A three-member Court of Appeal has overruled an objection raised by the lawyers of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, challenging the panel in which the Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, is seeking an appeal.
The court stated that the allegations of bias against the panel and the Chief Justice’s powers to constitute a panel were not supported with evidence. The ruling on the objection, read by Justice Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo, indicated that a reasonably informed observer would form the opinion that there was no real likelihood of bias against the Applicant.
“No acceptable evidence has been brought to support the allegations of bias against the Chief Justice when choosing the panel,” the ruling stated. The panel, chaired by Judicial Secretary Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Koranteng, declared that the panel constituted by the Chief Justice was “properly constituted and in compliance with the law.”
The objection was subsequently dismissed by the panel, which also included Justice Afia Serwah Asare Botwe. EIB Network’s Legal Affairs Correspondent Murtala Inusah reported that following the dismissal of the objection, the panel is currently considering Mr. Ablakwa’s request to strike out the appeal.
Objection
Mr. Adu Gyamfi, also known as Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, filed an appeal on May 10, 2023, challenging the High Court in Accra’s dismissal of his contempt case against the MP. In court on Tuesday, June 25, lead counsel for the MP, Thaddeus Sory, argued that events before Tuesday’s court session indicated that Justice Senyo Dzamefe was supposed to be the presiding judge.
He contended that the Chief Justice, in the exercise of her function, could not revise the panel in the manner she did, replacing Justice Senyo Dzamefe with Judicial Secretary Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Koranteng as the presiding judge on the matter.
Mr. Sory argued that the replacement of Justice Dzamefe corroborated an earlier newspaper publication by the Daily Post regarding Justice Dzamefe. He pointed out that the appellant (Rev. Kusi Boateng) is the Chief Justice’s pastor and spiritual father. Therefore, when a party has “an affinity with the person that determines the panel” and the panel has been reconstituted with the removal of a presiding judge, it cannot be overlooked.
Rebuttal
Mr. Bobby Banson, counsel for Rev. Kusi Boateng, submitted that the argument that “there was a panel that was to hear this case and a newspaper report has reconstituted that panel” is, at worst, hearsay evidence that cannot be admitted in evidence.
He questioned who constituted the original panel and whether the Chief Justice has the authority to do so. Counsel for Rev. Kusi Boateng submitted that the objection had no basis and should not be entertained. The panel, chaired by Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Koranteng, also comprised Justice Afia Serwah Asare Botwe and Justice Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Murtala Inusah
