Dorcas Affo-Toffey
Sekondi High Court 1 in the Western Region was thrown into state of shock and mourning when the embattled MP for Jomoro on Tuesday surprisingly confirmed she holds a dual Citizenship being Ghanaian by birth and Ivorian by birth in the case challenging her eligibility to contest as MP.
The embattled MP, Dorcas Affo-Toffey perhaps hit by the evidence and questions from counsel for the petitioner was purportedly seen wiping tears from her face during the cross examination when pouring out citizen status in the court.
This transpired when counsel for the petitioner, Bright Okyere-Adjekum took the lawmaker who happens to be first respondent in the case through the start of his cross examination.
The MP for Jomoro accepted that all documents filed by the petitioner as his evidence in chief are correct about her.
She further confirmed to the court that she is an Ivorian by birth who was born on May 4, 1971 in Ivory Coast, a town called Adzope.
She also affirmed to the court that she was born on May 4, 1972 in Ghana at the Kole -bu Hospital in Accra.
Besides that it came to the attention of the court also that the lawmaker illegally acquired a Ghanaian diplomatic passport in 2018 when she was not a diplomat.
Though she told the court she acquired her first Ghanaian passport in 2018, she later during the cross examination confirmed to the court that a Ghanaian passport of her which was acquired in 2013 was belongs to her.
The cross examination of the lawmaker in the ongoing election petition commenced after Godwin Kudzo Tamaklo, counsel for the lawmaker confirmed with her if the witness statement was what she filed in court and would want to use it as the evidence in chief in the ongoing case.
The lawyer therefore moved for it to be adopted and used as confirmed.
The court presided over by Justice Dr. Richmond Osei Hwere adopted the witness statement as her evidence in cheif as prayed.
The court therefore adjourned to July 18, 2022 for continuation.
This follows an application by one, Joshua Emuah Kofie challenging that the MP was not eligible to contest as a representative of the people in the constituency.
According to the applicant, the MP was holding multiple nationalities including American and Ivorian citizenships which contravenes the 1992 constitution.
The MP, however, denied having American citizenship but claimed to be in possession of an Ivorian Citizenship which she said she had renounced.
This made the applicant to pray the court to give an order to inspect the documents to ascertain whether the MP truly renounced her Ivorian citizenship before filing to contest as MP in 2020.
Dorcas Affo-Toffey was subsequently ordered by the Court to produce documents on her alleged renunciation of Ivorian citizenship.
But the MP reportedly failed to comply with the court’s order which compelled the applicant to initiate contempt proceedings against her after she allegedly failed to appear in court and provide the requisite documents proving her renunciation of the alleged dual citizenship.
Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, counsel for the MP, pleaded with the court to strike out the contempt case and asked for forgiveness noting his client had no intentions of disrespecting the orders of the court.
Lawyer for the petitioner, Bright Okyere Agyekum asked the court to award a cost of GHC 20,000 against the MP for disobeying the orders of the court and wasting their time before striking out the case of contempt.
The court presided by Justice Sedinam Agbemava subsequently struck out the case and awarded a cost of GHC 5000 against the MP after her lawyer pleaded his client could not afford the amount requested by the petitioner’s Lawyer, noting that “things are hard.”
By Vincent Kubi