The Supreme Court has overturned the contempt conviction of Ernest Yaw Kumi, New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Akwatia in the Eastern Region.
The conviction had previously been handed down by the Koforidua High Court.
In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, June 11, the apex court also nullified the execution of a bench warrant that had been issued against the legislator.
The bench warrant, authorised by Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe, followed Mr. Kumi’s conviction for contempt.
However, the Supreme Court’s latest decision bars Justice Amedahe from proceeding to sentence the MP in relation to the matter, effectively ending any punitive action under the original ruling.
The judgment was passed by a 4–1 majority, with Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, who presided over the panel, registering the sole dissenting opinion.
The majority decision was upheld by Justices Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Ernest Gaewu, Henry Kwofi, and Adjei Frimpong.
Background
Mr. Kumi filed a certiorari and prohibition application at the Supreme Court in February to overturn his contempt of court conviction issued on February 19, 2025.
The conviction, delivered by Justice Amedahe of the Koforidua High Court, also resulted in a bench warrant for Kumi’s arrest after he allegedly defied an interim injunction preventing his swearing-in as a legislator.
Kumi’s legal counsel, Gary Nimako Marfo, argued that Justice Amedahe erred in law by assuming jurisdiction over the Akwatia Parliamentary Election Petition despite the Electoral Commission’s failure to publish a Gazette notification of the election results.
The legal team contended that this omission rendered the petition filed on December 31, 2024, legally incompetent, as it failed to properly invoke the High Court’s jurisdiction.
The MP’s lawyers further accused the judge of bias and of violating principles of natural justice by proceeding with the contempt hearing, even though a motion challenging the court’s jurisdiction was pending.
Grounds of Application
The first ground of his application was that “the learned High Court Judge committed a jurisdictional error of law apparent on the face of the record when he assumed jurisdiction in a parliamentary election petition at the Akwatia constituency at a time when the Electoral Commission had not published the gazette notification of the results to which the election relates.”
Secondly, Ernest Kumi argued that “the learned High Court Judge breached the rules of natural justice when he proceeded to hear and determine the contempt application despite the pendency of the applicant’s motion to set aside the said contempt application for want of jurisdiction.”
Lastly, he contended that “the learned High Court Judge was biased and highly prejudiced against the applicant when he, among others, refused to grant counsel for the applicant audience on the basis that counsel had not filed ‘Appearance’ in the contempt application.”
Reliefs Sought
Based on these three grounds, Mr. Ernest Kumi sought six reliefs:
A declaration that the petition filed by the 1st Interested Party on December 31, 2024, in the absence of the gazette notification of the parliamentary election results to which the election relates, was incompetent as it did not properly invoke the jurisdiction of the High Court, and that any order founded on it is void and of no effect.
A declaration that the contempt proceedings and the ruling dated February 19, 2025, founded on the premature election petition filed on December 31, 2024, were void and of no effect.
An order of certiorari quashing the ruling of His Lordship Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe, sitting at High Court 3, Koforidua, dated February 19, 2025; the petition filed on December 31, 2024; the interim injunction order dated January 2, 2025; and the ruling dated January 6, 2025, made under the said premature election petition.
An order quashing the ruling delivered on the contempt application and the execution of the bench warrant issued by the court dated February 19, 2025, by His Lordship Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe.
An order of prohibition against His Lordship Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe from proceeding to sentence the applicant, Hon. Ernest Yaw Kumi, pending the hearing and determination of the instant suit.
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