Dominic Ayine asks Jean Mensa to go into the witness box and tell the truth

Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine has advised Jean Mensa, the Returning Officer for the December 7, 2020, presidential elections to subject herself to cross-examination by lawyers for the Petitioner in the ongoing Election Petition hearing at the Supreme Court.

Speaking to the media after the hearing of a motion by the Petitioner to reopen their case in order to subpoena the EC Chairperson, Dr Ayine, a Spokesperson for the Petitioner said: “Jean Mensa should voluntarily take the box, tell the truth and that truth shall set her free as the Returning Officer of this election. There is no better way to glorify God than to tell the truth. The truth is very important. If you want to glorify God, you take an oath and you tell the truth."

During the declaration of the president-elect on 9th December, Jean Mensah started by intoning, "To the glory of God…."

The NDC legal team have used this to great effect during this case. On Monday, Tsatsu Tsikata, lead counsel for the Petitioner referenced that "To the glory of God" quip yet again in urging Jean Mensa to mount the witness box.

When a judge on the panel sought to restrain Tsikata from further use of that quote, the latter resisted the judge, insisting that he was not using that expression lightly since it was an essential part of the argument to get Jean Mensa to come forward and testify to the truth. The judge abandoned his stance, leaving Tsikata to drum home that message.

The NDC legal team thus buoyed, Ayine continued at the press conference:

“Christ himself said it, in the Gospel of John 8:32 that you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

The Supreme Court had earlier overruled the hearing of getting Jean Mensa to mount the witness box on Thursday, February 11, stating that the court cannot compel the EC Chairperson to testify against her will.

Lead counsel Tsatsu Tsikata told the court on Monday that Jean Mensa “gave glory to God for what she was doing” and stated she should assume the witness box in honour of that God she gave glory to in making a “purported declaration”.

“My Lord, the statement I am making is that it would honour that God if she would come forward as a witness of truth,” he added.

Both the EC and Akufo-Addo’s legal team are of the opinion that the petitioner has lost his footing in the case, hence their pursuit of Jean Mensa as a witness to revive their case.

Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine refuted that assertion, stating that Mahama’s legal team wants Jean Mensa to testify in order to account for the conflicting numbers she declared on December 9, 2020.

“If you look at C.I. 99 it does not provide against compelling a witness to come and testify. So the subpoena that we are seeking to issue is in pursuit of the truth, we want Ghanaians to know how 51.589 became 50.08 something," Ayine stressed.

Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine added, “Ghanaians have the constitutional right to know and so for you to say that just by reason only of the fact that we are seeking to get her to come and testify, we are doing so because our case is empty and there is no evidence to prove it is totally disingenuous.”

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will rule on the reopening of the Petitioner’s case today Tuesday, February 16.