President Kufour?s Nephew Dragged To Court

His election as the New Patriotic Party?s (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Effutu Constituency in the Central Region was not without a fight.

Yet after achieving that landmark victory some months ago, Mr Ernest Kweku Yamoah Kufour, a nephew of President J.A. Kufour, has been dragged to court by an executive of that constituency. Joined in the suit is the Awutu-Effutu-Senya-District officer.

An executive of the Brew House Polling Station at Winneba, Prince Percy Taylor, argues that the said Mr Yamoah used ?fraudulent means to obtain the Parliamentary candidature of the party to contest the 2004 elections?, on the ticket of the NPP.

The Suit by Mr Taylor is therefore praying the court for an order to declare the election of Mr Yamoah Kufour as the NPP parliamentary candidate for Effutu ?null and void and of no effect?. He is also seeking the court?s mandate to restrain Mr Kufour from contesting the 2004 elections as the NPP candidate for the constituency. The writ, which is yet to be heard at a High Court in Cape Coast, is also seeking to restrain the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District Electoral Officer from registering Mr Kufour as the NPP parliamentary candidate fo the Effutu Constituency for the 2004 elections.

Similar to allegations raised by some NPP executives of the Effutu Constituency in the run-up to the primary, Mr Taylor still maintains that Mr Kufour is not a card bearing member of NPP in the constituency. Then the fact that the Electoral Officer is the authority responsible for registration of candidates in the district, he was joining him (electoral officer) in the suit to bar him from registering Mr Yamoah Kufour for the 2000 elections.

Mr Taylor again contended that, Mr Yamoah Kufour held himself out and contested the primary in the constituency when he was aware that he was not qualified to do so. Mr Taylor also noted that, ?by that action, Mr Kufour had perpetrated fraud against the party in the constituency by giving wrong information on his application for nomination form thereby misleading the executive that he is qualified to stand as a parliamentary candidate.?

On details of the offence, the writ stated that Mr Yamoah Kufour told the executive that he was resident at House Number 2/13, Lancaster, Winneba Road whilst in fact he has no residence there and also failed to supply his party registration number when asked to furnish the executive with it. The writ also stated that Mr Kufuor said he votes at the Wesley Hall P/S, which has been found to be false and had also not lived in the constituency for at least tow years, as the NPP constitution requires.