election, successfully reclaiming his seat despite the setbacks.

Speaking with Onua News at Kotoka International Airport, Mr. Quayson expressed that he endured the hardships out of deep commitment to his people and a genuine desire to serve.

He was at the airport to join jubilant National Democratic Congress MPs, chiefs, and supporters in welcoming Jomoro MP, Dorcas Affo-Toffey, who was returning from the United States after receiving medical treatment following a serious accident in August.

“I came back to help build the country. Take my case for instance, if not for the love I have for Assin North like per what I went through I would have withdrawn”.

“But I could not betray the people because of the love I have for them and the party,” he stressed.

He pledged to continue serving his people yet prayed Ghanaians would vote massively for the NDC in the upcoming December 7 general elections to enable the party form the next government to reset the country.

ALSO READ:

45-year-old taxi driver found dead with hands and legs tied [Photos]

24-year-old survives gun attack on his way to farm in Nkwanta

US rapper Lil Durk arrested over murder-for-hire plot

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on October 22, he described the Court’s actions as a “procedural error” and criticised what he called a dangerous precedent in Ghana’s democracy.

The Supreme Court, on October 18, issued a stay of execution on Speaker Alban Bagbin’s ruling, which had declared the four seats vacant.

This ruling was the result of an ex parte application filed by some NPP MPs, and the Court’s decision allows the MPs in question to continue their parliamentary duties until a final ruling is given.

Dr Aidoo believes the Court overstepped its boundaries in entertaining the application without including the Speaker or Parliament.

“The Supreme Court committed a procedural error by not hearing from Parliament or the Speaker. This is an illegality, and the matter should be struck out,” he stated.

He emphasised the role of the judiciary as a guardian of the Constitution rather than a tool for any political regime.

Dr Aidoo argued that, the Supreme Court must stay loyal to the Constitution, cautioning against rulings that appear politically motivated.

“How can the Supreme Court turn itself into a political arena? It is the last bastion of defence for the Constitution and must realise that… It shouldn’t put itself as a hatchet agent. The law must be predictable, or there is no law.”

Dr Aidoo also questioned the Attorney General’s rationale in challenging the Speaker’s ruling, pointing out the inconsistency between the AG’s stance in this case and the ongoing prosecution of James Gyakye Quayson for contesting an election while holding dual citizenship.

“If the AG claims that filing nominations for a future election doesn’t vacate a current seat, why is Gyakye Quayson being prosecuted for filing nominations?”

Dr. Aidoo warned that Ghana’s Fourth Republic risks descending into political chaos if judicial decisions are perceived as inconsistent and influenced by partisan interests.

ALSO READ:

2024 election: Cynthia Morrison to still contest as Independent candidate

GH₵ 20,000 reward announced for arrest of gun-wielding suspect in NPP-NDC…

Next of Kin of a deceased bank account holder is not…

According to Dr. Forson, dual citizens are ineligible to hold key government positions, particularly as judges on the Supreme Court.

President Akufo-Addo has nominated Professor Richard Frimpong Oppong, a dual citizen, alongside Justice Sophia Essah, for the Supreme Court.

However, during the vetting on Tuesday, August 13, Dr Forson, who serves on the Appointments Committee of Parliament, argued that Prof. Oppong does not qualify to be a Supreme Court judge due to his dual citizenship.

Dr. Forson insisted that Prof. Oppong must renounce his foreign citizenship before his approval can be recommended.

“The Constitution, in Article 156(1), is clear that you would have to take an oath of allegiance, and the same Supreme Court has equated allegiance to nationality,” Dr Forson stated.

“In my view, you do not qualify, and I believe that you would need to renounce your citizenship to be eligible for the role of a Supreme Court judge.”

Adding to the debate, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, argued that it is inconsistent to disqualify the NDC MP for Assin North, Gyakye Quayson, from Parliament even after he had renounced his citizenship.

Background

This is possible because the Supreme Court few months back ruled against sections of the Citizenship Act, allowing dual citizens to hold positions such as Chief Justice and Chief Director.

The Supreme Court declared certain sections of the Citizenship Act unconstitutional, permitting dual citizens to serve in various high-ranking positions.

The court’s decision, delivered by a majority, nullifies the sections that bar dual citizens from roles including Chief Justice, Commissioner of the Value Added Tax Service, and Chief Director of a Ministry.

The ruling effectively amends Article 289(2) of the 1992 Constitution, allowing dual citizens to be appointed to key government positions previously restricted to single citizens.

A seven-member panel of the court, presided over by Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, gave the order yesterday, after the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, filed an amicus curia (friend of the court) to assist the court with information.

The court held that instead of getting involved in the action as amicus curiae, the Speaker of Parliament should be a party to enable him get access to all the documents and processes.

“It is ordered that the Speaker of Parliament should be joined to the action as second defendant and for all the processes be served on him,” the court ruled. The order by the court was pursuant to Rule 45 (4) of the Supreme Court Rules, 1996 (C.I 16), which allows the court, on its own or by a motion by a party, order any other person to be joined as a party to a suit before it.

Suit

The suit was initiated by two individuals in a case that an MP, the Clerk or Speaker of Parliament does not have any immunity if he or she commits an offence “while he is on his way to, attending at or returning from any proceedings of Parliament.”

The plaintiffs — Hilda Mansuwa Kpentey Dongotey and  Albert Gyamfi, are asking the court to interpret articles 117 and 118 of the 1992 Constitution, the two constitutional provisions which provide immunity for the Speaker of Parliament, MPs and the Clerk to Parliament.

Counsel for the plaintiffs is Samson Lardy Anyenini. The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the Constitution does not protect an MP who commits a crime, whether or not the crime was committed by the MP in his or her line of duty, and, therefore, the police do not need permission from the Speaker of Parliament to arrest such an MP.

Besides, they want a declaration that any act by the Speaker asking the police to seek permission from him before arresting an MP accused of committing an offence is “null, void and of no effect”.

Also, they want a declaration that the constitutional term “attending at or returning from any proceedings of Parliament” stipulated in Article 117 applies only to work in Parliament and not when an MP is engaged in activities in a constituency.

Another relief being sought by the plaintiffs are a declaration that upon a true and proper construction of Article 117 of the 1992 Constitution, a Speaker of Parliament, Clerk or MP is not granted immunity from warrantless arrest, restriction or detention while he is on his way to, attending at or returning from proceedings of Parliament.

Contentious issue

The issue of MPs claiming immunity from court proceedings and processes, with the explanation that they are performing parliamentary duties has become contentious.
Such a situation had led to numerous standoffs between some MPs, Parliament itself, and law enforcement agencies, as well as the courts.

In 2021, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu, who was charged with unlawfully blocking a public road during a demonstration by his constituents for better roads, failed to appear in court to answer the charges, with the excuse that he was on parliamentary duties.

The Deputy Clerk of Parliament also wrote to the Kaneshie District Court that the MP could not be served with the hearing notice due to Article 117 of the 1992 Constitution.

“Pursuant to Article 117 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic, I am unable to bring the service to the attention of the MP as requested,” the letter, dated November 10, 2021, indicated.

The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin,  also damned the police for attempting to arrest the MP without due regard to the law, particularly articles 117 and 118 of the 1992 Constitution.

Mr Sosu has since been discharged by the District Court. Other cases were when the Cape Coast High Court placed an injunction on James Gyakye Quayson, the NDC MP for Assin-North, until the final determination of a petition challenging his eligibility, the MP went to Parliament to be sworn into office, arguing that the order of the court was not properly served on him as envisaged under the Constitution.

Another case was that of the NDC MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, who was on trial over alleged abuse of office. The case against him has, however, been dropped.
It was a trial that generated a lot of public interest due to the clash between the Judiciary and the Legislature.

The Court stated in the ruling that if the accused and his legal team failed to appear at the next hearing, the case would be conducted in absentia.

This was due to Mr Quayson’s lawyers failing to appear when the case was called before the Court on November 3, 2023.

Initially, the Supreme Court declared Quayson’s election as Member of Parliament for Assin North invalid due to his dual citizenship in Canada and Ghana at the time he filed his nomination to run in the 2020 election.

However, in a by-election conducted by the Electoral Commission, the people of Assin North Constituency re-elected him to represent them in Parliament.

He now faces charges of perjury and deceiving a public officer at the High Court.

According to Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh, Mr Quayson and his defence team, led by Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, also failed to participate in the trial via a virtual link.

The Court stated on November 3, 2023, that the proceedings from July 19, 2023, could not be retrieved due to technical issues, while the first prosecution witness was in the witness box.

It stated that on November 9, 2023, before the counsel began cross-examining the witness, the Court informed the parties that the proceedings of July 18, 2023, had been mixed up with those of July 19, 2023.

Justice Yanzuh stated that she granted Mr Tsikata an hour to conduct the cross-examination on July 19, 2023, if needed, but he raised no objections and went ahead to cross-examine the witness for two hours.

She pointed out that losing proceedings was not an unusual occurrence and could happen in a variety of ways.

According to Justice Yanzuh, the witness was still in the box at the time, and Mr Quayson’s counsel decided to raise the issue later in the day after further cross-examining the witness.

She said that the counsel appeared to want to know why the records were missing, and that he could check with the Registrar.

Mr Tsikata initially moved a motion for review and variation of the court’s ruling on November 3, 2023, regarding the further conduct of the trial.

He stated that the application was filed under the court’s inherent jurisdiction because the topic of technical issues came up for the first time in the trial.

Mr. Tsikata noted that the Court’s directives on the technical concerns were issued without Quayson’s representatives.

“It is clear from our exhibits that lawyers for the accused had asked to be furnished with the record of proceedings as well as Court notes about the sitting of this court on July 9, 2023, and July 19, 2023,” he said.

He said no information was provided to Quayson’s lawyers in response to the written request for the records of proceedings. 

Mr Tsikata also said the conduct of the Attorney-General had been reported to the Disciplinary Committee of the Ghana Legal Council (GLC) 

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr Yvonne Attakora-Obuobisa stated that when the court issued a detailed ruling, the applicant’s counsel did not make any objections.

She said the court gave reason for the loss of the proceedings of July 19, 2023, and allowed the counsel for the accused to further cross-examine the first witness to make up for what had been lost through technical challenges. 

“My Lord, the applicant has already fully exercised his right to further cross-examine the witness based on the order made by the Court and the witness has since been discharged,” she added. 

The DPP said the opportunity for further cross-examination of the witness, which was granted by the Court, was to prevent injustice to the accused person.

She said the GLC had dismissed the complaint filed by the accused as no prima facie case had been made against him. 

The DPP said their next witness was the former Director of Passport, who is currently the High Commissioner in India.

She prayed for his evidence to be taken via a video link. 

The case was adjourned to Feb 16, 2024.

ALSO READ:

• Gyakye Quayson flown to Canada over critical health emergency – Court told

• Gyakye Quayson back in Parliament following medical treatment abroad

Due to his health issues, the MP had been absent from parliament for almost the entirety of the last session.

Speaking to the media in Parliament, Mr Gyakye Quayson assured that he was healthy and ready to work for his constituents and Ghana as a whole.

“I am alive and strong…Sometimes in life, you have to take care of yourself. I am back in full swing and I am going to take care of my constituents, caucus and country Ghana,” he said.

The Assin North MP was also confident of the NDC’s win in the upcoming general elections stating “We are going to win and we are going to succeed again. Let’s keep hope alive.”

Mr Gyakye Quayson has been embroiled in legal battles since he was voted as MP in the 2020 general elections.

After a long legal battle on whether or not he could present himself as MP, the Supreme Court ordered his name be expunged from parliament and another election was held in the constituency.

Subsequently, the MP was put forth again by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the bye-election and claimed the seat in Assin North.

In that poll, Gyakye Quayson emerged victorious after polling 17,245 votes representing 57.56%.

However, following this, he was once again slapped with charges including forgery and perjury by the Attorney- General’s Office.

He is also accused of deceiving a public officer and knowingly making a false declaration.

Amid that battle, Gyakye Quayson was flown to Canada to undergo a critical health emergency, in November 2023.

Tsatsu Tsikata, lawyer for Gyakye Quayson told the Accra High Court trying him for alleged perjury and forgery over his acquisition of a Ghanaian passport.

When JoyNews, Kwaku Asante asked him about the progress of the case, the MP it would not be productive to talk about the case while in court. He said, “it is not a black-and-white situation, we have to allow time and let the legal system do its work.”

There was a lot of drama in Parliament coupled with tension between various political parties particularly the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

As part of preparations for the 2024 election, both parties elected their flagbearers and parliamentary candidates.

To help Ghanaians relive some of the major events, your most comprehensive online portal, Adomonline.com has compiled some political stories that made headlines in the year.

Alan and Akoto resign as Trade and Agric Ministers

Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen on January 7, 2023, resigned as Trade Minister from President Nana Akufo-Addo’s government to nurse his political ambition as a flagbearer for the NPP.

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto followed on January 10, 2023, over the same reason.

Despite the mixed reactions that greeted the action, President Akufo-Addo however accepted the resignation.

Minority leadership reshuffle

The NDC reshuffled its leadership in Parliament by appointing Ajumako-Enyam-Essiam legislator, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson as the new Minority Leader to succeed Haruna Iddrisu.

In the shake-up, MP for Ketu North, James Klutse Avedzi, and the MP for Asawase, Muntaka Mubarak, lost their positions as Deputy Minority leader and Minority Chief Whip respectively.

They were replaced by MP for Ellembelle, Emmanuel Kofi Buah and MP for Adaklu, Kwame Agbodza as Deputy Minority leader and Minority Chief Whip.

Meanwhile, Banda MP, Ahmed Ibrahim, and Ada MP, Comfort Duyoe Cudjoe Ghansah, will maintain their positions as first and Deputy Whips respectively.

Chairman for the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, explained that the change forms part of the reorganization process to help the party capture political power during the 2024 elections.

Despite the calls for the decision to be rescinded amidst expression of disappointments, General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey  said the changes were irreversible as consultations were done.

Death of Kumawu MP, Philip Basoah

The year did not start on a good note for the NPP as its Kumawu MP, Philip  Basoah, tragically passed on while the party was still recovering from the news of the resignation of Alan and Dr Akoto Afriyie.

Mr Basoah died on Monday, March 27 at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, where he has been on admission for a serious ailment.

He was 54 years.

The seat in parliament was subsequently declared vacant, causing the Electoral Commission (EC) to hold by-elections in the area on May 23.

Al-Jazeera Gold mafia documentary

On April 16, an investigation into Southern Africa’s biggest gold and money laundering operations sent shock down the spine of the world, particularly Ghana.

This was because President Akufo-Addo was implicated.

The four-part investigation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) revealed a series of gold smuggling gangs in Southern Africa that helped suspected criminals launder hundreds of millions of dollars, getting rich themselves while plundering their nations.

The Gold Mafia investigation showed why the precious metal is so valuable as a way to turn dirty cash into sparkling clean, seemingly legitimate money for those with large amounts of unaccounted wealth.

They do so by using a complex web of companies, counterfeit identities and fake documents.

From the 11th minute of the 1 hour:13 minutes investigative documentary, Alistair Mathias, a gold trader said to be a designer of money laundering schemes for African leaders is introduced in the documentary.

He boasted and alleged he had a relationship with many African leaders and mentioned the President of Ghana as well.

“Ghana’s president is a good friend of mine. In fact, he was my lawyer. Cyril Ramaphosa here; I know him. I know his kids,” Mathias bragged at the meeting with the undercover reporters posing as Chinese businessmen.

President Akufo-Addo ‘does not know this Mathias or Guldrest’ – Lawyer

Meanwhile, Kow Essuman, counsel for President Akufo-Addo, who debunked the allegations argued the latter has not been in private practice since 2000 for him to have acted as a lawyer for Alistair Mathias.

Appointment of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo

Also in April 2023, Akufo-Addo appointed her Ladyship Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo as the Chief Justice of Ghana.

She succeeded Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah who retired on May 24, 2023.

She was sworn into office as the 15th Chief Justice and the third woman to occupy the fourth highest position on 12 June 2023.

Her appointment was widely celebrated with goodwill messages.

Six months down the line, Justice Torkornoo, has continued to earn the admiration oof many with her leadership style.

NDC elects flagbearer and parliamentary candidates

On May 13, 2023, the NDC elected its parliamentary candidates and presidential candidate for the 2024 election.

The much-anticipated contest started with four aspirants including former President John Mahama, former Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor, Dr Kwabena Duffour former Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) Mayor, Kojo Bonsu and Businessman, Ernest Kwaku Kobeah.

However, Mr Kobeah withdrew from the race to throw his support behind Mr Mahama who was the ore runners.

A few hours before the election, Dr Duffour also withdrew his candidacy following an interlocutory injunction against the process on May 9.

Dr. Duffuor among other things cited that the party’s voter register was characterized by some discrepancies.

The election however went on as scheduled with Mr Mahama and Mr Bonsu in the race.

At the end of polls, the former president secured a landslide victory as he swept 297,603 (98.9%) of the total valid votes.

His contender Kojo Bonsu managed to poll 3,181 (1.1%) votes.

Several surprises also emerged in the parliamentary primaries as a lot of bigwigs lost their seats to few faces.

Former Minister for Power and Member of Parliament for Pru East, Kwabena Donkor had 371 votes and lost to Lord Kwaku Boam who polled 474.

Three-time MP for the Sagnerigu constituency, ABA Fuseini also lost to Attah Issah who polled 801 votes.

Others included Chiana-Paga MP; Thomas Dalu, Navrongo Central MP; Samson Tangombu Chiragia, Bongo MP; Edward Bawa, Alex Adomako’ Sekyere Afram Plains, Wisdom Gidisu; Krachie East, Abeiku Crentsil; Ekumfi and Albert Akuka Alalzuuga – Garu.

The rest are; Della Sowah – Kpando, Augustine Tawia; Bia West, Angela Oforiwa Alorwu-Tay; Afadjato South, Peter Yaw Kwakye Ackah; Amenfi Central. Christian Otuteye; Sege, Kobena Woyome; South Tongu. Sophia Ackuaku – Current MP for Domeabra-Obom but switched to Ayawaso Central and Kwadwo Nyanpon Aboagye; Biakoye.

Ghana receives first tranche of $3 Billion IMF Credit Facility 

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) after months of engagements on May 19 received the initial instalment of $600 million from the $3 billion International Monetary Fund Extended Credit Facility (ECF). 

The money, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta assured would be used for balance of payment and budget support, as well as to stabilize the foreign exchange rate and potentially reduce inflation.

Ghana anticipated the disbursement of the second tranche in June but th an IMF Mission is scheduled to visit Ghana to assess the country’s program considerations.

Another evaluation was expected towards the end of 2023, likely in December, prior to the final disbursement. 

Kumawu by-election

On May 23, the Electoral Commission (EC) held a by-election in Kumawu to fill thr vacant seat in parliament.

After weeks of intensive campaign, the NPP candidate; Ernest Yaw Anim emerged victorious in the polls.

Mr. Anim polled 15,264 votes to beat the NDC candidate, Kwasi Amankwaa, and two Independent Candidates, both of whom are called Kwaku Duah.

Mr Amankwaa garnered 3,723 votes while Kwaku Duah had 2,478 votes with the other Kwaku Duah managing a paltry 62 votes.

Despite rife allegations of vote buying, the election generally was smooth and peaceful.

Assin North by-election

June 27 also brought about another by-election in the Assin North constituency when the seat became vacant.

The Supreme Court ordered Parliament to expunge Gyakye Quayson’s name from its records in a ruling on May 17.

The Apex Court ruled that Mr. Quayson was not qualified to contest the 2020 parliamentary election in the Assin North Constituency at the time he filed his nomination forms on October 9, 2020.

It found that Mr. Quayson had not shown evidence of renouncing his Canadian citizenship and that the Electoral Commission had permitted him to contest the election without this evidence.

His election in 2020 where he secured 17,498 votes, was therefore declared unconstitutional.

The NDC fielded the former MP in the by-election in what the party said was to correct an injustice.

The by-election campaign attracted several bigwigs from both the NPP and NDC to Assin North.

President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as well as John Mahama and other stalwarts were in the constituency to actively campaign for their candidates.

Speaking at the NPP’s final rally ahead of the by-election Akufo-Addo urged voters to endorse his party’s candidate, Charles Opoku. 

The President insisted that Mr Quayson cannot deliver on the duties expected of him as a Member of Parliament (MP).

According to Akufo-Addo, Mr Quayson could end up in jail due to the criminal trial he is facing, leaving the Constituency without an MP. 

However, Mr. Quayson who was confident of winning emphasized that his good work for the people of Assin North will propel him ahead of his competitors.

The constituents indeed honoured him with their votes.

Mr. Quayson polled 17,245 votes representing 57.56 percent of the total votes cast to beat Charles Opoku of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), and Bernice Enyonam Sefenu of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG).

Charles Opoku polled 12,630 votes representing 42.15 percent of the total votes cast in the hotly contested by-election while the LPG’s Bernice Enyonam Sefenu polled a paltry 87 votes (0.29%).

Speaker of Parliament swears in Gyakye Quayson as Assin North MP

On July 4, 2023, Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin officially sworn in Mr Quayson as Assin North Member of Parliament(MPs) after he reclaimed his seat in the by-election.

In a show of support, former President, John Dramani Mahama, and the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) stormed Parliament.

The Minority MPs were dressed in white attire, symbolizing the significance of the event.

US$1m, €300,000, millions of cedis stolen from Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Dapaah’s house

On July 21, news broke about two house helps of former Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour before an Accra Circuit Court, for allegedly stealing monies and items running into millions of Ghana Cedis.

The said monies were allegedly stolen from the couple’s room in their house at Abelemkpe, a suburb of Accra, in the Greater Accra region.

An 18-year-old Patience Botwe and 30-year-old Sarah Agyei allegedly stole the monies and personal effects of the couple, between the months of July and October 2022.

Patience and Sarah, are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of stealing US$1 million, €300,000 and millions of Ghana cedis.

Within the same period, Patience and Sarah allegedly stole personal effects of Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, which included assorted clothes, valued at GH¢95,000, handbags and perfumes.

The rest are jewellery valued at US$95,000 from Cecilia Abena Dapaah.

Some Ghanaians have expressed shock at how the government appointee had such huge sums of money in her house and the source of the money.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor was petitioned to investigate the case of suspected corrupted and corruption related activities against the former Minister.

A search conducted at her residence by officers of the OSP led to the retrieval of an additional $590,000 and GH¢2.73 million from the house at Abelemkpe in Accra.

The OSP subsequently sough the collaboration of the FBI in the United States in probing the matter which is still in court.

Former Fisheries Minister, Sherry Ayittey passes on

Former Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Sherry Ayittey, died on Saturday, July 22, 2023.

She was 75 years.

Prior to her death, Madam Ayittey was the First Vice Chairperson of the National Democratic Congress.

NDC demands resignation of BoG Governor

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on August 9 called for the resignation of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, over alleged mismanagement of the central bank. 

They threatened to occupy the central bank if the governor and his team refused to vacate their positions after a 21-day ultimatum.

The call was on the back of the Annual Report and Financial Statement which revealed that the BoG had recorded a loss of GH¢60.8 billion, which is equivalent to $6 billion and recorded a negative equity of over GH¢55.1 billion.

NPP Super Delegates Conference

In the search for a presidential candidate and President Akufo-Addo’s successor who can help the NPP break the eight as they have envisioned over the past two years, 10 people declared their intention.

The Super Delegates conference on Saturday, August 26 therefore brought together 900 delegates to elect five people who will contest the presidential primary per the NPP’s constitution.

The aspirants included Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, former NPP General Secretary, Kwabena Agyepong, Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong, Dr Konadu Apraku, Addai Nimoh and former Ministers Boakye Agyarko, Dr Akoto Owusu Afriyie and Joe Ghartey.

At the end of the polls, Dr Bawumia won with a total of 629 votes, representing 68.15% of the vote.

Mr Agyapong came in second with 132 votes (14.30%), while Mr Kyerematen placed third with 95 votes (10.29%).

Mr Agyarko and Mr Addai-Nimoh came fifth with total votes of nine each.

With a run-off in sight, Mr Boakye, however withdrew from the race, giving  room for the five aspirants to contest the presidential primary on November 4.

Akufo-Addo has packed the courts with NPP-inclined judge – Mahama

Former President John Dramani Mahama accused President Akufo-Addo and his government of piling the Judiciary with judges sympathetic to the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Mr Mahama insisted Akufo-Addo has deliberately and consciously appointed their cronies to the second arm of government.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 3rd Annual Lawyers Conference of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Saturday, September 2, he said the party has done this to help them avoid accountability when they are out of office.

He cited there are about 80 of such judges in the system, and expressed worry the number may cross 100.

The 2024 NDC flagbearer thus advised the party members to take up careers on the bench to balance the numbers.

He said that is the only way this anomaly can be corrected. 

This however attracted a lot of backlash, particularly from the NPP, who described the comment as dangerous to democracy.

Alan withdraws from NPP Presidential race

On the back of the fallout from the Super Delegates Conference, former Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen on September 5 withdrew from the NPP presidential race.

Mr. Kyerematen who placed third said he opted out of the race following the intimidation of agents.

He also said the race seems to be deliberately skewed to favour one of the candidates.

This left four persons in the race, which was set for November 4.

They were; Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong, former Agric Minister Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto and former MP for Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh.

Concept of NPP and NDC Supreme Court judges is dangerous – Akufo-Addo hits back at Mahama

President Akufo-Addo on Monday, September 11 took on former President John Mahama over his comments that he has packed the Judiciary with NPP-aligned judges.

The President said the comment by Mr Mahama is very dangerous to the progress of the country and thus should not be made by someone of his stature.

Addressing the Ghana Bar Conference GBA) at the University of Cape Coast Akufo-Addo said this is the most brazen attack the Judiciary has faced in Ghana’s history.

He thus urged the public to vote out the former president in 2024 for such “reckless” comments that he says sought to jeopardise the Judiciary.

The GBA subsequently condemned Akufo-Addo for using its conference platform to campaign against Mr Mahama.

Alan resigned from NPP to contest presidency as an Independent Candidate 

After he bowed out of the NPP primaries, the former trade minister resigned from the party and also decided to contest the 2024 election as in independent candidate.

Mr Kyerematen’s decision sent shockwaves through the political landscape, as he has been a steadfast member of the NPP for many years.

As a seasoned politician, he is widely recognized for his contributions to the NPP and his roles in various government positions.

However, at a press conference held in Accra on Monday, September 25, Mr Kyerematen noted that “it is abundantly clear to me, that my services and contributions to the Party are not appreciated, and that my continuous stay in the Party will create further tension and division, which is an exact replay of circumstances that led to my decision to resign from the Party in 2008.

His candidacy under his political entity, Movement for Change to many presents a unique challenge to the established political order in Ghana, with the potential to reshape the political landscape.

His action was widely criticized as it was the second time Mr. Kyerematen had quit the NPP.

Feeling bitter about the loss in the 2007 presidential primary and what he described subsequently as being sidelined, Alan, in 2008 resigned from the NPP in a similar move but was politically coerced and later rejoined the party.

#OccupyJulorBiHouse Protest

 From Thursday 21st to Saturday 23rd September 2023, there was a picketing within the vicinity of the Jubilee House.

This was after weeks of legal battle and an injunction by the police to stop the march led by pressure group, Democracy Hub.

The protest coincided with Nkrumah Memorial Day and aimed to call on “the President and members of the Economic Management Team to #FixTheCountry in light of the level of economic mismanagement and theft that has engulfed our government from the highest levels.”

Several Ghanaian celebrities, including Efia Odo, Kelvyn Boy, and comedian Warris, joined the protestors at 37 Lorry Park to march to the Jubilee House.

The first day of the protest was disrupted after the police arrested 49 of the organisers at 37 Lorry Park for unlawful assembly.

The protesters were released late Thursday evening after extensive negotiations with the Police by their lawyers.

Ghanaians take #OccupyJulorbiHouse demonstration to UK, Germany

After a three-day protest organised by the #OccupyJulorbiHouse movement in Ghana, the demonstration was extended to London and Berlin.

In London, a group of protesters gathered outside the Ghana High Commission, making their voices heard in solidarity with the ongoing movement back home.

The act was also replicated in Berlin to mount pressure on the government to address the hardships faced by Ghanaians.

Kan-Dapaah sues Barker-Vormawor over attempted bribery allegation 

The Minister of National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah on September 26 sued Mawuse Oliver Barker-Vormawor, one of the leaders of the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protest over an attempted bribery allegation. 

The #FixTheCountry convener in a media interaction on the sidelines of the protest alleged the Minister offered him $1 million in an attempt to get him to stop his activism in a meeting.

Though the Ministry debunked the allegation, Mr Barker-Vormawor in interview with Joy News said he was ready to release an audio he recorded from the meeting.

Former First Lady Theresa Kufuor passes on

The nation was thrown into mourning on Sunday October 1, following the death of former First Lady, Theresa Kufuor.

She was 87 years old.

Mrs Kufuor held the position of Ghana’s First Lady from January 7, 2001, to January 6, 2009.

The news of her passing deeply touched the hearts of many Ghanaians, prompting an outpouring of grief and remembrance on social media.

Countless individuals also visited his widow, former President John Kufuor and the family to pay their respects and commiserate with them, reflecting on her contributions to the nation and offering solace to her grieving family.

E.T. Mensah passes away

Veteran politician and former Ningo Prampram member of parliament, Enoch Teye Mensah (ET) has died on October 1 at the age of 77.

He died in South Africa where he was receiving health care.

The late NDC member served in various capacities such as Minister for Education, Minister of Youth and Sports, Mayor of Accra and representative of the Council of State for the Greater Accra Region.

He was elected as a member of Parliament of the second parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana during the 1996 General Election.

He retained his seat as Ningo Prampram MP until 2016 when he lost the NDC’s parliamentary primary to Samuel Nartey George.

Appointment of judges must be based on merit, not on cronyism, ethnicity – Atuguba

Retired Justice of the Supreme Court, William Atuguba in October reacted to Mr Mahama’s displeasure on the appointment of judges.

Justice Atuguba emphasized the need for appointments to the judiciary and other governance institutions to be based on merit rather than factors such as protocol, cronyism, ethnicity, or improper considerations.

Speaking at a public lecture themed “Protecting our democracy: the role of the Judiciary”, Justice Atuguba highlighted the importance of these institutions, particularly the Judiciary, being shielded from political pressures.

He further stressed the necessity of conducting a realistic audit and restructuring of not only the Judiciary but all governmental institutions.

Prominent lawyer, Akoto Ampaw passes on

Prominent lawyer, Akoto Ampaw who represented President Akufo-Addo in the 2020 election petition passed on to eternity. 

He died in the early hours of Friday, October 20, at the University of Ghana Medical Center (UGMC).

The late Lawyer Akoto Ampaw is one of the people who criticised the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill. 

He insisted at the time that, the bill seeks to needlessly criminalise sympathy and support for the LGBTQ+ community in Ghana. 

Mr Akoto Ampaw further alluded to the fact that the bill also places an unhealthy gag on citizens who may want to engage in discussions on LGBTQ; a situation which he believes undermines the spirit of the 1992 Constitution.

Popularly known as ‘Che Che’ right from his student days at the University of Ghana, Ampaw was part of the New Patriotic Party’s legal team in the Electoral Petition of 2013.

His remarkable legal career was further underscored by his involvement in the New Patriotic Party’s legal team during the Electoral Petition of 2020.

#OccupBoG demo

Scores of Ghanaians on October 3 gathered at Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle for #OccupyBoGdemo organized by the leadership of the NDC and the Minority caucus of Parliament.

Some civil society groups like Arise Ghana joined to seek the removal of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison and his two deputies.

Notable MPs like Madina Member of Parliament (MP), Francis-Xavier Sosu, former Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Wa Central MP, Rashid Pelpuo and former MP for Lawra Nandom constituency, Bede Ziedeng were spotted among the protesters.

Participants were predominantly dressed in black and red attire, with many sporting red caps on their heads.

Throughout the demonstration, they were heard chanting patriotic songs, expressing their collective voice for change and accountability.

As part of the demo, the Minority had demanded that Dr Addison receives a petition from them himself.

The NDC MPs said they want the embattled Governor to feel their disappointment and anger for his incompetence and mismanagement of the central bank.

On the back of this, they refused to present their petition to the Director of Security at the Bank of Ghana.

Wing Commander Kwame Asare Boateng was delegated to receive the petition on behalf of Dr Addison who was absent but he was turned away.

The Minority Leader described the decision as disrespectful and vowed to return later when the governor is available to receive the petition in person.

Bawumia wins NPP flag bearer race 

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on November 4 won the NPP presidential primary, setting him up for a showdown with former president and NDC flagbearer John Mahama in the 2024 general election.

He defeated three other candidates, including Kennedy Agyapong, the outspoken Assin Central MP, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, a former Minister for Agriculture and former Mampong MP, Francis Addai-Nimoh.

Dr Bawumia polled 118210 votes representing 61.47% while his closest contender Mr Agyapong polled 71,996 votes representing 37.41%.

Dr. Afriyie Akoto who placed a distant third polled 1,459 votes representing 0.76% while Addai-Nimoh garnered 731 representing 0.41%.

A total of 192 446 delegates voted in Saturday’s presidential primary. The total valid votes were 193, 346 with 900 votes rejected. Turn out was 94.63%.

Bawumia was predicted from the start to win the presidential primary but he, however, failed to meet the target of 80% set by members of his campaign team.

Several MPs and Ministers threw their support behind Dr Bawumia who is a popular figure within the NPP.

Dr Bawumia makes history by becoming the first non-Akan to lead the NPP into a general election after being the running mate to President Akufo-Addo since 2008.

The outcome of the 2024 election will likely depend on several factors, including the state of the economy, the candidates’ campaigns, and the turnout of voters.

NPP sacks Yaw Buaben, Hopeson Adorye and 2 others

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) on November 20 expelled four members for declaring support for independent presidential aspirant, Alan Kyerematen.

The four were former Member of Parliament for Adentan and Madina; Yaw Buaben Asamoa and Boniface Abuabakr Saddique, former General Secretary Nana Ohene Ntow and outspken NPP member, Hopeson Adorye.

Late Courage Quashigah’s wife passes on

Wife of late Major Courage E. K Quashigah (Rtd), a former Minister in the erstwhile Kufuor administration has passed on.

Gertrude Quashigah died on Sunday November 12, 2023.

Until her demise, Mrs Quashigah was the National Coordinator of the School Feeding Programme.

John Mahama’s 24-hour economy proposal

 The NDC flagbearer’s 24-hour economy proposal was also a topical issue in 2023.

Mahama argued that this initiative holds the key to addressing the critical issue of Ghanaian youth undertaking perilous journeys across the Sahara and the Mediterranean in search of better opportunities in Europe.

He emphasized the urgency of tackling the lack of employment opportunities for the dynamic youth in Ghana.

Highlighting the growing frustration among the youth due to the scarcity of jobs, Mahama underscored that they are losing confidence in the country’s future.

In a speech at the ninth Ghana CEO Network Business Cocktail, he outlined the vision for the policy, stressing the need for a comprehensive plan to address Ghana’s economic challenges.

But NPP flagbearer, Dr Bawumia shot down the policy, calling it ill-conceived and lacking innovation.

Dr Bawumia asserted that Mahama’s economic strategies have consistently fallen short and that true economic transformation requires more creative thinking.

However, the criticisms have sustained the discussion around the 24-hour economy which many political scientists and economist have described as timely and an idea voters will buy into.

Others have acknowledged that some services are operating 24-hours but it is not a deliberate policy.

2024 budget approval: Minority shouts ‘away away’ as Majority walks out

The Majority side on November 29 staged a walk out from Parliament during deliberations to approve the 2024 budget.

After the debate ended, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, announced that the policy document was to be approved or rejected through a voice vote.

The Speaker subsequently declared that, the 2024 budget had been approved by a majority voice vote.

But the Minority MPs challenged the ruling and called for a head count.

The Majority MPs, who were not pleased with the Minority’s resistance decided to leave the Chamber upon a declaration from the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markins.

Some Majority MPs were however hesitant and engaged in conversations in the Chamber while others were seated, causing the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu to move around to rally them out.

There were chants of ‘away’ and loud screams from the Minority MPs.

After criticisms and disagreements on the budget statement presented by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta on November 15, it was approved on December 7.

NPP parliamentary primaries in orphan constituencies

The NPP on Saturday December 2 went to the polls to elect parliamentary candidates for the 2024 general election in constituencies where the party has no members of parliament (MP), also referred to as orphan constituencies. 

The elections took place in 111 constituencies across the 16 regions with a total of 321 aspirants vying for the single slot in the constituencies where the elections were held.

The delegates for the elections were polling station and constituency executives, electoral area coordinators, the Council of Elders, Council of Patrons, among others.

There were a lot of surprises as people deemed underdogs in the race beat government appointees in their respective constituencies.

Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, the CEO of the National Health Insurance Authority and former Ledzokuku MP, reclaimed his seat with 902 votes, triumphing over competitors Clifford Martey, Ibrahim Adjei (a presidential staffer), and Collins Nii Ashitey Ollenu, the NPP parliamentary candidate for the 2020 general elections.

Ablekuma Central: Jefferson Sackey, Deputy Director of Communication at the Office of the President, emerged victorious in the Ablekuma Central Constituency with 539 votes, surpassing Collins Amoah (businessman), Ebenezer Nii Narh Nartey (former MP), and Samuel Brako-Amoafo (businessman).

Jaman South Seat Constituency: Colonel Kwadwo Damoah, former Commissioner of the Customs Division at the Ghana Revenue Authority, secured victory as the parliamentary candidate for the Jaman South Constituency with 289 votes, defeating former MP Yaw Afful and other contestants.

Okaikwei North: Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, emerged victorious in the Okaikwei North with 341 votes after she switched from her traditional constituency, Akuapem North, overcoming competitors Alberta Afia Akoto and former MP Fuseini Issa.

Bawumia asks for more time to choose running mate

The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on December 6, requested an extension of time for the selection of his running mate for the 2024 election.

This was at a crunch meeting held at Alisa Hotel in Accra.

Per the NPP’s constitution, a running mate is to be selected 12 months before a major election if the President is not the candidate.

Twelve months hence was December 6, a day to Ghana’s next general elections unless the National Council suspended the party constitutional provision and directs otherwise.

Dr Bawumia’s call for extension was to make way for further consultations on the choice of running mate which the National Executive Council (NEC), agreed to.

Meanwhile, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh (Energy Minister), Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum (Education Minister), and Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu (Majority Leader), have been rumoured as frontrunners.

Others like John Ampontuah Kumah, Deputy Finance Minister and Member of Parliament for Ejisu in Ashanti, and Deputy Minister of Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, are making the rounds as well.

There has been even the mention of Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare.

CPP’s NEC passes vote of no confidence in national leadership

The Convention People’s Party’s (CPP) National Executive Council (NEC), on December 6 unanimously expressed a vote of no confidence in all its national executives during a convened meeting in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi.

The party, representing members from across the nation, overwhelmingly voiced dissatisfaction with the performance of the current leadership, resulting in a directive for the resignation or removal of all national executives from their respective positions.

Tensions were high during the meeting, with some party members specifically petitioning for the removal of the national chairperson due to perceived disagreements within the leadership.

Confirming the decision, the immediate past General Secretary, Nana Yaa Jantuah, announced her resignation and expressed her intention to reveal her future political path in due course.

Meanwhile, the NEC has established a 13-member interim body composed of regional chairpersons, a council of elders member, regional secretaries, regional organisers, and representatives of women and youth.

This interim body is tasked with overseeing the party’s affairs until a new leadership structure is established.

Akufo-Addo’s position on Witchcraft, Armed Forces bills tragically wrong – Bagbin

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin was up in arms with President Akufo-Addo over his decision not to assent to the Criminal Offences Amendment Bill and Ghana Armed Forces Amendment Bill.

In a fiery address to Parliament, Mr Bagbin accused the President of being “tragically wrong” and “ill-informed” in his rationale for rejecting the bills.

President Akufo-Addo, in a letter, cited financial implications on the state’s consolidated fund and potential breaches of Article 108 of the Constitution as reasons for his refusal.

He specifically identified the Ghana Armed Forces Amendment Bill, sponsored by MP Francis Xavier Sosu, as having financial burdens associated with replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment.

He indicated that in consultations with the Attorney General, he was advised that the Ghana Armed Forces Amendment Bill 2023 which was a private member’s bill sponsored by the Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu seeking to replace the death penalty with a life sentence had financial implications on the consolidated fund of the state due to the associated cost of incarceration.

However, Mr. Bagbin vehemently dismissed these concerns. He asserted that the President was misguided in his assessment of the bills’ financial implications.

NPP’s Amma Busia passes on

A stalwart of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Amma Busia succumbed to a brief illness and passed on December 12.

The NPP Council of Elders member was 87.

Madam Amma Busia was also sister of late Ghana’s Prime Minister in the Second Republic, Kofi Abrefa Busia.

The power of contempt allows judges to summarily punish persons who disobey orders of the court or disrupts legal proceedings in a court.

The power has been used in Ghana to punish journalists and other commentators who use language some judges do not like and has been criticised by some lawyers and media professionals.

When asked by Madina MP, Francis-Xavier Sosu, at the Appointments Committee’s hearing whether there should be a law to regulate this power, Justice Anthony Kwofie, currently Justice of the Court of Appeal, explained that commentators and media professionals must rather be circumspect of their language.

He argued that it is the only tool available to judges to defend themselves when they are being targeted for abuse in the media, thus curtailing that power would be unfair to the judges.

“Honourable Chair, I don’t think there should be a law as you have now in UK for example on contempt. But in all honesty how many contempt cases come before the court across the country in a year? Very few. And where people make so much noise is the contempt involving the media.

“Seems to me that’s where the problem really is. People say this judge, this media house or this journalist is being – but judges are attacked, people are hounded and they use all manner of strange language and the courts have no, if you like, we don’t carry guns.

“The only power a judge has that is used is not something that is used, I mean, every day. Once in – I don’t even remember for the number of years I have sat as a judge to have convicted somebody of contempt, and I know a lot of my colleagues have the same attitude.

“But you see, sometimes people should be able to also control their emotions, their language and recognize that judges are also human beings. You attack, you hound, you insult, it’s our way of making sure that such a person is brought to justice to know that at least even though we don’t carry a gun, that is the only way we can [defend ourselves]. I don’t think that there should be a law,” he said.

After his vetting, the committee will interact with the two other nominees, Yaw Darko Asare and Richard Adjei-Frimpong, who also serve on the Court of Appeal.

The Appointments Committee is chaired by the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu.

He is expected to superintend the process and submit a report to the plenary for consideration.

ALSO READ:

• KT Hammond reacts to court’s ruling on Gyakye Quayson’s contempt case

• Judges who comment on cases in court should be held for contempt – CJ

Nana Amponsah as part of his evidence told the Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra that, he received the nomination form of James Quayson, the current Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North Constituency.

The Returning Officer said, his duties include “publication of notice of the poll, ensuring that the nomination form of the candidates are received and the polling station and numbers of the proposers and seconders of the candidates are verified.”

Mr Amponsah, who was in Court as the 2nd Prosecution’s Witness also told the High Court presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh that, he received the nomination forms of Mr Quayson on October 8, 2020.

“I received the nomination form from the accused in person at 2:03pm and accepted same at 2:09pm on Thursday, 8th October 2020 and endorsed it to that effect,” the Returning Officer told the Criminal Division of the High Court.

Meanwhile, prior to the identification of the nomination form supposedly received from the accused in court, lawyers of James Gyakye Quayson led by Tsatsu Tsikata objected to its identification as same was not the original copy.

But, the Court said, the document was only being identified and not to be tendered in evidence, the witness was then allowed to identify the said photocopy version of the nomination form.

While being led by the Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah-Yeboah to give his evidence-in-chief to the Court, the witness said he knew James Quayson.

He told the Court that, the accused was the parliamentary aspirant for Assin North Constituency and sometime in October 2020, the Electoral Commission issued online nomination forms to the accused and other aspiring members of Parliament.

The trial is currently being held in absentia (absence) of Mr Quayson who is said to be in Canada for medical evaluation but the Court said no records of his reports has been furnished to it.

ALSO READ:

• Gyakye Quayson flown to Canada over critical health emergency – Court told

• Gyakye Quayson’s trial continues in absentia as judge doubts medical excuse

• Supreme Court ruling on Gyakye Quayson’s case scandalous – Atuguba

The accused, who is on trial for alleged counts of perjury, was instructed by the court on November 3 to either appear in court or join a virtual link on November 9.

This directive was necessitated by the failure of the accused and his lawyers to make themselves available for proceedings at the last adjourned date.

The Judge, Justice Mary Yankuh, directed that the trial may continue in absentia if the accused, who she believed did not have any reasonable basis to be absent, repeats a similar act.

But on Thursday when the case was called, his lawyers led by Tsatsu Tsikata explained that James Gyakye Quayson was out of the country for medical tests and requisite treatment.

“The accused person is in Canada for medical tests and the requisite treatment arising from those tests,” Tsatsu Tsikata noted in court.

He explained to the court that, the accused was preparing for the medical doctors in Canada to provide the court with an update on his medical situation for which the treatment may take 5 months.

He, however, indicated that steps are being taken to get a medical doctor in Ghana to testify to the medical condition of the legislator.

“I am, therefore, asking the court to allow us to contact that doctor in Ghana to make him available to the court to make it clear to the court the medical situation which makes it necessary for the accused to go for medical treatment from specialized doctors,” Tsatsu Tsikata pleaded with the court.

He also notified the court that his client and lawyers were not aware of the November 3 sitting where the order to possibly try the case in his absence was given.

He urged the court to review its stance taken on November 3.

But the Judge indicated that there was no evidence before the court confirming the medical condition of the accused; hence, the court will treat it as though he has no medical condition as claimed.

The judge then ordered the trial to continue in his absence under article 19(3b) of the 1992 constitution and asked Tsatsu Tsikata to conclude his cross-examination of prosecution witness 1, Richard Takyi, an executive of the NPP in the Central Region.

ALSO READ:

• Court will not countenance undue delays; Quayson to be tried in absentia if… 

• Supreme Court ruling on Gyakye Quayson’s case scandalous – Atuguba

• I’m not scared of going to jail – Gyakye Quayson

Justice Atuguba, speaking at a public lecture on Tuesday, labeled the Supreme court’s decision in the Assin North legislator’s case as “scandalous.”

He argued that, the Supreme Court should not have taken on the case in the first place.

The renowned judge said the Apex Court went contrary to a basic law principle by adjudicating on a matter that had already been adjudicated by the High Court.

To him, the proper course of action for the Supreme Court should have been to execute the High Court’s decision rather than initiate a new trial.

Justice Atuguba added that the Supreme Court failed to deliver justice when it nullified Mr. Quayson’s election when the MP had clearly renounced his Canadian citizenship in November 2020 ahead of the December polls.

Reacting to these comments, Allotey Jacobs could not fathom why a man of high repute and someone who has gained popularity as a “no-nonsense man” in the law fraternity would make such statements.

He wondered if Mr. Atuguba had ulterior motives for passing such comments.

The former NPP Chairman asked whether is former Supreme Court judge is making such comment just to catch the eye of NDC flagbearer, John Mahama to make him running mate.

“Does he [Atuguba] want to be a running mate to the leading opposition flagbearer?”, he quizzed on Accra-based Peace FM.

ALSO READ:

• Full text: Justice Atuguba calls out Supreme Court over Gyakye Quayson ruling

• Where Ghana stands now a cause for grave lamentation – Justice Atuguba

• Shut up! – Allotey Jacobs fires Frimpong Boateng

According to Frank Davies, the retired Supreme Court justice has succumbed to the same misconception about the case that the majority of people have.

This, he says, is quite unfortunate.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story Frank Davies said, “On this call alone, he has misjudged, misconstrued his interpretation of what happened in Gyakye Quayson’s case.”

Mr Davies’ comments come after Justice Atuguba in a speech during a public lecture on Tuesday labeled the court’s decision in Gyakye Quayson’s case as “scandalous.”

He argued that the Supreme Court should not have taken on the case in the first place.

He contended that the matter had already been adjudicated by the High Court, and the Supreme Court’s decision to proceed with it contradicts a fundamental principle of law.

Justice Atuguba insisted that the proper course of action for the Supreme Court should have been to execute the High Court’s decision rather than initiate a new trial.

But Mr Davies disagrees with Justice Atuguba’s views.

He explained that the issue of the election petition in the High Court was for the interpretation of Article 94 (2A) of the 1992 Constitution which means that Gyakye Quayson was not eligible to hold himself out for election when at the time of the close of nomination, he had not renounced his Canadian citizenship.

According to Mr Davies, the case in the Supreme Court was not about determining any case in the High Court.

He added that if Justice Atuguba had taken pains to read the case, he would not have made such pronouncements.

This, he noted was because “the case evolves interpreting Article 94 (2A) which has not received any authoritative pronouncement from the Supreme Court”, adding that the issue of Res Judicata et non quieta movere does not apply because it was not on the strength of Article 94 1A.

This, he says therefore gives the Supreme Court the power to interpret the law which is exactly what they did.

On the other hand, the Director for Conflict Resolution with the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba, speaking on the same show, sided with Justice Atuguba in his comments on the Gyakye Quayson case.

ALSO READ:

• Supreme Court ruling on Gyakye Quayson’s case scandalous – Atuguba

• Where Ghana stands now a cause for grave lamentation – Justice Atuguba

Speaking at a public lecture organized by Solidaire Ghana in collaboration with the University of Ghana on the theme: ‘Protecting our democracy; the role of the judiciary’, October 24, he said “where Ghana stands now is a cause for grave lamentation.”

According to him, the increasing loss of hope of young Ghanaians and Africans in general in the democratic experiment as seen in their strong support for military juntas is a matter of grave concern.

Delivering the lecture in the Kofi Drah Hall at the University of Ghana, he noted that much of the disappointment with the democratic experiment can be blamed on the failure of the judiciary to assert itself by being impartial and independent.

He noted that particularly in Ghana, the political machinations of the executive have rendered the judiciary a rubber stamp leading to a waning belief in the country’s justice system.

He said the only way out is the “realistic auditing and restructuring of the Judiciary and indeed all other governmental institutions because just as the cyanide of illegal mining galamsey has devastated our forest lands and poisoned our water bodies so also has the cyanide of Political Corruption poisoned our Governance Institutions.”

He called for the total independence of bodies that make appointments to the judiciary and any other governance institution.

He said appointments must be “based on nothing but merit and not on things like protocol, cronyism, ethnicity, or other improper considerations.”

He added that the judiciary must be realistically insulated against presidential and other political pressures and service conditions must be reasonably attractive and security of tenure of office must be enshrined.

“The Executive Powers of the President and his functionaries must be drastically curtailed. There must be real separation of parliament from the Executive branch. The emphasis should be on good and sincere governance in the interest of the people and not on hollow over exaggerated notions of electoral conferment of power on anybody or group of persons,” he said.

Justice Atuguba added that “no meaningful political reforms can be reasonably expected even under a regime change without sustaining the Political Renaissance which has started and is growing well in Ghana.”

He urged the new vanguards of Ghana’s democratic experiment to remain nationalistic no matter the regime in power and continue their quest for true constitutionalism for the country.

ALSO READ:

• Retired judge slams Supreme Court over 2020 election petition

• Justice Atuguba wades into appointment of judges

• Full text: Justice Atuguba calls out Supreme Court over Gyakye Quayson…

Introduction

I feel highly honoured but down spirited by this invitation to lead this lecture today. Mr. Chairman, on the eve of our independence, our country was consecrated to the sacred and Immaculate hearts of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Mother the Blessed Virgin Mary.

This probably explains why Ghana has not experienced major mishaps. The returns from such a consecration are normally inestimable as exemplified in the cases of the United States of America and Israel.

Against this background, where Ghana stands now is a cause for grave lamentation. Ghana is heavily blessed in terms of natural and human resources so one is justified to ask: why the economic and social hardships?

That said, my mandate for this lecture as per my invitation letter is in terms of:

1. Sharing my lived experiences with the Justice delivery system vi-a-vis public confidence in the judiciary.
2. How recent Judicial pronouncements and rulings portend for consideration of Ghana’s democracy.

This is against the backdrop that the African youth are increasingly losing hope in the democratic experiment and are manifesting same by pouring onto the streets to show support for military juntas who overthrow democratically elected civilian regimes.  Indeed, the flyer on this invitation is in even wider terms.

1. My lived Experiences

Everything has a beginning. When I was in form 2 in Notre Dame Secondary School, Navrongo, our Latin master put before us a number of mottos for our choice. Some chose “Orando et Laborando’, ‘Fidelis in Parvo’, etc. I chose ‘Justitia Omnibus and I still love it.

When I commenced my Private legal practice at Bolgatanga in the then Upper Region of Ghana, in August 1975, I soon realized that there was much corruption in the judicial system. By the grace of God, I stayed out of it though it was very challenging. In the web of the 1979 revolution, a neighbor of mine was badly brutalized by some soldiers and he sent for me to hear his story and see his condition.

Despite the heat of the revolutionary atmosphere, I issued a writ against them and they came to seek settlement. Unsurprisingly their terms of settlement centered around smoking the peace pipe in the form of sharing a roasted fowl. I rejected this and kept to the writ.

Unfortunately, their duties in Bolgatanga had ended and they immediately returned to Accra and my attempt to serve them with further court processes received no co-operation from their command structure.

After the 31^st December revolution, I was appointed chairman of the then Upper Regional Investigations Committee and subsequently also briefly, I was the acting special public prosecutor for the same region. In the course of time, a flight-lieutenant from Accra came to Bolgatanga and asked why there were only a few cases for trial by the National Public Tribunal when it came to try cases in the Upper Region. I told him that the crime rate differs from region to region. He then asked about our investigation into the affairs of the then Farmers Services Company (FASCOM) of the Upper Region. I told him that our committee had spent 3 months thoroughly investigating that case and that we were not prepared to change anything. He went away.

In addition, one evening a major of the Ghana Army from the Kamina Barracks in Tamale came to intervene in our committee’s investigation into a case involving his nephew, and his colleague officer who was temporarily stationed at Bolgatanga, introduced him to me that evening. I told him that we would attend to him the next morning. The next morning, I had him called into our committee sitting room and had him sworn. I then asked what was his mission. He could not testify meaningfully. I then addressed him that it was they the Army that launched the revolution to ensure justice prevailed so how could that be achieved if they tried to obstruct the due flow of Justice? He became uneasy and was glad to be told to go his way. He saluted us and left. These are a few episodes.

I found myself appointed from the Bar to the Supreme Court on 30^th November 1995. I soon noticed that public confidence in the Judiciary was of considerable concern in that there were perceptions of corruption and slanted Judicial positions especially constitutional cases. There were frequent calls for the entire number of justices of the Supreme Court to be empanelled on constitutional cases. I propose to try to unearth the causes for these perceptions which were built up over the years. The perceptions were aroused by perceptions of political inclinations on the part of some judges. There is a long history to it. Sometimes the suspicion was anchored on the incidence of political influence. This occurred in various ways to various degrees at various times.

• Political confrontation   

On 20^th April 1970 the Court of Appeal coram Apaloo, Siriboe, Sowah, Anin and Archer JJ.A, gave judgement in Sallah v The Attorney General 2 G&G 739 (2d) 1319. The Court upheld the plaintiff’s claim for a declaration that his employment as a manager with the GNTC had been wrongly terminated by the Busia regime.  This decision meant that well over 350 other persons whose employments were similarly affected could also successfully sue the government. Before the court could hear the case unsuccessful objections on the grounds of bias were raised against Apaloo, J.A (on the ground of close friendship with the plaintiff and Sowah J.A. (on the ground that his brother-in-law’s wife had approached him to help her husband, Jonas, who was similarly affected as Sallah by the termination of his employment). In the evening of that day (20/04/1970) of the delivery of the judgement, an incensed Dr. Busia, the then Prime Minister of Ghana made a Radio Broadcast on this judgement, the full text of which is in 2 G&G 739 (2d) 1374. Inter alia, he fumed as follows at 1378-1379 “if any others who were not reappointed in the recent implementation of the transitional provisions of the constitution wish to sue the government, they are at liberty to do so.

The government will not stop them. But if they hope thereby to coerce the government to employ them, then they will be wasting their time and money. My government will exercise its right to employ only those whom it wishes to employ.

No court can enforce any decision that seeks to compel the government to employ or re-employ anyone. That would be a futile exercise. I wish to make that perfectly clear.”

This outburst flew in the face of article 102 (3) of the 1969 constitution of Ghana, that ‘ in the exercise of the Judicial power of Ghana, the Judiciary in both its Judicial and administrative functions shall be subject only to this Constitution and shall not be subject to the control or direction of any other person or authority’.

 Article 115 (1) and (2) of the said 1969 constitution of Ghana provided as follows:

1. “The Chief Justice shall be appointed by the president, acting in consultation with the Council of State by warrant under his hand and the Presidential seal”
2. ‘The other Judges of the Superior Court of Judicature shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and the Presidential Seal acting in accordance with the advice of the Judicial Council’

Consequent upon this judgement Justices, Azu Crabbe and Apaloo who after Ollennu J.A were the most senior justices of the Court of Appeal, see the list under the heading JUDGES OF THE SUPERIOR COURTS OF GHANA contained in (1968) GLR, E.A.L Bannerman who had been a Senior Magistrate, the equivalent of a Circuit Court Judge was appointed the Chief Justice of Ghana and K.O. Larbi a private Legal Practitioner and Siriboe J.A (the only judge who ruled in favour of the Busia Administration  were made more senior judges over them on the Supreme Court. What was more V.C.R A.C. Crabbe who in 1968 was the 11^th most senior high court Judge out of a list of 12High court judges (see under Judges of the Superior Courts of Ghana (1968) GLR, was appointed from the High Court to the Supreme Court as a senior over and above Azu Crabbe and Apaloo JJ.A.

The appointments aroused public scrutiny as revealed in BADU v THE REPUBLIC  (1974) 2 GLR 361. The facts of the case as summarized in the headnote are as follows; “the appellant, the editor of a newspaper. The spokesman published a front page editorial commenting on the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court established under the suspended Constitution of 1969, which indicated that the appointments, including that of the first prosecution witness, were improper. The editorial also imputed that the first prosecution witness who was at the material time a High Court Judge, was unfit to hold the post of a Supreme Court judge and that as Interim Electoral Commissioner, he had during the 1969 general elections, misconducted himself by showing bias in favor of the winning party. The appellant was therefore charged with intentional libel arising from the publication, contrary to section 112 (2) of the Criminal Code 1960 (Act 29).”      

Again, the plaintiff in TUFFUOR v ATTORNEY-GENERAL (1980) GLR634 C.A sitting as the Supreme Court, successfully claimed that even though the 1979 constitution preserved existing offices at the time it came into force, President Limann purported to nominate Apaloo who was the sitting Chief Justice for parliamentary approval, to be Chief Justice anew. Parliament rejected him on very tenuous grounds. Otherwise Apaloo C.J. would have been ousted and the Limann government would have had a free hand to pick the Chief Justice of his liking with its attendant implications.  

President Limann also made a similar radio broadcast as Busia had done in 1969, when, as far as I can recollect, Colonel Frank George Barnasko rtd. challenged his scheme of the distribution of essential commodities in court.

Also President Kuffuor in swearing in a Chief Justice of Ghana said that although the Judiciary is independent yet he could not ignore politics and that he must take politics into account. When the Supreme Court ruled the Fast-Track court as unconstitutional President Kuffuor fumed from outside Ghana that he was dissatisfied with the decision and that he would do everything in his power to have it reversed.

Indeed, Justice Kwame Afreh was promoted to the Supreme Court from the Court of Appeal and was part of the reversing panel on the final decision on the Fast-Track court matter.  Such executive intimidations, not forgetting the unfortunate murder of 3 high Court Judges and a Retired Army Major in 1982, could demoralize the judiciary. As noted in his book Ghana Bar Association Lectures in continuing legal education 1993-1994, the very distinguished late legal scholar, S.Y. Bimpong-Buta, quoted pp.1-3 of the Weekly Spectator No. 1288,28 November 1992 frontpage, which referred to the fact that the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Peoples National Convention (PNC), the National Independent Party (NIP) and the Peoples Heritage Party (PHP)’s “decision not to contest the results of the presidential elections is based partly on “loss of confidence in the judiciary. In the words of a leading member, of one of the four opposition parties: ‘it will be a waste of time and money to go to court, because the judiciary as at now is not independent: the judges have been so intimidated that there is no way they will rule in our favor against the government’. In fact, the leader of the NPP was quoted as having said that the decision of the party not to challenge the results of the presidential elections at the Supreme court (was on the grounds, inter alia, that ‘the party had no confidence in the Chief Justice and the judges of the Supreme Court’. At p.3 he stated thus: “And quite recently in an article appearing in the Ghanaian Chronicle, Professor Paul Ansah of the University of Ghana (now deceased) was able to assert that: ‘We know that with the kind of a de facto one party system that we have, Parliament may not be able to do much, and with an enfeebled, emasculated and compromised judiciary, the prospects don’t look too bright..”

Though the author subsequently states that the said loss of confidence in the Judiciary was not justified, this is not entirely correct. In Republic v. National Public Tribunals, Ex parte office of the Special Public Prosecutor (1993-94) 1 GLR 478 S.C, the special public prosecutor applied to the supreme court for directions to the National Public Tribunal concerning a review application before it. At pp486-487 the very distinguished Adade JSC felt compelled to say thus “the proper party to apply in this case is the People or the Republic. The office of the special public prosecutor is none of these. If the special public prosecutor had mounted a full blown action under article 2 of the constitution 1992, that is enforcement of the constitution provision, perhaps different considerations might arise. For the present, however, its locus standi is questionable. Nonetheless, as this case raises constitutional issues of some importance, I propose to deal with it on the merits, and not dismiss it, justifiably, on the foregoing grounds, and risk being accused unjustifiably, of deciding it on so- called technicalities, even if those perceived technicalities are part of the laws which the courts are enjoined to interpret and enforce.”

JUDICIAL ADMISSIONS OF EXECUTIVE INTRUSION OF THE JUDICIARY

In (1980)12 R.G.L at pp. 2-3 Apaloo CJ in paying tribute to the late Akuffo -Addo C J and President of Ghana said “For a lawyer of his caliber, elevation to the bench was a matter of course. To most lawyers, that is the culmination of a successful legal career. It came in 1962 after he was in the law for 22 years, having been called to the bar in 1940.

Such honour was deserved much earlier. That it did not come to him quicker, cannot be explained by want of merit but by the political alignment of the day. But when it did arrive, its undue delay was acknowledged because he made history by being appointed together with lawyer R.S. Blay, to the then highest court of the land namely, the Supreme Court, by-passing the High Court in the process.

He was not destined to remain long in that court because ironical as it seems, one of the treasured qualities of a judge which he possessed and exhibited, became his undoing. He had the courage of his conviction and spoke his mind firmly in a judicial decision which displeased the then power in the land. He was dismissed in February 1964, having been on the bench for less than two years. But merit, like cork never remains submerged.

Just over two years afterwards, he was returned to the bench to fill its highest office Chief Justice. He remained in that office till August 1970 when he was invited to occupy a still higher office- the Presidency of Ghana. On the whole, he occupied high judicial office for just over 5 years and did so with great distinction’.

 In New Patriotic Pary v Inspector General of Police (1993-94) 2 GLR 459 at 469 to 470, SC Amua-Sekyi JSC, commenting on the statutory reversal of an acquittal and retrial of certain leading personalities on a charge of treason, bluntly said:

“Acquitted in proceedings intituled State v Otchere (1963)2 GLR 463, SC the verdicts were set aside by executive order: See Special Criminal Division Instrument, 1963 (EI 161). Put back on trial before a more pliant bench, the executive had the satisfaction of seeing them convicted and sentenced to death. Mercifully, the sentences were not carried out; but a grave precedent had been set. The judges were not spared: Korsah CJ was removed from office, and a constitutional amendment cleared the way for the dismissal of Adumoa-Bossman J (as he then was) and other judges whose loyalty to the Absolutist State was now called in question.” (The emphasis is ours).

Again, in Wuaku v Attorney-General (1993-94) 2 GLR 393 at 396, SC Amua-Sekyi JSC trenchantly stated as follows:

“After the overthrow of the Nkrumah regime, the judiciary came in for much criticism for the role it had played while the previous government was in power. It was said that it had departed from its traditional role as an independent arm of government and had become a willing tool of repression in the hands of the executive. It was also said that some of the appointments to the bench had been politically motivated in that persons with known sympathies for the regime had been favoured over those who exhibited an independent frame of mind. Worse still, it was said that some of the judges had become so depraved and demoralized that they habitually took bribes. The answer of the new administration was the wholesale dismissal of judges – cleaning the Augean stables, as it were- and appointing new ones to take their place. But it was soon realized that merely changing personnel would not be enough: what was required was a reappraisal of the role of the judge in the body-politic and the creation of the conditions necessary for the proper exercise of his functions.” (The emphasis is ours).

In Hasen v Ankrah (1987-88) GLR 639 at 667, SC Sowah JSC said:

“Before I am done, I consider it ethically and judicially unacceptable the comments on the composition of the panel in this appeal. If my brother Taylor JSC had reservations, he should have made them abundantly clear before hearing and not after opinions have been rendered which are contrary to his own. And in any event the judges referred to are by all standards, including their knowledge of the law and integrity, competent to adorn the Supreme Court bench. It is by sheer accident of past politics that they have not taken precedence over some members of the Supreme Court.” (The emphasis is ours).

This long-standing skepticism of the independence of the Judiciary and now the Supreme Court, in particular, led to the issuance of the following Practice Direction on empanelling of Justices of the Supreme Court reported in (2000) SCGLR 586 as follows:

“PRACTICE DIRECTION

PRACTICE IN EMPANELLING JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT 10 January 2001

Practice and procedure – Supreme Court- Constitutional cases – Empanelling of court by Chief Justice – Practice in – Chief Justice to empanel all available justices of the Supreme Court or at least seven justices in constitutional matters – Rationale for empanelling all available Justices of Supreme Court in such matters – Constitution, 1992 arts 125 (4) and 144 (6).

It is provided by the Constitution, 1992, arts 125 (4) and 144 (6) that:

“125 (4) The Chief Justice shall, subject to this Constitution, be the Head of the Judiciary and shall be responsible for the administration and supervision of the Judiciary.”

“144 (6) Where the office of the Chief Justice is vacant, or where the Chief Justice is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his office (a) until a person has been appointed to, and has assumed the functions of, that office; or (b) until the person, holding that office has resumed the functions of, that office; those functions shall be performed by the most senior of the Justices of the Supreme Court.”

(In exercising the functions of the office under articles 125 (4) and 144 (6) of the 1992 Constitution, His Lordship, the Ag. Chief Justice, per his letter dated 10 January 2001 addressed to all the Justices of the Supreme Court and copied to the Judicial Secretary and the Registrar of the Supreme Court, directed as follows:)

“In order to minimize the mounting criticisms and the persistent public outcry against the Judiciary in our justice delivery and to restore public confidence, it is my desire that where practicable and especially in constitutional matters, all available Justices of the Supreme Court have a constitutional right to sit, or at least (7) justices of the court.

In view of the above and in the instant case (ie. Republic v High Court, Bolgatanga and Hajia Fati Seidu; Ex parte Hawa Yakubu, Civil Motion No 2/2001), by virtue of the powers conferred on the Chief Justice by article 125 (4) and on me by article 144 (6), I have decided that Hon Justice Sophia Akuffo and myself, ie Hon Justice E K Wiredu, Ag Chief Justice, be added to the justices already panelled. (The emphasis is ours). Signed. Hon MR. Justice E K Wiredu Ag Chief Justice.

(Editorial Note: In pursuance of the above Directive, a panel of seven Justice of the Supreme Court, coram: Edward Wiredu Ag CJ, Adjabeng, Acquah, Atuguba, Sophia Akuffo, Lamptey and Adzoe JJSC in Republic v High Court, Bolgatanga, Ex parte Hawa Yakubu, CM No 2/2001, on 16 January 2001 unanimously granted (reserving the reasons), the application by Madam Hawa Yakubu for an order of certiorari to quash the proceedings and order of the High Court, Bolgatanga dated 6 January 2001, in an electoral petition resulting from the 7^th December 2000 Parliamentary Elections for Bawku Central Constituency. In the respectful view of the Editor, the above Practice Direction, issued by His Lordship the Hon Ag Chief Justice, is to be most welcomed by all members of the Bench and Bar and the general public; and it may also be considered as very appropriate and long overdue. The Practice Direction, in the form of a letter to all the Justices of the Supreme Court, makes the empanelling of the Supreme Court for the determination of the constitutional cases more transparent; and more importantly, the Direction is in line with the democratic aspirations of all Ghanaians and the sustenance of the Rule of Law in the country. It has also the obvious merit of insulating and freeing the high Office of the Chief Justice from all imaginary and unproven but disturbing allegations of political bias in the empanelling of the Justices of the Supreme Court SYBB.”

This skepticism, as noted at pages 48-49 of Dr Date-Bah’s formidable book, Reflections on the Supreme Court of Ghana, Wildy, Simmonds & Hill Publishing (2015), has persisted under the current Chief Justice. He thereat states as follows:

“The Chief justice’s power to empanel judges confers on him or her, arguably, the opportunity or potential to influence the outcome of particular cases. The Chief Justice’s knowledge of an individual judge’s track record on particular issues or his or her judicial inclinations on particular issues may give the Chief Justice this potential. This, rightly or wrongly, has attracted unfavorable comment from people in political circles, in relation to politically controversial decisions. It is in reaction to such comments that Chief Justice Georgina Wood decided that she would, during her tenure, empanel, as a matter of practice a bench of nine justices to hear all constitutional cases.

On this current practice, the Constitution Review Commission commented that it finds in regard to Ghana’s judicial practice that no law has ever prescribed the maximum number of Justices of the Supreme Court that should sit on a case brought before the Court, though it has been the practice to specify the quorum. It has noted that this is a deliberate policy on the part of the law makers to allow the highest court a certain flexibility and freedom in deciding when to field a full complement of members depending on the gravity of the case and the need for a reconsideration of the law. It acknowledges that this practice has helped ensure that in the adjudication of matters of importance, as many judicial minds as possible would be involved in settling the law and making a definitive pronouncement. In this regard, the Commission commends the emerging practice by which 9 justices of the Supreme Court are empaneled to sit on constitutional cases.” (The emphasis is ours).

The legal colossus, Dr. Date- Bah JSC (Retired), at page 201 of his said book has further observed as follows:

”A perception and conviction by the public of the Supreme Court’s impartiality between parties in its adjudication is vital to its fulfilment of its broader role. Nevertheless, there has in recent years been a degree of controversy in the media as to the impartiality of the judiciary in general in disputes between the Government (by which is meant the Executive) and the individual. This has been a challenge that the Supreme Court, along with other courts, has had to live with. The challenge has arisen from the highly competitive nature of Ghanaian party politics in the last decade and the perceived tendency for a party in government to prosecute politicians belonging to opposition. The court has been caught in the middle of this conflict and in their endeavour to do justice between parties before them have incurred the wrath of political party activists of the governing party who have alleged that the judiciary is biased against the government. The best response to this challenge is for the conduct of the judiciary to manifest its indubitable impartiality.” (The emphasis is ours).

On the other hand, Dr Date-Bah JSC (Retired) in his aforementioned book states at 211-212 regarding this matter thus:

“The mode of appointment of Justices of the Supreme Court is specified by article 144 of the 1992 Constitution. It provides for their appointment by the President, acting on the advice of the Judicial Council, in consultation with the Council of State and with approval of Parliament. Thus, both the executive and the legislature are involved in the process. 

The intention of the framers of the Constitution, as confirmed by practice, appears to be that nominations should be made by the Judicial Council, although the appointment is by the President. The names of nominees recommended by the Judicial Council are forwarded to the President who places them before the Council of State for their views. If the views of the Council of State are not negative, the President then forwards the names to the Speaker of Parliament for Parliamentary vetting. 

It should be noted, however, that Presidents in the Fourth Republic have not considered themselves bound by the advice of the Judicial Council in relation to nominations for appointment to the Supreme Court. Presidents have on occasion refused to accept some nominees recommended by the Judicial Council. ——–Under a Constitution on the Westminster model, such as that in force in Ghana between 1957 and 1960, the Governor-General was obliged to follow the advice given him on judicial appointments.

However, this convention and understanding have not survived into the Republican era. Ordinarily, Presidents tend to accept the nominees of the Judicial Council as, it has to be remembered, the Attorney-General (the President’s principal legal adviser) and four nominees of the President serve on the Judicial Council. The President thus has ample opportunity to influence the nominations by the Judicial Council. ——–Furthermore, because the constitutional provision requires parliament’s prior approval, Parliament has a veto power over the appointment of any Supreme Court Justice.

JUDICIAL COMPROMISE OF INDEPENDENCE

Sometimes the judiciary gives the impression that it is giving an undue advantage to the executive. In NATIONAL MEDIA COMMISSION v. ATTORNEY GENERAL (2000) SCGRL1 the national media commission complained to the attorney general that the president was usurping their clear authority under Article 168 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana “to appoint the chairmen and other members of the governing bodies of public corporations managing the state-owned media in consultation with the president.” When it was unheeded, it sued the attorney-general in the supreme court for a declaration in January 1996. However, it was not until November 1999 that the suit was listed for hearing and judgement was given in favor of the plaintiff on 26^th January, 2000 by which date the then President Rawlings had left office after two presidential terms of office! This trend has continued in very recent times. Thus, in Ghana Centre for Democratic Development & 8 others v. Attorney General, as Amegatcher JSC delivering the judgement of the Supreme Court, stated, Judgement was delivered in this case on the 21^st May, 2023. Long after Mr. Domelevo had been pushed out of office. Coincidentally, it was on the same day that the Supreme Court also delivered judgement in the case of Prof. Kwadwo Appiagyei -Attua & 7 others v. The Attorney-General. In this case the plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of the Imposition of Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012) which was enacted in consequence of the deadly Corona Virus (Covid 19) Pandemic 

It can unhappily be said that the Supreme Court acted unconstitutionally and in bad faith when it inordinately delayed in delivering judgement in the National Media Commission v Attorney-General, as well as the Domelevo and Covid-19 cases for short. This is because it is the constitutional duty of the Supreme Court to enforce the constitution forthwith when it is breached. That is the mandatory duty under article 2 (1) of the constitution. Thus in Gbedemah v Awoonor – Williams 2 G&G 739 (2nd) 1167 at 1175 Azu Crabbe J. A (as he then was) said:

The pith of the plaintiff’s claim as expressed in paragraph (8) of his statement of claim is that on 5 September 1969 the defendant took his seat as a Member of the National Assembly, notwithstanding the fact that he was not qualified so to do by virtue of article 71 (2) (b) (ii) and (d) of the Constitution, and that the defendant intends to continue to sit in the said National Assembly. If the matter rests here, then prima facie there has been an infringement of the Constitution, and an alleged threat to continue such infringement. This would constitute a mischief, and it would become the inescapable duty of the Supreme Court to suppress it by enforcing the Constitution.”

In the National Media Commission, Domelevo and Covid-19 cases the Supreme Court failed to suppress the mischiefs of the infringements of the Constitution for an inordinate period of time. The entertainment and determination of the James Gyakye Quayson’s case (Michael Ankomah Nimfah v James Gyakye Quayson and two others) WRT NO J1/11/2022, 17^th May 2023 by the Supreme Court is quite unfortunate though the Court, in my humble view was misled by the earlier decision of the Supreme Court in Sumaila Biebel (No.1) v. Dramani and Anoher (2011) 1 SCGLR132.

Even there the Biebel case was not, unlike the Gyakye Quayson case, determined on its merits by the High court and the Court of Appeal.

However, the determinative consideration is that the constitution has clearly assigned post parliamentary election matters to the High court under article 99 and post presidential election matters to the Supreme court. These provisions are specific whilst the provisions of Articles 2 and 130 are general and therefore verba generalia specialibus non derogant. This is particularly so since In re parliamentary elections for Wulensi constituency; Zakaria v Nyimakan (2003-2004) 1 SCGLR 1 has decided (though I disagree with it) that post parliamentary election matters end at the Court of Appeal level.

It is so in some other jurisdictions. Common sense is also a rule of the construction of statutes, therefore since parliamentary elections occur in as many as 275 constituencies in our country, the constitution could not have reasonably contemplated and provided for post parliamentary election matters should be litigated in the centralized Supreme court unlike the singular and unitary post presidential elections. If it is the consideration that the constitutional breach cannot be left unredressed after the 21 day period for presenting a parliamentary election petition, can it also be argued that after the 21 days period under article 64 (1) of the 1992 constitution, a person can bring an action under articles 2 and 130 of the constitution to invalidate a presidential election? And except otherwise provided by the constitution under article 130 (which comprehends article 2 also), the jurisdiction of the Supreme court, is exclusive of all other courts, how can the supreme court have concurrent jurisdiction over any matter with another court, which is the implication if the supreme court purports to adjudicate post parliamentary electoral matters alongside the High court?

There are instances in which it may be felt that some members of the judiciary pay allegiance apparently to the executive or otherwise instead of to Ghana. Despite the clear provisions of article 146, a very knowledgeable chief justice of Ghana wrote on two occasions to a justice of the supreme court terminating his tenure as a supreme court judge on the ground of ill health without complying with the said article 146. On being shown the letters by the judge concerned I strongly exhorted him to reply them raising the contravention of article 146. The same chief justice indirectly suspended me for 6 months by not empanelling me on any case immediately after I maintained my solo dissent in Tsatsu Tsikata v. The Republic when it came up for review by the Supreme Court. Before I curtail this issue, the same Chief Justice sidelined me as the then realistic most senior justice of the Supreme court contrary to article 144 (6) who should act as the Chief Justice in his absence. I felt that since the Supreme Court is the custodian of the constitution, I could not condone its infractions.

I therefore assumed the functions of the Chief Justice with clearance from the then most senior justice who was then very seriously indisposed and handicapped until I got to know from him very shortly afterwards that he had become fit enough to act as Chief Justice upon the death of the then incumbent Chief Justice.

It is this event which led Kweku Baako, a very prominent journalist, to state on a radio program that in the bid for the post of Chief Justice, I declared myself as the acting Chief Justice, but when the said most senior justice of the supreme court got wind of it, he said “You lie, I can act”. When I heard that allegation I was gravely hurt since I have never in my life made any move to be appointed the Chief Justice of Ghana because I consider lobbying for a position as a corrupt act since it involves compromising one’s conscience.

CONSTITUTIONALISM IN GHANA

These sorts of things do not augur well for constitutionalism in Ghana which it is the primary duty of the courts to ensure. Our 1992 constitution has ordained constitutionalism for Ghana.

This is plain from particularly articles 1,2, 3 and 35 of the constitution which provide inter alia for the sovereignty and welfare of the people of Ghana, the supremacy and enforcement of the constitution and the blessings of democracy. Constitutionalism has been well explained by some eminent jurists in Ghana.

In his very able book, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF GHANA: TEXT, CASES AND COMMENTARY, Prof. E. Kofi Abotsi states at page 32 thus “Constitutionalism as a concept can be defined as the limitation placed on the exercise of legal and political power. The concept of constitutionalism is peculiarly important for African countries given the long-standing experience of dictatorship, anarchy and misrule on the continent. As corollaries, constitutionalism and responsible government have been said to be mutually re-enforcing.

Constitutionalism promotes responsible government in the sense that it compels government to act in a manner consistent with the expectations for the conferment of power and respond to feedback from the citizenry.

In this context, one can accept that constitutionalism is a welfare- oriented concept to the extent that it seeks to ultimately champion the welfare of the governed by ensuring that governments exercise conferred powers in the best interest of the governed”.   Also in his thoroughly researched book, THE NEW CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW OF GHANA: FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN TO 2022, Prof. Raymond Atuguba states at page 2 as follows: “The mere existence of a constitution is not enough for proper governance. A constitution can lead to constitutionality or constitutionalism. Constitutionality is the rule of law at the constitutional level; no matter what the content of the law is that rules. 

Constitutionalism on the other hand is good governance or people-centered governance at a constitutional level. With constitutionalism, there is limited government, people-centeredness, protection of minority and other rights, fairness, justice, equity.

In countries such as the United States which practice constitutionality and not constitutionalism, a constitution exists along side social concerns like racism, gender inequity and the prisons industrial complex. These are incompatible with the countries that practice constitutionalism”.

See also Prof. Date- Bah’s very scholarly book; Selected Papers and Lectures on Ghanaian Law page 76.

The appointment of judges particularly of the Supreme Court as the fulcrum of constitutionalism and the Rule of law has its hiccups. It is the Judicial Council that recommends suitable lawyers or judges for eventual appointment by the President.

Sometimes some judges are recommended by the Judicial council to the Supreme Court over and above more experienced and senior judges even though they are not more competent and experienced than their seniors.

Often when there is regime change, some of the sidelined senior judges now get recommended for appointment to the Supreme Court through the same Judicial Council, but they then become juniors to their earlier juniors by reason of their later appointment. In practice, however, these later appointed judges often write the unanimous or lead judgements in difficult cases shortly after their appointment to the Supreme Court. Certainly, eyebrows can be raised over such practices. What can be the justification for such things?

Nonetheless, depending to some extent on the Judicial season the Judiciary has deepened constitutionalism in Ghana, notably the nullification of the 31^st December holiday celebration funded from public funds, the freedom of choice of independent counsel by state bodies instead of the Attorney-General, despite Article 88(5) where there is conflict of interest, see Amegatcher v Attorney-General (1) [2012] 1SCGLR 679, National Media Commission v Attorney-General, supra.    

As stated by Professor Date-Bah in his said book at pp.17-18: “constitutionalism is about having limits to the powers of constitutional bodies and enforcing those limits. The judiciary, through its exercise of the power of judicial review, is accordingly a vital actor in this process. The Ghana Supreme court has been quite effective in protecting the legal framework of the liberal multi-party democracy whose grundnorm is the 1992 constitution. An example here would be appropriate. To my mind, this case illustrates the contribution of law to the development in Ghana. At first sight, the case (Ahumah Ocansey v Electoral Commission; Center for Human rights and several liberties v The Attorney -General and the Electoral Commission (2010) SCGLR 575), which was decided by the Ghana Supreme court, would appear to have little to do with law and development.

The main issue raised in the case which in fact consisted of two consolidated cases, was whether prisoners were entitled to vote. In spite of article 42 of the 1992 constitution, which provides that every citizen of Ghana of 18 years of age or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered for the purposes of public elections and referenda, the Attorney -General had argued in this case that it was in the public interest that convicted offenders are punished, kept under lock and key and not allowed to vote. The Supreme court rejected this contention and held that there was no justification for denying prisoners their unqualified right to vote. This right was conferred on all adult Ghanaians who are sane by article 42 of the Constitution. As I said in that case: “nothing in the core values and spirit of the 1992 Constitution justifies the restriction on prisoners’ right to vote, that is advocated by the learned attorney-general. There is thus no basis for implying the restrictions argued for by the Attorney-General to qualify the clear and unambiguous language of article 42”.    

However, it is lamentable as pointed out by Prof. Raymond Atuguba in his said Sterling book that ‘Notwithstanding the Supreme Court departed from the preposition espoused by Date-Bah, in the Osei Boateng Case, decisions of the Court after that departure still create doubt as to the current legal position. In some of these subsequent decisions, the Supreme Court seemed to be toeing the line of Date-Bah JSC in the Osei Boateng Case, by declining Jurisdiction to enforce the Constitution on the ground that the constitutional provisions sought to be enforced were clear and unambiguous.

Notable cases are Mayor Agbleze v Attorney General and Asare v Attorney General and General Legal Council. Some other subsequent decisions of the Supreme Court have followed the reasoning in Noble Kor v Attorney General. This turn of events creates a cloud of confusion and inconsistency in our jurisprudential space, making it difficult for one to tell the direction of flow of our country’s constitutional law in this area. This must be a cause of worry to students and practitioners of Constitutional Law.”

REALISTIC INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY

I want to emphasize that there is a vast chasm between independence of the judiciary in theory and its independence in practice. Thus, as explicitly stated by Dr. Dat-Bah in his aforementioned book at page 90 “Independence of the judiciary has two dimensions: the institutional and the personal. Personal independence relates to the commitment of individual judges to the judicial values that ensure their impartiality and fairness. I am here referring to values such as eschewing corruption and not allowing ethnic and other particularistic considerations to affect judicial determinations.

Institutional independence of the judiciary, on the other hand, relates to the constitutional, statutory, and other arrangements put in place to assure the independence of the judiciary. Issues that are customarily dealt with under institutional independence include: separation of powers; security of tenure for judges, including appropriate provisions on the appointment process of judges, the conditions of service of judges and the process for the removal of superior court judges; financial and administrative autonomy of the judiciary; and measures are what make judicial independence justifiable. It would be unacceptable to have independent but unaccountable judges.

SUMMARY

The James Gyakye Quayson’s decision by the Supreme Court is with all due respect scandalous in that the court, in the teeth of the settled maxim Res Judicata et non quieta movere, re adjudicated the same matter that has been adjudicated upon by the High court on the merits. All that was left was its execution according to court processes. Again the stress laid by the court on the statutory processes for  acquisition and renunciation of citizenship shot it self in the foot.

If the certificate of renounciation is so mandatory and conclusive why was it not conclusive in its effect to qualify Gyakye Quason when he received it, dated 26^th November 2020, whereas the parliamentary election was held on 7^th December 2020?  Statutes, judgements, and documents must always be applied with consistency both in the letter and spirit.

These must always be construed holistically and as instruments of justice since it is a well settled principle that the duty of a court is to do justice and a court should not be turned away from doing justice.

In the 2013 presidential election petition (2013) SCGLR (Special Edition) 73 at 141 I stated as follows: ‘Again in Osman v Tedam (1970) 2 G & G 1246 (2d) CA and Osman v Kaleo (1970) 2 G&G 1380, the Court of Appeal held that though the respondents were members of the Convention Peoples Party whose constitution made all Members of Parliament of the Convention Peoples Party members of the party’s Regional Executive Committee that did not without more, make the respondents members of such committees and therefore disqualified to contest the 1969 Parliamentary Elections, which they had won.

The decision in Osman v Kaleo   is even more striking. Though the respondent had secured exemption from disqualification from contesting the parliamentary elections, it was submitted that since his exemption had not been published in the Gazzeet, upon which publication it will have effect, under paragraph 3 (5) of NLCD 223, 1968, the same was inoperative, notwithstanding that under paragraph 3(7) of that Decree, the decision of the Exemptions Commission was final and conclusive. The court of Appeal rejected that contention”.

Again in JUSTICE DERY v TIGER EYE PI AND OTHERS (2015-2016) 2 SCGLR 816, the Supreme Court unanimously held that though the impeachment process against the plaintiff was published in contravention of Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution that could not vitiate the crucial impeachment procedures against him. In other words the substantial and more important provisions on the removal of a corrupt judge could not be diverted by the incidence of the unconstitutional publication of the impeachment petition.

Similarly, then the certificate of Renunciation dated the 26^th November 2020 was more important than the anterior participation by Gyakye Quayson in the parliamentary campaigns between 5^th and 9^th October 2020 when he filled his parliamentary nomination papers with the electoral commission. The Supreme Court does not stand in good light, with all due respect in disqualifying Gyakye Quayson despite his clear certificate of Renunciation of his Canadian Citizenship as from 26^th November 2020. By analogy also, in CLOSSAG v ATTORNEY GENERAL AND 2 OTHERS (2017 -2018) 1SCGLR 210, the Supreme Court unanimously held that a member of the Civil Service or Local Government Service can join a political party but cannot actively participate in politics or hold office as a political party nominee or remain in the Civil Service after election as a member of the District Assembly.

In other words, the operative evil to guard against is membership of the District Assembly not the contest for the same. Similarly, therefore, the operative evil to guard against about a dual citizen is, as regards parliament, his actual membership of it, not just the campaigns. That is why in the Gyakye Quayson’s case, his renunciation of Canadian citizenship certificate dated 26^th November 2020 is the operative consideration. In any case it will be noticed that his certificate of citizenship is tied to an Oath pf allegiance. The 2 move together, the letter and the spirit. It is difficult to think that Gyakye Quayson who submitted his Renunciation of Citizenship Papers to Canada in 2019 could still in December 2020 be held as seriously owing allegiance as a matter of hard realism as opposed to formalism, to Canada. In the King David example I cited in Asare V Attorney General (2012), 1 SCGLR 460, his Israelite citizenship became of real concern to the Philistines when going into actual war with Israel.

CURRENT PUBLIC IMAGE OF THE JUDICIARY IN GHANA

The current public image of the Judiciary in Ghana is reflected on Social Media. For example, GHANAIANS ARE LOSING CONFIDENCE IN THE JUDICIARY SYSTEM by Dr. Lawrence as published on ghananewsonline.com on the 16^th of October, 2023. Founder of the Diaspora Progressive Movement in the (USA), Dr. Lawrence Appiah, has said that Ghanaians are losing confidence and hope in the ability of the Court to administer Justice in the country. He accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of appointing cronies to the Judiciary.

In a recent interview with ghananewsonline.com.gh, Dr Lawrence claimed that President Nana Addo Danquah has deliberately appointed Judges who are in bed with him in order to skip accountability. In a statement signed by Dr. Lawrence and circulated on social media, he said in Ghana, the Judiciary is gradually becoming a thin god, allowing them to pass some outrageous judgements. He argued that some of the judgements passed by some notable courts in the country leave much to be desired. In Ghana today, the birth certificate is not a legal document to prove that someone is a Ghanaian. Meanwhile, the birth certificate is the base document used to prepare a Ghanaian passport which is used to travel the entire world. He emphasized that the Judiciary is packed with NPP inclined Judges because this government has carried out a deliberate policy of putting their people onto the bench to frustrate Ghanaians.

He further said, it will take a new leader like John Mahama in the next NDC administration to lead the process to repair what he describes as (badly dented image) of Ghana’s judiciary for people to win the trust in the system.

In his opinion, the deteriorated image of the Judiciary easily sparks laughter from the citizenry when one decides to go to the court for justice, adding that it is of the scariest  existential threats to any democracy when citizens think their judiciary holds no value for them or no use to them, and this is the security threat that the National Security apparatus tried to draw the attention of the nation to recently but was poorly received by the president.

He added that such lawlessness in the country threatens the peace and stability of Ghana’s democracy and must be quickly corrected (because) if pragmatic measures are not taken, it will get to a stage where people will have no qualms about taking the law into their own hands because they do not have the confidence that they can get any justice in the system.

Dr. Lawrence writes: The dangers of our current judiciary

During the hearing of Hon. Gyakye Quayson’s case after the 2020 elections, the lower courts ruled that he was not supposed to go to parliament whiles his case XXX. The Supreme Court ruled the member of Assin North, Hon. Gyakye Quayson, after he was elected by his constituents, that not only should he not be able to represent his constituents, they went further to order parliament to strike his name from parliament records as if he never entered parliament. During the recently ended limited registration exercise by the Electoral Commission, the NDC and some Civil Society Organization filed a motion at the Supreme Court to stop the EC from conducting the exercise.

The Chief Justice came and set a hearing date for October 17, 2023. Meanwhile, the whole limited registration exercise ended on October 2, 2023. During the hearing of Hon. Gyakye Quayson’s case after the 2020 election. The lower court ruled that he was not supposed to go to parliament whilst his case was ongoing. At the same time, another lower Courts hearing the case of the MP for Techiman South, ruled that the people of Techiman South need a representative in parliament, so while the case was ongoing, the MP could still represent his people. The case is now stalled in that court.

This same outrageous court agreed with the Attorney General that after |Hon. Gyakye Quayson’s had been elected the second time to parliament was to appear in court every day for hearing. The case has become inactive when the minority in parliament resolved to join their colleague in court.  When the executive needs a reform, the President is changed. When the legislative needed reform, the Speaker was changed. When the Judiciary needs a reform, the Chief Justice needs to be changed. If Nana Addo could remove the Electoral Commissioner, the Auditor General and it was good, so should John Mahama be able to remove the Chief Justice. We need serious reforms in every institution including the NPP. This is one of the reasons Ghanaians want him to be President again.

I heard for talking too much, the Paramount Chief of Dormah Traditional Council and a High Court Judge, Osagyefo Agyeman Badu II has been transferred from the Greater Accra to the Volta Region. (Ghanaians are not angry enough).

Second example is: MIKE OCQUAYE CALLS FOR APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVAL OF JUDGES as published on myjoyinline.com on the 28^th of April 2022 where it was reported that Prof. Aaron Michael Ocquaye, the former Speaker of Parliament, has called for reforms in the appointments and removal of Judges as provided for in the 1992 constitution to strengthen the country’s Judicial system.

Prof. Ocquaye said the case of Justice Amoah Sekyi gave the country the lesson that where the executive was bend on removing a Judge, it was easier to do so than meets the eye. xxxx

On the appointment of Council of States Members, he suggested the need to introduce institutional representation and not allow the President to choose his advisors because the 1992 Constitution gave the President too much power in the appointment of the members. We need to adopt the recommendation of the Committee of experts which provided that ‘the Council of State shall aide and counsel the president, the Council of Ministers, Parliament and other organs of state in the performance of their functions under the constitution or under any other law (sec. 3.i))’, he said.

In pointing out all these matters, I am not oblivious of the very difficult tasks of interpreting our 1992 constitution amidst the several decisions and dicta of the Supreme Court. But it is important that there be great reflection on the core issues and principles which should be the basis for decisions of the courts instead of the lesser considerations which tend to arouse suspicions, speculations and concerns in the body politic.  

CONCLUSION

In view of all this what matters mot is the realistic auditing and restructuring of the Judiciary and indeed all other governmental institutions because just as the cyanide of illegal mining galamsey has devastated our forest lands and poisoned our water bodies so also has the cyanide of Political Corruption poisoned our Governance Institutions.

Appointments to the Judiciary or any other governance institution must be made by thoroughly independent bodies based on nothing but merit and not on things like protocol, cronysm, ethnicity, or other improper considerations. The governance institutions particularly the Judiciary must be realistically insulated against presidential and other political pressures. Service conditions must be reasonably attractive and security of tenure of office must be enshrined. The Executive Powers of the President and his functionaries must be drastically curtailed. There must be real separation of parliament from the Executive branch. The emphasis should be on good and sincere governance in the interest of the people and not on hollow over exaggerated notions of electoral conferment of power on any body or group of persons.

But no meaningful political reforms can be reasonably expected even under a regime change without sustaining the Political Renaissance which has started and is growing well in Ghana.

It is for this reason that I would like to acknowledge, encourage, and congratulate nationalists like Kwasi Pratt, Dr. Arthur Kennedy of the USA, Dr. Gyampoh of the University of Ghana, Prof. Bokpin of the University of Ghana, Prof Agyeman -Duah of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), recently Dr. Asare-Baah rtd, formerly of the Political Science Department, KNUST., Kwame Pianim, Dr. Nyaho-Nyaho Tamakloe, Kelvin Taylor of the USA (though he should desist from insults), Emmanuel Wilson Jnr. The Chief Crusader Against Corruption in Ghana. I don’t know most of these people I have mentioned personally but I have followed their works on social media, and I am impressed, however I hope that they will remain nationalistic no matter the regime in power.

I also wish to acknowledge some of the many Civil Society Organisations such as Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, Ghania Integrity Initiative, Citizen Ghana Movement, Africa Centre for Energy Policy, Parliamentary Network Africa, Penplusbytes, Media Foundation for West Africa, Send Ghana, One Ghana Movement, Centre for Democratic Development, Democracy Hub, Occupy Ghana, and Institute for Democratic Governance. I regret I cannot recall all of them but nonetheless, none of them should feel excluded.

Mr. Chairman, invited guests, media friends, ladies, and gentlemen, permit me once more to show my appreciation to all of you, including the organisers for this platform and the hearing,

God bless our homeland Ghana and lead us to the promised land.

Thank you.

Justice Atuguba has described the ruling as scandalous.

Speaking at a public lecture on Tuesday, the retired judge asserted that the Apex Court shouldn’t have even taken up the case.

This, according to him, was because it was already been adjudicated by the High Court, adding that it goes against the basic principle of law.

The outspoken judge argued there should have been an execution of the High Court’s decision and not a fresh matter.

“The James Gyakye Quayson’s decision by the Supreme Court is with all due respect scandalous in that the court, in the teeth of the settled maxim Res Judicata et non quieta movere, re-adjudicated the same matter that has been adjudicated upon by the High court on the merits,” he stated.

Additionally, he said the Apex Court failed to deliver justice when it nullified Mr Quayson’s election when he had clearly renounced his Canadian citizenship in November 2020 and the election was in December 2020.

“The Supreme Court does not stand in a good light despite the clear renunciation in November 2020, whereas the election was in December. I am not able to see substantial justice in this,” he added.

BACKGROUND:

The Supreme Court, on May 13, 2023, ordered Parliament to expunge Mr Quayson from its records.

The presiding judge, Justice Jones Dotse, ruled that the Electoral Commission acted unconstitutionally in allowing him to contest the 2020 parliamentary elections without proof of him renouncing his Canadian citizenship.

The court in a unanimous decision ruled that Mr. Quayson was not qualified at the time of filing his nomination forms. It further held that the Electoral Commission allowing him to contest when he had not shown evidence of renunciation of his citizenship of Canada is unconstitutional.

It further declared that his election was unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect.

ALSO READ:

• Supreme Court orders Parliament to expunge Gyakye Quayson’s name

• Gyakye Quayson not treating Supreme Court properly – Chief Justice

He pleaded guilty to unlawful entry, causing unlawful damage, and stealing.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Joseph Lartey, told the court presided over by Mrs Hathia Ama Manu, that the complainant, Bishop Peter Asamoah Okyere is the presiding Bishop of Abiding Glory House Chapel International.

He said the complainant and the accused person lived at Tamso-Estate and Tarkwa Zongo respectively, both in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality.

Advertisement

Prosecution said on January 20, this year, the complainant, and his family returned from a trip and detected that somebody had broken into their house.

The complainant reported the matter to the police the same day, and after assessing the situation, it was noticed that the person scaled the wall, caused damage to the burglar-proof and window to have access to their living and bedrooms.

He said the rooms were ransacked and the thief made away with a 55-inch Samsung flat-screen smart television valued at GH₵18,000, a 32-inch LG flat-screen television valued at GH₵5,000, a black HP laptop computer valued at GH₵4,500, gold jewelries made up of earrings, watches, necklace, and bracelets valued at GH₵20,000 all worth GH₵47,500.

The Prosecutor said the police later had intelligence that on January 17, 2023, a witness in the case brought the complainant’s stolen black HP laptop computer to one John Kwaku Miezah, an elder of Abiding Glory House Chapel International.

According to Chief Inspector Lartey, the witness told Mr Miezah that, the accused came to him with the said HP laptop computer and collected a cash sum of GH₵300 under the pretext of taking his sick mother to the hospital, and promised to refund the money for the laptop computer.

The witness said after Awal left, he switched on the laptop computer and saw the logo of Abiding Glory House Chapel International on the screen.

He said after Mr Miezah had the information, he informed the complainant, and they made an official complaint at the police station.

Chief Inspector Lartey said Awal was later arrested and charged with the offence after assisting the police in their investigation.

ALSO READ:

• KT Hammond reacts to court’s ruling on Gyakye Quayson’s contempt case

• OSP goes to Supreme Court over Cecilia Dapaah’s case

He clarified that although he has been charged with perjury and forgery, he is confident in Ghana’s criminal justice system.

“No, why should I? I believe in the justice system, I’m sure. All I know is that the fundamental issue about any judicial matter is – did that person intend to commit the crime? Did he plan it, I have not planned anything of such,” he said.

Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Citi TV on Tuesday, August 22, Mr Quayson expressed his belief that he will be exonerated from all accusations.

“So I don’t fear going to jail, not at all. ..My strongest conviction is that this is just a matter of time and that when you believe you have done the right thing, you shouldn’t be afraid.”

The Assin North MP emphasised that he obtained his dual citizenship through the Ministry of Interior where he was asked to submit both his Ghanaian and Canadian passports.

He maintained that the dual citizenship allowed him to travel freely between Ghana and Canada without the need for a visa. 

“How can a person hold dual citizenship – you know we get dual citizenship through the Ministry of Interior where you have to present your two passports. Your Ghanaian passport and your Canadian passport and then they give you a green certificate.

“So, from 2009 to the time I became solely Ghanaian, I was traveling from Canada to Ghana without a visa. The Ghanaian authorities even recognised me as a dual citizen person so how can that same person be applying or renewing their passport and say I don’t have any other nationality?” Mr Quayson stressed.

To this end, the Assin North MP expressed surprise with regards to the criminal case against him noting that “it doesn’t make sense unless they also don’t check their own records.”

He expressed the hope that the court would give a positive verdict in the case.

“I trust my lawyers, I trust the conscience of the people. If they ask me again to run for Assin North seat, I would,” he said.

Prior to the 2020 parliamentary election, Mr Quayson had initiated moves with an application to renounce his Canadian citizenship but had not received his renunciation certificate at the time of filing with the EC to contest.

Per the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the 1992 Constitution, since Quayson had not received his renunciation certificate, he was still a Canadian citizen at the time he filed with the Electoral Commission to contest the 2020 election, and so he was therefore not qualified.

The 2020 parliamentary election results at Assin North was therefore annulled and the seat was declared vacant.

With his Canadian citizenship renunciation certificate currently in his grip as he received it later in 2020, he was therefore now qualified to contest and so the NDC gave him the nod to re-contest.

He won the by-election massively, and has since been sworn in as the Member of parliament, although his criminal trial is still ongoing.

James Gyakye Quayson, who was the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the Assin North by-election, emerged victorious in the polls.

At the end of the by-election on June 27, 2023, Mr Quayson polled 17,245 votes representing 57.56 percent of the total votes cast to beat Charles Opoku of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), and Bernice Enyonam Sefenu of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG).

Charles Opoku polled 12,630 votes, representing 42.15 percent of the total votes cast in the hotly contested by-election, while the LPG’s Bernice Enyonam Sefenu polled a paltry 87 votes (0.29%).

Gyakye Quayson, who won the seat in the 2020 polls with 17,498 votes, was kicked out of Parliament for having dual citizenship prior to filing his nomination forms.

The Assin North seat became vacant after the Supreme Court ordered Parliament to expunge Gyakye Quayson’s name from its records in a ruling on May 17.

The Supreme Court ruled that Mr Quayson was not qualified to contest the 2020 parliamentary election in the Assin North Constituency at the time he filed his nomination forms on October 9, 2020.

Prior to the by-election, there were counter-accusations of vote-buying by the New Patriotic Party and National Democratic Congress (NDC), during the by-elections.

But speaking in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu, on Citi TV’s Face to Face, Mr Quayson rubbished claims that he gave out money to voters to influence their voting pattern.

According to him, the items shared amongst voters were geared towards their needs, adding that they had already made a request before the by-election.

“I never gave out money for votes, if I gave anything, it was logistics geared towards the needs of the people. I gave out machetes for their farms and weedicides. I don’t call that vote buying. These are items I wish I could get for them, maybe the timing. If it’s the timing you are talking about, I don’t even think it’s a problem. Even last week, we got some Wellington boots and weedicides from the government’s Common Fund, and I went to distribute them. In fact, I just came back just yesterday.”

“We have to explain the process and how certain things happen. Consider an MP who has been restricted for over a year, 14 months to be precise. Until the time of the by-elections, April 2022 until June 2023. My engagement with them could even be perceived as breaching the law. Don’t carry yourself as an MP, and suddenly the opportunity avails itself, there was a by-election. The people had already expressed some of the things they needed, I will never give them what they don’t need”.

The Assin North MP stated that the items he dashed out to the voters were things he had listed to give to his constituents.

“I had a list of communities that needed boreholes, community centres and all the items they needed, so I focused on those lists. For the past 14 months, I couldn’t do it, and I said here is my list, this is what I can do for the people”.

ALSO READ:

• Assin North bye-election: Asiedu Nketia justifies LGBTQI propaganda against NPP

• Assin North: John Boadu reacts to money sharing allegations against NPP

• I never engaged in money-sharing at Assin North – Ntim Fordjour

“The daily trial began during the 2023 campaign. I interpreted it as an attempt to prevent me from campaigning and winning the seat. That was the best they could do. I never believed that the government could be involved in the judiciary, but now I am convinced.”

“An AG can just walk into court and request that the file be moved. Before, it was mostly every two weeks, but suddenly they say I have to come every day. In fact, I was on the campaign trail. I went from my constituency to court from 12pm to 2pm, and then I was back in my constituency by 4pm to campaign until about 11pm,” he said on Accra-based Citi TV.

He admitted that the daily trial put some pressure on him, but it did not affect his chances of winning the seat.

“During the elections, the pressure of the daily trial was there, but that daily trial didn’t work. I even joked that they could give me a chamber in the court, and I would still win the seat. I didn’t have to be on the grounds,” he asserted.

Asked if he was not afraid of ending up in Nsawam prison, he said, “Why should I be? I believe in the justice system. The fundamental issue in any judicial matter is whether or not the person intended to commit the crime. Did he plan it? I have not planned anything of the sort.”

During the campaign period for the Assin North by-elections, Mr Quayson was ordered to face a daily trial.

He had been commuting from his constituency to the court on a weekly basis until the trial was moved to a daily basis.

The Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, argued that, given the charges against Quayson, he could be convicted and jailed if found guilty, hence the need for an expeditious trial.

The legislator formally requested that the General Legal Council (GLC) initiate disciplinary measures against the Attorney General.

Quayson’s request stems from allegations of professional misconduct levelled against Mr Dame in the context of his ongoing criminal trial in the High Court.

ALSO READ:

• Gyakye Quayson drags AG to General Legal Council

• Gyakye Quayson to personally cross-examine prosecution witness if…

• Gyakye Quayson not treating Supreme Court properly – Chief Justice

Speaking in an interview on Face to Face on Citi TV, Mr Quayson said, “After the 3rd week of my victory in 2020, I was served through my lawyers a court injunction, that they were challenging my elections. During that same entire process, I never had a day in court myself, I never had a chance. The trial judge never called me as a witness, or anything, even once, which my lawyers were demanding. In all these processes, I wasn’t in court. Obviously, they gave it to a bailiff to serve me, and that was a day before the swearing-in. We never received it, my lawyers never received it”.

Asked if he was smuggled into the Chamber of Parliament during the swearing-in on January 6, 2021, he retorted, “I will not use the word smuggling. I was in a hotel with my team, and we decided we will come in the night together. It was partly a celebration team. I was in a smaller group to enter the chamber. I was going to go with the flow. Nobody stopped me from entering the chamber. There was controversy about the injunction during the swearing-in, as to the time I was served. The bottom line was that I was never served”.

Background
Mr. Quayson was ousted from Parliament and his name was expunged from the legislative body’s records after the Supreme Court nullified his election in the 2020 polls for holding dual citizenship.

His woes began in November 2020 after a group called ‘Concerned Citizens of Assin North petitioned the Electoral Commission in the Central Region to withdraw the candidature of Mr. Quayson, arguing that he owes allegiance to Canada.

Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, a teacher and resident of Yamoransa in the Central Region, subsequently filed a petition at the Cape Coast High Court after the election seeking to annul the declaration of Mr. Quayson as the MP Assin North.

The Cape Coast High Court in the Central Region upheld Mr. Akomah-Nimfah’s request and declared the 2020 parliamentary election held in the Assin North Constituency as null and void because Mr Quayson breached the provisions of the constitution with regard to dual citizenship.

The Supreme Court on May 17 upheld the ruling of the Cape Coast High Court and directed Parliament to expunge his name from its records.

On Tuesday, May 30, Parliament declared the Assin North seat vacant, giving way for fresh elections in the constituency.

Mr Quayson in a statement insisted that he duly renounced his Canadian citizenship prior to contesting the 2020 polls but said “the most important thing to me right now is to contest and win the by-election which is the result of what the Supreme Court announced on 17th May 2023. I am determined to continue serving the good people of the Assin North with all my heart, soul, body and all the resources I can muster for the benefit of my constituents”.

After his ousting from Parliament, Mr. Quayson later won a by-election.

• Election 2024: Lilwin eyes Afigya Kwabere South seat
• Pentecost Church members involved in accident; one dead, others injured
• 28-year-old lady mysteriously dies after visiting boyfriend at Sehwi Mpomam

Quayson, who secured re-election after the Supreme Court deemed his victory in the 2020 election as null and void, shared that his decision to delve into politics was motivated by his late mother and the legacy of the late President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills.

The former Canadian resident recounted that his late mother encouraged him to return to his native Ghana and contribute to the betterment of his hometown, Assin Breku.

Speaking on Citi TV’s Face to Face, hosted by Umaru Sanda, the MP discussed his journey back to Ghana, revealing that he took the plunge into full-time politics in 2016.

“This idea of coming back to the homeland to assist my community or at least engage them started in 2016. Intermittently, my parents were visiting Toronto, and the last time my mother visited us in Canada was in 2004, and she was there for 4 years straight to spend time with the family. Just before she was leaving to come back, that was 2008, she had a one-on-one discussion with me and said that she really appreciates all the efforts that I have put into life.

“But she was going to ask me one thing, to turn my back to come and see the condition of the lives of the people there. She was a Queen Mother in Assin Bereku, so she held that kind of leadership role. It’s always in her heart to see the well-being of the people. And so when she said that to me, I started to think about it.

“Even prior to that, I had a very close relationship with our late President, Professor John Evans Atta-Mills. He came to Toronto in 2011, barely a year before he passed…we had a similar conversation even after my mother’s advice. He said Junior you should all come home to support the party because our opponents say we lack literates, we work with only veranda boys. So my journey back home started in 2016, I gave it a shot”.

Mr Quayson remarked that the chiefs and his party members rooted for him to go unopposed in the 2020 elections, in which he won the seat.

“In 2016, I was invited by the chiefs and elders in Assin Breku to try to take over the seat. My father started giving me an inner talk about what my mother had discussed with me. In 2016, the NDC invited me to come down; I contested the 2016 primaries and lost, went again. I came down in 2019, and party, chiefs, elders, and constituency executives decided that I went unopposed during the 2020 elections”.

The MP is currently in court over forgery and perjury charges.

The state is going after him on charges of deceit of public officer contrary to section 251 (b) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29; forgery of passport or travel certificate, contrary to section 15 (1)(b) of Passports and Travel Certificates Act, 1967 (NLCD 155); and, knowingly making a false statutory declaration in contravention of the Statutory Declarations Act, 1971, Act 389.

He also faces perjury as per section 210 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29; and False Declaration for Office as against section 248 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29.

• 28-year-old lady mysteriously dies after visiting boyfriend at Sehwi Mpomam
• Popular journalist passes on
• This is what a father told his 13-yr-old girl after sleeping with her [Watch]

Mr Quayson’s lawyers filed a contempt application following comments made by the Trade and Industry Minister during a media interview, deemed contemptuous.

Mr Hammond is alleged to have equated the Gyakye Quayson case to that of Adamu Sakande, a late former MP for Bawku Central and indicated that the Assin North MP will suffer the same fate.

But speaking in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Eyewitness News on Citi FM in Accra on Friday, Mr Hammond emphasised “I am clear in my mind that I haven’t committed any contemptuous sin. I made a remark, the remark was in the context of precedence of decisions that have been made by the Supreme Court… And I don’t understand why anyone would want to take me to court except for the fact I am KT Hammond.”

For that reason, the Trade Minister said that he would have gladly acceded to the allegations and rendered an apology if he really made such commentary.

Meanwhile, the High Court in Accra has set October 19, to deliver a ruling on the contempt case brought against Adansi Asokwa Member of Parliament, KT Hammond.

The complainant in the case, Mr Quayson was hoping to move the case on Friday, but it was rather adjourned.

The court has directed the parties in the matter to file their written addresses by August 31.

The parties will then return on October 19 for the ruling.

• Here’s why the AG’s office is not probing source of Dapaah’s wealth
• You couldn’t manage 100K graduates how much more a nation? – NABCO trainees rubbish Bawumia’s presidential ambition

She observed he more often than not fails to show up and causes one of his lawyers to file and swear to statements on his behalf.

The Chief Justice said such conduct was irregular and must not be encouraged.

“He doesn’t treat this court properly. He engages this court, and he refuses to appear. When you ask the court to exercise discretion, you must treat the court properly,” she stated.

The CJ made this comment while presiding over a five-member panel to hear a case filed by the legislator.

Mr Quayson was seeking to halt his trial arguing that the High Court got it wrong when it refused a request for prosecutors to be compelled to provide certain documents they had failed to disclose.

Attorney General Godfred Yeboah had told the High Court his office had supplied all documents to the legislator.

He pointed the court to correspondence between his office and the MP’s legal team showing that documents in their possession had been examined.

Lawyers for Mr Quayson, however, disagreed.

They insisted the AG cannot refer to those correspondences since they had not filed an appropriate response.

The High Court disagreed with this view causing the MP’s legal team to head to the Supreme Court.

Mr Quayson’s lawyer Justin Teriwajah urged the apex court to set aside the decision of the High Court.

He insisted by relying on the correspondence, it meant the High Court used evidence not properly presented to it.

“Our submission is that, in the main trial, evidence is taken on oath, in a determination of a motion, it must be based on evidence given on oath. Our position is that if facts are deposed, the opposing side has the option to respond. That wasn’t the case,” he said.

The Attorney General disagreed. He first pointed out that even the processes filed was irregular in that Mr Teriwajah swore an oath and signed the current processes filed at the Supreme Court without showing that he had the authority of the MP to do so.

Additionally, he pointed out that the MP’s legal team was given the chance to argue out the matter extensively and addressed the court on the correspondence.

He said the lower court had committed no error of law obvious on the face of the record as was being alleged.

“Substantively, we submit that there is no error of law patent on the face of the record. An application invoking your jurisdiction must indicate matters which are patent.

“Where the court has to go beyond the depositions and fundamental attachments, clearly, that application does not properly invoke the supervision jurisdiction.

“It was an application for further disclosure. The application is improper and should be dismissed,” he stated.

The court ruled that the High Court committed no error of law.

“We have examined the processes and find no merit in the application. We find that the applicant was heard by the court and the court had jurisdiction to rule on the matter,” the Chief Justice ruled.

Some panel members had earlier commented on the absence of the Legislator and on his lawyers swearing documents on his behalf.

“Supposing we want to have him cross-examined, you will disqualify yourself from counsel. You depose to affidavit and you appear before us as counsel.

“That practice was because your client has money, he sends you to the court. One day, when your wig is taken off, you will see,“ Justice Issifu Amadu Tanko said.

The Chief Justice additionally added that such conduct does not help the profession.

“This practice demeans the profession,” she stated.

The case was heard by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo and Justices Issiufu Amadu Tanko, Emmanuel Kulendi, Samuel Asiedu and Ernest Gaewu.

READ ALSO:

• Forestry guard who went missing in Sunyani found on refuse site at Nkawkaw
• NDC’s Hannah Bissiw marries in colourful ceremony [Photo+Video]
• US$1m, €300,000, millions of cedis stolen from Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Dapaah’s house

The latest is the High Court’s refusal to refer an issue to the Supreme Court for interpretation.

Lawyers for Mr Quayson represented by Justin Teriwajah anchored this new request on Article 19 of Ghana’s constitution. This provides as follows;

“A person charged with a criminal offence shall be given a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court.”.

Mr Teriwajah told the court the ongoing day-to-day schedule of court proceedings in view of Mr Quayson’s role as a legislator means he is not getting a reasonable time for his trial.

He also pointed out the prosecution had failed to furnish them with a full complement of documents to be used in the trial.

“Counsel for the accused applicant insisted, there was some outstanding disclosure that had not yet been made.

“The Republica went ahead and pressed for a day-to-day trial of the case despite the protestation of the accused applicant on ground that there are outstanding disclosures.

“In order that his right to a fair trial under Article 19(1) will be followed, the accused-appellant has protested against the opinion of the court.

“Key among them is an attachément pw1 has indicated is available in the statement to the police”, he stated.

The Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame disagreed. He urged the court to dismiss the case.

He explained that the said constitutional provision was unambiguous and did not require any referral for interpretation.

He also pointed out that at no point has the state placed any rival meaning on the said provision. He told the court that the lawyers for the legislator were rather placing an absurd meaning on a clear provision.

“The invitation to you is without basis. The fact that the applicant has an absurd meaning does not mean it merits a referral to the Supreme Court.

“It cannot be correct that an order for hearing on a day-to-day basis raises an issue of interpretation. It also cannot be correct that there has been a filing of all disclosures raises an issue of interpretation.”. He said.

The court presided over by Justice Mary Yanzuh ruled that a case meriting a referral to the Supreme Court had not been made. She asked that cross-examination of the state’s first witness resumes.

Lawyers for the legislator however protested and pointed out that lead counsel Tsatsu Tsikata who has been conducting it was unavailable.

The court initially opted not to adjourn proceedings but later decided to have the trial resume on July 26.

ALSO READ:

• Forestry guard who went missing in Sunyani found on refuse site at Nkawkaw
• US$1m, €300,000, millions of cedis stolen from Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Dapaah’s house
• Nyaho Tamakloe threatens to expose ministers ‘stealing’ state money

The court says it sees no reason to set aside its decision which resulted in a second parliamentary election for the people of Assin North.

Despite emerging victorious in the bye-election, Mr Quayson’s legal team has been pursuing a review at the apex court, insisting it committed basic errors of law in that decision.

The court had earlier ruled the MP was not eligible to contest the 2020 polls because he still owed allegiance to Canada at the time of filing his nomination forms.

Lead counsel for the legislator, Tsatsu Tsikata, on Tuesday moved the review application.

He urged the court to set aside its decision since it had occasioned a miscarriage of justice.

He explained that the court should have simply ordered Mr Quayson to vacate his seat if it deemed it necessary and not to issue such an order.

“It is also our submission that the two previous cases on which the court placed significant reliance were misrepresented.

“The court totally misrepresented previous decisions of the court. For us to be saying that there has been total misrepresentation and for us to be justified necessitates the court to grant the review.”

Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah, however, disagreed.

He questioned what he said was an unjustified attack on the apex court pointing out that such a court cannot be said to have misrepresented its own decision.

“You can say the court misapplied, used it wrongly but not to say misrepresented which imputed wrongful conduct.”

He additionally pointed out that a review was not a chance to argue the case again but to demonstrate to the court.

He said an applicant requesting such a measure must show that there are exceptional circumstances which have resulted in a miscarriage of justice, discovery of new and important matter or evidence which, after the exercise of due diligence, was not within the applicant’s knowledge or could not be produced by him.

He insisted none of these hurdles had been crossed.

Lawyers for the resident (Michael Ankomah Nimfah) of Assin North who initiated this matter led by Frank Davies agreed with the Attorney General’s position.

He accused Mr Tsikata of misrepresenting the decision of the court.

The nine-member panel presided over by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo ruled that its decision was lawful.

The Chief Justice described Mr Quayson’s application as totally unmeritorious.

She explained that the Quayson case was purely one interpretation of Ghanaian law with a focus on the legal status of the legislator.

She pointed out that Mr Tsikata was effectively re-arguing matters already canvassed before the court and that a review is not an appeal to merit a rehash of the same points.

She continued that the construction of Ghana grants the Supreme Court the power to issue orders it deems necessary to give effect to its ruling.

She concluded that the order to Parliament was within this authority.

“The application is dismissed as totally without merit,” she stated.

Other justices on the panel were Justices Mariama Owusu, Lovelace Johnson, Prof Henrietta Mensah Bonsu, Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi, Barbara Ackah-Yensu, Samuel Asiedu, George Kingsley Koomson and Ernest Gaewu.

• Married or divorced: Patapaa sets records straight
• Revealed: How 18-year-old househelp spent money stolen from Cecilia Dapaah
• Time up for Adwoa Safo in Dome-Kwabenya?

He stated that the trial may not end in Mr Quayson’s favour because he is a victim of government’s ‘persecution’.

“I’ve already given my advice on air that if government persecutes you like Akufo-Addo is doing to Gyakye Quayson, Gyakye Quayson must prepare for the worse,” he said on Kumasi-based Hello FM.

Mr Inusah added the legislator is innocent until proven guilty

Mr Quayson is standing trial for allegedly committing offences including perjury and forgery.

An Accra High Court has ruled that nothing stops it from proceeding with the case despite multiple legal processes filed at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

The court had earlier indicated it will hold its hearing on a day-to-day basis forcing Mr Quayson to file legal processes at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court stating that the Attorney General has failed to furnish him with the full complement of evidence to be used against him.

Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, disagreed with this view and pointed out that the court should proceed since no order has been issued by either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court.

The court presided over by Justice Mary Yanzuh, ruled that in the absence of any court order halting proceedings, the court will proceed with the case.

ALSO READ:

• Passing anti-gay bill will introduce more problems for us – Inusah Fuseini

• Inusah Fuseini speaks on son’s sentence in US

• NPP flagbearership race: NPP has a large number of overly ambitious people – Inusah…

Speaking in relation to the daily trial of Assin North Member of Parliament (MP), James Gyakye Quayson, he said such political cases weaken the independence of the courts and make them susceptible to partisanship.

“Political parties and the EC should make sure that elections are won at the ballot box not in the court. If you put politics in front of the courts you are weakening them, you are making them become partisan. Let them be free because once we lose the independence of the judiciary there will be no justice in this country,” he said on Accra-based TV3.

An Accra High Court ruled that nothing stops it from proceeding with the case despite multiple legal processes filed at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

The legislator is standing trial for allegedly committing offences including perjury and forgery.

The court had earlier indicated it will hold its hearing on a day-to-day basis. Mr Quayson has since been pushing to set this aside causing him to file legal processes at the Court of Appeal.

He also filed another action at the Supreme Court making a similar request adding that the Attorney General has failed to furnish him with the full complement of evidence to be used against him.

Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, disagreed with this view and pointed out that the court should proceed since no order has been issued by either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court.

The court presided over by Justice Mary Yanzuh, ruled that in the absence of any court order halting proceedings, the court will proceed with the case.

The Minority Caucus has already boycotted the business of Parliament four times to accompany Mr Quayson in court.

They have carried through with the threats and their actions hindered parliamentary proceedings with the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, cautioning the Caucus that the action is against the Standing Orders of the House.

Mr Bagbin, thus, ruled that the Minority’s boycott of business activities without an official notification and approval from him amounts to a breach of the standing orders of the House which could lead to members of the group losing their seats.

But the NDC MPs insist their action will only be halted if the ongoing criminal case against its colleague, Mr Quayson is dropped.

ALSO READ:

• Any NPP presidential hopeful would perform better than NDC – Kwame Pianim

• IMF deal: Don’t touch free SHS – Kwame Pianim to govt

• My pesewa won’t go into debt restructuring as long as Ofori-Atta is Minister –…

According to him, it is his little contribution to the economy of Ghana, and also makes him happy when he realises he is giving a source of livelihood to some families in the country.

He says seeing large acres of land lying unused in the northern part of Ghana while the country keeps importing crops that could be grown locally ignited his desire to go into farming.

“Ten years ago, I was driving to the Northern part of Ghana and saw huge fertile fields on the roadside, which can help the country farm and have more food stuff to sustain the country. So I made up my mind to zoom into farming,” he stated.

Agribusiness, according to him, is a lucrative venture, but the misconception buried in the minds of the youth has made them think farming is reserved for old people and those living in the villages.

Speaking to Nhyira FM’s Nana Jantuah on Kuro Yi Mu Nsem, Mr Dumelo said Ghana will soon import eggs if the country does not invest more in agriculture.

“When you get to our supermarkets, most of the fruits, ginger, and other stuff are imported, which should not be allowed because if we sit idle, one day we will import eggs,” he cautioned.

The 2020 Ayewaso West Wuogon Parliamentary Candidate of the NDC says he hopes to receive the government’s support to boost his agribusiness.

“I do not get any support from the government; I finance whatever I am doing on the farm. I hope to receive support from the government and trust I will be called on board.

“It is very costly because I use my own money to pay all the workers I have employed; for instance, when it is time for harvesting, you have to pay those who uproot and all the value chain, but I am happy about it because I have created employment for others. I am able to employ 300–400 workers annually,” said Mr Dumelo.

He added that the only factor that can positively contribute to the growth of agriculture is irrigation.

“Farming is now expensive, but we have the Volta River, Tunu Dam, and other big streams that can be used for irrigation in agriculture in the country. Hence, if we start irrigation farming on tomatoes, maize, and onions, it will reduce our shortage of those items,” he observed.

Mr Dumelo says agriculture is very important, and discussion of how to make it attractive and stabilise prices will all be in the blueprint of his 2024 manifesto.

• Meet Akufo-Addo’s former wife who passed on 30 years ago
• NPP supporters chase out Annoh-Dompreh over rejected Nkawkaw stadium [Video]
• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial

Videos show sections of the road have collapsed and cars have turned upside down.

One person was killed and dozens injured, officials said.

Some eyewitnesses reported feeling the ground shake then hearing a loud bang at the time of the blast.

• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial
• NPP parliamentary primaries: Daakye takes lead to pick nomination forms at Akwatia
• Sky train project is a scam – Kofi Adams

The couple looked effortlessly stunning together, radiating happiness in their wedding photos and videos.

Jennea, the beautiful Ghanaian bride, graced the occasion in custom-made dresses by Reve GH, a talented Ghanaian doctor and fashion designer.

Her dream wedding became a reality, thanks to the love and effort poured into every detail.

The romantic proposal was a moment to remember as Prince went down on one knee, sealing their long-time partnership with an intimate gesture that circulated widely on social media.

For her big day, Jennea displayed an array of exquisite and expensive shoes, adding a touch of elegance to her already stunning presence. Her choice of a one-hand dress and short hairstyle accentuated her beauty and radiance in a lovely video.

The traditional wedding was a display of cultural splendor, with Jennea going viral for her breathtaking kente gown and pixie cut hairstyle. Adorned with beautiful earrings, flawless makeup, and long eyelashes, she was a picture of grace and charm on her special day.

For the white wedding, the couple looked heavenly as they exchanged vows, with Jennea in a white long-sleeve dress that showcased her radiant skin, and Prince donning a dapper silky three-piece outfit for their rooftop party.

Jennea’s fashion statement at the wedding reception was truly bold and regal. Her beaded lace dress featured a detachable cape that cascaded gracefully to the ground, tied together with a sophisticated front closure.

The festivities continued with the bride confidently flaunting her curves in a red corseted gown, and her charming curly side-parted hairstyle and mild makeup complemented the look perfectly.

As the night went on, Jennea’s high fashion sense shined through once more as she changed into a stunning black fringe dress for the reception, captivating everyone with her gorgeous smile.

Throughout the night, Prince stood by her side, looking equally dapper in an all-black ensemble on the dance floor, and together, they showed the world that true love, joy, and style could unite to create a wedding that would forever be cherished in their hearts and in the hearts of those who witnessed their love story.

Check out the videos below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by THEVENTGURU&FASHIONSTYLIST (@styleeventsgh)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by THEVENTGURU&FASHIONSTYLIST (@styleeventsgh)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joseph Clauder (@jayclaudbeauty)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by R Ê V E • A T E L I E R (@reve.gh)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joseph Clauder (@jayclaudbeauty)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by R Ê V E • A T E L I E R (@reve.gh)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by R Ê V E • A T E L I E R (@reve.gh)

• Meet Akufo-Addo’s former wife who passed on 30 years ago
• NPP supporters chase out Annoh-Dompreh over rejected Nkawkaw stadium [Video]
• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial

Information gathered by Starr News indicates that, somewhere in May 2023, an unregistered motorbike belonging to Samuel Awuku alias Nana Yaw Abodee was stolen but he failed to report to police.

However, he came across the motorbike on July 2, 2023, at about 4:00pm, ridden by one Ayawa with 26-year-old Augustine Minta alias Kwaku Attah as a pillion rider.

The owner of the motorbike immediately pulled a gun and shot at the moving motorbike causing it to crash.

But the rider Ayawa managed to escape with the motorbike leaving the pillion rider who was accosted and arrested.

Samuel Awuku grabbed and dragged the pillion rider to his uncle’s house and threatened to deal with him.

Shortly, a mob of young men wielding single-barrel guns, sticks, and clubs joined Samuel Awuku and dragged the victim to the father’s house of Ayawa who went out to search for him and the motorbike.

However, on their way from Ampedwe to Obuotumpan they subjected the victim to severe beaten until he became unconscious and was abandoned.

Police proceeded to the scene and found the victim in a supine position dead with the right wrist almost cut off, with bruises all over his body.

He was conveyed to St. Joseph’s Hospital where he was medically confirmed dead.

Mr Awuku was arrested on July 17, 2023, and arraigned before Koforidua District Court “A” the following day on charge of murder.

The prosecutor Sergeant George Defia prayed the Court to remand the accused person to enable police conduct further investigation to arrest six other identified accomplices.

The court granted the request and remanded the accused to reappear August 2, 2023.

ALSO READ:

• Meet Akufo-Addo’s former wife who passed on 30 years ago
• NPP supporters chase out Annoh-Dompreh over rejected Nkawkaw stadium [Video]
• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial
• NPP parliamentary primari

During a press conference, NAGRAT President, Angel Carbonu, highlighted the lack of adequate resources for running Senior High Schools and pointed out that collecting money from students has become a common practice due to the shortage of funds.

It should be noted that the GES had previously interdicted the headmistress of WASS for allegedly collecting illegal fees from students.

However, NAGRAT’s President, Mr Carbonu, is now calling for the immediate reinstatement of the headmistress, arguing that the government should address the broader issue of limited resources available to schools.

Mr Carbonu emphasised the need for a more holistic approach by the government to tackle the funding challenges faced by schools.

He said without adequate financial support, schools are forced to resort to other means like collecting fees from students, which can lead to misunderstandings with education authorities.

ALSO READ:

Latest on interdiction of West Africa SHS headmistress

• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial
• NPP parliamentary primaries: Daakye takes lead to pick nomination forms at Akwatia

Elaborating on the events, Mr Vanderpuye said, “Black Sherif and his management have since refused to pick up calls from the Ghana Police since he wanted to solve things with them amicably amid failure to perform at the cruise event, Afro Cruise Jam, he was billed for.”

“We have a civil suit pending, and we would submit the details. And he will be served and look through it for a response, and if he wants to make ends meet, then fine,” Mr Vanderpuye continued.

During an interview on Joy Prime with Kwame Dadzie, he slammed Black Sherif for not honouring his part of the deal. “The way we were treated is unfair, and we don’t want the public to think we are trying to worry his career. We waited to use all sorts of means, and that didn’t happen, and we are here now,” he explained.

“We want our money and not only that…, I am telling you that we paid Multimedia to have an OB here to promote the event. We have released a press statement and stated our losses… If you want a space you pay and that is nonrefundable. When we finally sent the money, we went ahead to pay for the cabins not all, but we did a deposit and because of that they could not sell to the public.

“How is Afro Cruise jam going to come on?… he has totally derailed the process. If we take your word that he will come to an event how sure are we that he is going to come on that day?” Mr Vanderpuye queried.

“We didn’t agree on any other thing. There were two things he was supposed to do. One was to send money and he does the video. I was supposed to take care of his flights, hotels, and other things. If you give me the video I start promoting when the date is due. I buy you your flight, and you go after the performance. In fact, he wasn’t invited, he was arrested,” Mr Vanderpuye concluded.

Securing an arrest warrant from court, the police finally arrested Black Sherif for breach of contract at the KIA, setting the date today, July 20, 2023, to mediate affairs between the two parties at the police headquarters in a civilian manner.

As the investigation unfolds and the mediation takes place, both parties await a resolution to this contentious contractual dispute.

MORE:

• Meet Akufo-Addo’s former wife who passed on 30 years ago

• NPP supporters chase out Annoh-Dompreh over rejected Nkawkaw stadium [Video]

• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial

The allegations of unauthorized collection of funds from students have raised concerns among parents and the public.

The Head of Public Relations for GES, Cassandra Twum Ampofo, reacting to the issue on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen Thursday, said her outfit received information from some parents.

“We received information from concerned parents who complained that they were being forced to pay money at the school. Additionally, we also came across media reports highlighting similar complaints. Upon receiving this information, we took the matter seriously and decided to investigate further.”

According to her, when they heard these allegations, they immediately asked the regional director to conduct a thorough survey of the school to confirm the veracity of the claims made against the headmistress.

“The investigation revealed that parents and students were indeed made to pay unapproved fees, which is against the rules and regulations of the Ghana Education Service. While we appreciate the motivation provided by the government, we firmly believe that any financial support from parents should be voluntary and not a compulsory levy imposed by the school. We have no problem with parents voluntarily supporting the school, but it is unacceptable for it to be done by force,” she said.

Madam Twum Ampofo disclosed why Mrs Ofori was asked to step aside:

“We have asked Mrs Shine Agatha Ofori to step aside temporarily to ensure that the investigations are conducted without any interference from her or anyone else. This is to ensure a fair and unbiased process, and we will await the recommendations from the Regional Disciplinary Committee before making any further decisions.

“GES is aware that some parents willingly contribute to their children’s schools, and that’s perfectly fine as long as it’s voluntary. However, it becomes a concern when school administrators involve themselves in enforcing such payments,” she added.

The Regional Disciplinary Committee, she noted, has been given a two-week timeline to investigate the matter thoroughly and provide recommendations.

“Once their findings are presented, the GES will make a final decision based on the outcome,” she said.

ALSO READ:

• Meet Akufo-Addo’s former wife who passed on 30 years ago
• NPP supporters chase out Annoh-Dompreh over rejected Nkawkaw stadium [Video]
• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial

The nine say plans to hold the election on a regional basis will not sit well with the party.

The only candidate who is not in support is Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

They argue that decentralising an election of only 900 voters will not be a wise decision.

They are, therefore, urging the party to allow all 900 delegates to converge at one venue for the polls.

The NPP will on August 26th cut down the list of its presidential aspirants from 10 to five as stipulated in its constitution.

Meanwhile, the NPP says it is compiling a new register for its August 26th special delegates’ congress.

The party says a new register will be needed for the register since some of the delegates had passed.

General Secretary of the party, Justin Kodua Frimpong Koduah, says a new register will be out by the end of the week.

“We are in the final stage of doing the compilation. Basically, we are not going to exceed 1,000 so between 900 and 1,000 delegates will form the special electoral college.”

“Some of the founding members have died, so we have to take their names out. We also have to look at past national officers. I am sure before the week ends we should have the final list for the special delegates’ election,” he stated.

READ ALSO:

• Meet Akufo-Addo’s former wife who passed on 30 years ago
• NPP supporters chase out Annoh-Dompreh over rejected Nkawkaw stadium [Video]
• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial

Dissolution

This follows the dissolution of the club’s Board of Directors and management by Otumfuo last Tuesday.

As has been the norm, the Asantehene reportedly received the reports of the board and management of Kotoko at the Manhyia Palace after which he broke the news of their end of tenure to them.

Otumfuo thanked the Dr Kwame Kyei board and Nana Yaw Amponsah and his team for their respective contributions to the club in the past three seasons.

A close source told the Daily Graphic that Otumfuo, who is the owner of Kotoko, would meet the playing body, technical team and the Circles (supporters wing) tomorrow.

As the club races against time to prepare for the new season, expectations are that Otumfuo might drop a hint on the new direction for the club. 

Until their three-year tenure ended last Tuesday, the Kotoko board and management had a frosty relationship, which largely affected the club’s performance in the league. 

• Meet Akufo-Addo’s former wife who passed on 30 years ago
• NPP supporters chase out Annoh-Dompreh over rejected Nkawkaw stadium [Video]
• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial

Reports indicate that the artiste was granted bail on July 17, 2023, following accusations of failing to uphold his contractual obligations with Cruise People Limited, leading to the cancellation of a high-profile cruise ship performance in Greece.

According to in-depth details, Black Sherif allegedly breached the agreement with Cruise People Limited after accepting a substantial payment but subsequently failing to promote the event, named “Afro Cruise Jam.”

As the news spread, social media platforms were flooded with discussions from fans, friends, and industry players, speculating on the events that led to the music star’s current predicament.

Amidst growing interest and public scrutiny, both Black Sherif and Cruise People Limited are set to meet with the Ghana Police Service today as part of the ongoing investigation procedures.

The outcome of this meeting and the subsequent legal proceedings will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the reputation and future engagements of both parties involved in this unfortunate contractual dispute.

The cruise, known for its star-studded lineup, had garnered significant attention after a successful debut edition featuring renowned artistes like Gramps Morgan and Abrantie Amakye Dede.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cruise People Limited had engaged Black Sherif to perform at the second edition, agreeing to pay him Forty Thousand United States Dollars ($40,000), with an initial payment of Twenty Thousand United States Dollars ($20,000) made to secure his participation.

In return, the artiste was expected to record a video confirming his availability and commitment to perform on the agreed-upon dates.

However, complications arose when Black Sherif allegedly failed to deliver the promised video, which was crucial for marketing the event and boosting ticket sales.

Despite multiple attempts by Cruise People Limited to remind the artiste and his management about the breach, no response was received. Even formal communications from the company’s legal team on May 23, 2023, failed to yield a resolution.

The situation reached a breaking point, leading Cruise People Limited to take legal action. Regrettably, the matter escalated to the point where the Ghana Police Service intervened, and Black Sherif was arrested upon his arrival at the airport.

It’s important to note that the arrest is unrelated to any criminal activity but rather pertains to a civil matter concerning the alleged contract breach.

MORE:

• NPP supporters chase out Annoh-Dompreh over rejected Nkawkaw stadium [Video]

• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial

• NPP parliamentary primaries: Daakye takes lead to pick nomination forms at Akwatia

This year’s Graduation and Achievers’ Awards ceremony was under the theme, ‘The Role of the Youth in Nation Building’. It saw the graduation and celebration of three (3) students who obtained the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), three (3) other graduands who had successfully completed their Diploma programme in the International Geographical Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) of Cambridge and more importantly celebrating eleven (11) children who had completed their Kindergarten (KG) course and subsequently transitioned into the primary years’ programme.

In his address to the well-attended gathering of stakeholders of the school including parents and the invited dignitaries, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Principal of the school, Dr. Benedict Nii Tetteh Yartey noted that the story of BCC was such an intriguing one, from humble beginnings at the Adjiringanor campus to the Madina location, saying the College could pride itself with a lot of products that were competing on the global market.

According to him, students or learners do not only need the right skills and exposure but also the right support for them to realize their potential.

Dr. Yartey assured that the school would continue to pursue the full path of the professional development of their teachers. This, he said would enable the teachers to be up to date on the emerging trends in the educational space.

He pointed out that today’s teachers could not use the analogue or traditional method of teaching to handle today’s contemporary children, emphasizing that the story had changed.

“We believe that if we want to equip these children with the right skills to deal with the unchanging circumstances that we have here, then they must be given these skills and training. We are in the 21^st century and you want to use 20^th century skills to teach the children. It will not work. It is just like putting square pegs in round holes’, Dr. Benedict Yartey intimated.”

The CEO announced that five teachers of the College had been certified as Canadian teachers for the General and Advanced level courses. According to him, the year under review also saw an investment in about seven (7) other teachers who have been trained and fully certified for Cambridge and other programmes.

Member of Parliament (MP) for the Madina constituency, Francis-Xavier Sosu, who was the Guest of Honour at the event, stressed the need for the students and learners to as he puts it, first seek the educational kingdom, explaining that the other things would automatically be added.

According to him, he had been one of the leading beneficiaries of education because, in the absence of education in his life, he would not have reached this far.

“Education changed my life from being a common street child to becoming a lawyer and also becoming a legislator.”

The Madina MP noted that what one needed beyond God was education. In his view, without education, children would not only be hopeless but also unable to unlock their potential.

He added that society would remain in darkness and the creativity of the next generation cannot be developed without education.

“The reason why we are so corrupt as a country is because people are not enlightened that when you squander state resources, you are destroying your own future. So any way that you see it, people are not enlightened,” he argued.

The Human Rights Lawyer indicated that education goes beyond formal training in the classroom urging parents and guardians to equally and be fully interested in the co-curricular activities or creativity development of their wards.

“As a little child, I recall that one of the things that accelerated my transformation and also gave me an opportunity to participate in some of the creative arts was these co-curricular activities,” he pointed out.

Mr. Sosu described the educational facility as one of the important educational monuments and a citadel of hope and academic excellence for children not only in the Madina constituency but also across the country.

He lauded the Principal, Management, and Staff of the College for the quality education they had sought to introduce in the constituency.

The Madina MP announced that his office had taken delivery of two 40-footer containers of books suitable for Grades 1 to 7 similar to the College’s curriculum, adding that he would partner with the school for full refurbishment of the library in order to make it one of the topmost in the constituency.

The Accounts Relationship Manager at the British Council in Accra, Mr. Raphael Anderson congratulated the graduands for making themselves and their parents very proud. He also lauded the efforts of the management and staff of the College for ensuring and achieving the holistic development of the children.

The Honorary Consul of the Republic of Indonesia in Ghana, His Excellency Paskal A.B. Rois, who chaired the function, was full of praise for the CEO as well as the management and staff of the school for their untiring efforts at bringing holistic educational development to the doorsteps of their students.

According to him, the role or contribution of the school in Ghana’s private educational space in particular, and the entire learning arena in general, could not be over-emphasized.

Mr. Rois lauded the efforts of the parents and guardians of the College for their continuous love, support, and investment in their wards which was not only yielding positive results but also an assurance that there was more room for greater achievement.

The Indonesian Consul commended both the graduands and the award winners for their sacrifices and hard work and reminded them that beyond the sky was the limit.

He described the performance of the pupils and students in their song ministrations, poetry recitals, choreography, ballet, and sax tunes amongst others as super-encouraging and spectacular.

All the graduands were presented with awards and certificates while the six (6) OSSD and IGCSE diploma graduates were decorated with beautiful kente stoles by Her Ladyship, Justice Audrey Edem Kocuvie-Tay who was one of the special dignitaries present at the event.

The OSSD and IGCSE graduands would leave Accra for Toronto, Canada in September 2023 for their degree programs in various disciplines in some of the topmost universities in Canada. A number of students and pupils who distinguished themselves in various disciplines and subjects from the crèche to the grade seven (7) level, were also honored.

There were a series of performances by the students ranging from poetry recitals, choreography, and recorder players to song ministration and sax tunes.

Dr. Yartey together with Hon. Sosu, His Excellency Rois, Justice Kocuvie-Tay as well as Mr. Anderson, joined all the graduands to cut the anniversary cake for the ceremony. The event was witnessed by a large number of parents and guardians of students from all walks of life.

The school was established in August 2016 as a co-educational K-12 school. The College runs pre, primary, middle, higher, and talent schools for both Ghanaian children as well as foreign students.

The school is accredited by the National Schools’ Inspectorate Authority (NaSIA), running the Ontario Provincial Curriculum through the Rosedale Academy, Ontario, Canada and affiliated to Ridley College, Ontario, Canada. The BCC is also accredited by Cambridge Assessment International Education, England, and a member of the British Council Partner Schools Global Network (PSGN) for the Cambridge International Geographical Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), A-Level and other qualifications under the pedagogical leadership of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Principal, Dr. Benedict Nii Tetteh Yartey.

The College, which closed the last academic year with a total of 548 students, has increased its enrolment by 35.8 percent, hitting a student population of 744 with more than twenty (20) staff for the current 2022/23 academic year.

ALSO READ:

• NPP supporters chase out Annoh-Dompreh over rejected Nkawkaw stadium [Video]
• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial
• NPP parliamentary primaries: Daakye takes lead to pick nomination forms at Akwatia

The House has had to adjourn sittings several times due to the lack of numbers to embark on parliamentary business in the chamber.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament following concerns of quorum raised by the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, who chaired the sitting, said that Members of Parliament must be serious with business activities in the House.

“I think that we have to take the House seriously. If you have been following the media over the weekend, they all descended on Parliament; the fact that we don’t get the members to do business and I think it is becoming unbecoming. So, honourable members, today will be the last day that we will raise this issue, so I am urging you to do more,” he said.

ALSO READ :

• Meet Akufo-Addo’s former wife who passed on 30 years ago
• NPP supporters chase out Annoh-Dompreh over rejected Nkawkaw stadium [Video]
• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial

This development comes after Blakk Rasta’s previous arrest years ago when he made allegations that a significant number of parliamentarians in Ghana were consumers of the plant, which was then considered illegal in the country.

Following his arrest, Blakk Rasta was summoned to clarify his statements and was subsequently released after a brief period.

Expressing his satisfaction with the recent legislative changes, Blakk Rasta expressed a sense of vindication as he believes that the passing of this law validates his earlier claims.

He eagerly welcomed the legalization of marijuana for economic purposes, specifically for exportation.

Reflecting on his past encounters with the parliament on Showtym with Andy Dosty over the weekend, the musician revealed that they had even sent the police to apprehend him during his time at Happy FM.

“Now that marijuana has been legalised, I feel exonerated,” Blakk Rasta exclaimed.

He expressed his desire that this decision had been made earlier, emphasizing the significance of Ghana’s reliance on loans from nations where marijuana has already been legalised.

Additionally, he interpreted this as a lack of vision on Ghana’s part and proudly declared himself to have been ahead of the nation for several years.

In a light-hearted tone, he humorously added, “I pray they call me back and put me on the Speaker’s seat and crown me the ganja king.”

With the recent legislative approval, the country is poised to explore the economic potential of the cannabis industry, and Blakk Rasta eagerly awaits recognition for his perceived role in this significant shift.

MORE:

• Meet Akufo-Addo’s former wife who passed on 30 years ago

• NPP supporters chase out Annoh-Dompreh over rejected Nkawkaw stadium [Video]

• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial

Last week the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) updated its certifications, and Jay’s 2009 album The Blueprint 3 reached 2 million album-equivalent sales, which pushed it to double-platinum status. 

The Black Album, which dropped in 2003, went quadruple-platinum, giving the Brooklyn rap legend over 33.5 million album sales. 

In addition to being the first Black man to have at least 10 double-platinum solo albums, 53-year-old Jay-Z is only the second Black artist to do it. 

Mariah Carey has 11 solo albums that have sold over 2 million copies domestically and is also the most commercially successful Black female soloist of all time.

Jay-Z also has two collaborative albums that went double-platinum, pushing his total number to 12. His 2004 joint effort with Linkin Park titled Collision Course sold 2 million copies, and his 2011 collaboration with Kanye West, Watch the Throne, has sold 5 million.

The pioneering MC’s work is being celebrated at the Central Station of the Brooklyn Public Library in New York City. The Book of HOV exhibit opened last Thursday and is billed to recognise Jay’s “extraordinary journey from Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects to global figure.”

The collection of archival pieces includes original master recordings, previously unreleased photos, awards, plaques, items worn by Jay during live performances, and much more.

An opening celebration was held at the library last Thursday with several big-name celebrities and executives in attendance including Lil Uzi Vert, DJ Khaled, Fat Joe, Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez, Kevin Liles, Questlove, Alicia Keys, Zane Lowe, Jayson Tatum, Steve Stoute, Paul Rosenberg, and Miguel.

Also in attendance were Jay’s mother Gloria Carter and her wife Roxanne Wilshire, as well as Beyoncé and Blue Ivy Carter.

MORE:

• Meet Akufo-Addo’s former wife who passed on 30 years ago

• NPP supporters chase out Annoh-Dompreh over rejected Nkawkaw stadium [Video]

• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial

The photo depicted Ras Nene exuding confidence while sporting a sophisticated ensemble. Clad in a pair of sleek grey sweat shorts and a black short-sleeved T-shirt, he effortlessly exuded charm.

Adding a touch of flair to his appearance, Ras Nene chose to don a backward-worn cap, elegantly accentuating his attire.

Leaning against a low wall, he expertly balanced his iPhone in one hand, while in the other, he held a tastefully designed black and white patterned handkerchief.

In the accompanying caption, the endearing personality, also known as Dr Likee, engaged his dedicated Instagram followers in a lighthearted manner.

He playfully asked his audience to estimate the number of likes his dashing photograph would receive.

Furthermore, he invited them to express their admiration by liking the post and sharing their reasons for their fondness towards him.

“How many Likes…? 1. Like the picture 2. Leave your Comments; Why you like me,” playfully wrote Dr Likee in the caption.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dr Likee (Rass Nene) (@official_ras_nene)

ALSO READ:

• Meet Akufo-Addo’s former wife who passed on 30 years ago
• NPP supporters chase out Annoh-Dompreh over rejected Nkawkaw stadium [Video]
• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial

Speaking on Joy FM’s Middaynews on Wednesday, he described the situation as ‘disappointing.”

This comes after the Auditor–General’s report in 2022 revealed a number of unaccredited programmes offered by the University of Ghana and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and recommended that management of the universities expedite action for accreditation and re-accreditation of all new and expired academic programmes respectively.

However, the universities are still running some unaccredited programmes as of today.

As a result, Prof Abdulai Jinapor says GTEC will publish all centres and unaccredited programmes to caution the public from sourcing such programmes.

He added that by law, GTEC is supposed to publish those that are accredited but, they are taking the new directive by publishing unaccredited courses.

“Starting from this week to next week, we are going to start publishing all centres, and programmes that are run by various institutions that are unaccredited,” the Deputy Director of GTEC said.

According to him, GTEC will crack the whip because running unaccredited courses is an offence, and managers of the institutions are fully aware of this.

Responding to questions on why some programmes are still not accredited by UG and KNUST, Mr Abdulai Jinapor said the problem has to do with the mindset and understanding of what accreditation is.

According to him, the fact that the universities may have applied for accreditation does not give them the go-ahead to advertise courses and programmes that are not accredited, adding that the courses do not always get accredited though universities may have applied for accreditation.

He further explained that the excuse to run unaccredited programmes just because the programme may have expired when the student is in the third or fourth year does not hold.

He noted this because “the letter that gives accreditation is emphatic and unequivocal that you must start the accreditation process one year ahead of time. So, there is no way that a programme should expire the period that is being run.”

READ ALSO:

• Gyakye Quayson heads to Supreme Court to halt criminal trial
• NPP parliamentary primaries: Daakye takes lead to pick nomination forms at Akwatia
• Sky train project is a scam – Kofi Adams