Court of Appeal overrules Ablakwa’s objection against panel, CJ

A three-member Court of Appeal has overruled an objection raised by 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 said the allegations of bias against the panel and the Chief Justice’s powers to constitute a panel have not been supported with evidence.

The ruling on the objection, read by Justice Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo, stated 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 panel, chaired by Judicial Secretary Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Koranteng, said the panel by the Chief Justice was "properly constituted and in compliance with the law."

The objection was subsequently dismissed by the panel, which also includes Justice Afia Serwah Asare Botwe.

EIB Network’s Legal Affairs Correspondent Murtala Inusah is reporting 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, alias Rev Victor Kusi Boateng, had lodged 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, said events prior to Tuesday’s court session pointed to Justice Senyo Dzamefe as the presiding judge.

He argued that the Chief Justice, in the exercise of her function, cannot revise the panel in the manner she did, with Judicial Secretary Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Koranteng as the presiding judge on the matter.

Mr. Sory had argued that the replacement of Justice Dzamefe, corroborated by an earlier newspaper publication by the Daily Post on Justice Dzamefe, cannot be overlooked because 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, that cannot be overlooked.

Rebuttal

Bobby Banson, Counsel for Rev Kusi Boateng, submitted that the argument that "there was a panel that was to hear this case and that panel has been reconstituted by a newspaper report is at worst hearsay evidence that cannot be admitted in evidence."

He wondered who constituted the original panel and whether the Chief Justice had the authority to do that.

Counsel for Rev Kusi Boateng submitted that the objection has no basis and should not be entertained.

Justice Cynthia Pamela A. Koranteng’s panel also comprised Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe and Justice Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo.