Ernest Kumi
The Supreme Court (SC) has agreed to give the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akwatia, Ernest Kumi, a hearing in spite of him not purging himself of his conviction for contempt of court.
The court, in a 4:1 decision, with Justice Gabriel Pwamang dissenting, agreed with counsel for the MP, Gary Nimako Marfo that he deserved to be heard by the apex court, especially when he is challenging the jurisdiction of the Koforidua High Court which found him guilty of contempt of court and subsequently convicted him for same.
The MP is before the Supreme Court seeking to set aside the High Court’s injunction against him as well as his conviction for contempt of court, as a result of him presenting himself to be sworn in as the MP for the area against the court’s order.
The Koforidua High Court, presided over by Justice Senyo Amedahe, on February 19, 2025, convicted the Akwatia MP after finding him guilty of contempt of court.
This was after the MP, who according to court documents, defied the interim injunction placed on him by the court.
The Supreme Court had put the hearing of the two applications on hold pending the determination of whether the MP, who is convicted for contempt, could be given a hearing without him purging himself of contempt of court first.
Gary Nimako Marfo, counsel for the MP, in his argument told the court there is precedent that a person who is in contempt of court could still be given a hearing by a different court.
He cited a Supreme Court decision which held that where a contemnor is challenging the jurisdiction of a court, his objection could be entertained even though the person making it was in contempt of court.
“It is our submission that considering the background leading to the conviction of the applicant, it is clear that the applicant, first of all, was not heard and secondly, he has since the inception challenged the jurisdiction of the High Court, Koforidua,” Mr. Marfo told the court.
“We submit that the applicant is before this court challenging the conviction by filing a second certiorari and prohibition. We submit that this situation falls under the exceptional circumstances, and we pray that the court should not shut the door of justice on the applicant and allow the applicant to be heard,” he added.
Bernard Bediako Badu, counsel for Boakye Yiadom, the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s parliamentary candidate, told court they have decided to leave the decision of whether to give the MP a hearing or not to the court and focus their attention on the two substantive applications.
Justices Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Ernest Gaewu, Henry Anthony Kwofie and Richard Adjei-Frimpong, who formed the majority, held that the MP is entitled to be heard by the Supreme Court by virtue of the circumstances of the case.
The court said reasons for both the majority and minority decisions will be made available on March 21, 2025, while the case was adjourned to March 26 for a hearing on its merits.
Meanwhile, Justice Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu has admonished lawyers in the case to leave emotions out of the case and leave that to the parties.
“The emotions in this case too much. Leave that kind of emotion to the personalities involved. That is why you are professionals. The emotion is too much,” she warned.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak