Dorcas Afo-Toffey
MEMBER OF Parliament (MP) for Jomoro in the Western Region, Dorcas Afo-Toffey, faced a tedious cross-examination at a Sekondi High Court on Tuesday.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP, whose eligibility to contest the Jomoro seat in the 2020 parliamentary election is being challenged in court, was grilled by Bright Adjekum, counsel for the petitioner in the case, over the MP’s Ivorian passports and her alleged two dates of birth.
Mr. Adjekum, who could not fathom why the Jomoro legislator could have two different dates of birth, according to the records before the court asked the MP, “Per chance, have you ever died and resurrected?” The MP answered in the negative.
The lawyer pointed out that, per the records, the NDC MP has a Ghanaian passport issued in Accra on October 9, 2018, with the date and place of birth stated as May 4, 1972 and Accra respectively.
He said the MP also holds an Ivorian passport issued on July 27, 2018, with her date and place of birth being May 4, 1971 and Adzope in Ivory Coast respectively.
Explaining the issue to the court, the MP indicated that at age 16, while she was in Ghana, her family members in Ivory Coast procured a passport for her to go and study abroad, and that because she was so excited, she failed to check the details on the document.
Mr. Adjekum, however, pointed out that the MP’s narration to the court was an afterthought.
He asked the MP whether she has had series of Ivorian passports, but the MP answered no and said she had two Ivorian passports. The first was the original one while the second was the renewal.
Mr. Adjekum asked when the MP’s first Ivorian passport was issued, and the MP said it was issued in 1991.
“When did it expire,” the lawyer asked, but the MP said “I don’t remember.”
“But it did expire,” Mr. Adjekum asked, and the MP answered in the affirmative.
The petitioner’s counsel continued and asked, “After its expiration you obtained a new one,” and the MP said “yes”.
“In 2012, you were issued with another Ivorian passport not so,” the lawyer quizzed, and the MP replied, “I am not sure.”
At this juncture, the lawyer asked the MP to have a look at a copy of her Ivorian Passport issued on January 4, 2012 and attached to some documents before the court.
The lawyer then asked the MP “what happened to that passport,” and she said “it got missing”. The lawyer asked, “Were you issued with another Ivorian passport in 2017?” The MP said she reapplied but never got it.
“You never got what?” the lawyer asked, and the MP said “the passport”.
The lawyer then asked whether the MP meant she never got the passport, which is one of the exhibits in court.
Counsel for the MP, Godwin Edudzie Tamakloe, objected to the question and said the petitioner’s own witness statement before the court clearly shows that the first respondent reported of a lost passport and was declared missing.
The court, however, overruled the objection and asked the MP to answer the question. She said it was the passport that got missing.
Mr. Adjekum then asked, “So in essence you have had the misfortune of losing two Ivorian passports,” and the MP said, “It’s incorrect.”
The MP also told the court that she has two Ghanaian passports – one regular and the other diplomatic.
The case was adjourned to July 18, for further cross-examination.
The petitioner, Joshua Emuah Kofie of Nuba-Mpataba in the Jomoro Constituency last year filed a suit challenging the Jomoro MP to produce evidence of her renounced dual citizenship.
According to the petitioner, Dorcas Affo-Toffey was not qualified to contest in the 2020 parliamentary elections as she held dual citizenship at the time.
FROM Emmanuel Opoku, Sekondi