SC’s quashing of injunction on Amewu apt – Godfred Dame

Deputy Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame has said he is satisfied with the decision of the Supreme Court to quash the injunction placed on Hohoe MP-elect John Peter Amewu by a Ho High Court.

The Highest Court of the land has on Tuesday, January 5 by a unanimous decision dismissed the injunction placed on the swearing-in of Energy Minister Amewu by a Ho High Court.

The action of the apex court now paves the way for Mr Amewu to be sworn in on Thursday, January 7 as the lawmaker for the people of the area.

The Supreme Court said the Ho High Court did not have the jurisdiction over the matter, hence the decision to quash the injunction.

Speaking to journalists after the SC’s ruling, Mr Godfred Dame said the case that went before the Ho High Court “was totally out of order because you cannot seek election petition reliefs in a human rights action and today the Supreme Court has held to the same effect that it was unjustified for them to have commenced an election petition and characterized him as a human rights action. So, we are very grateful.

“I believe that it is also important for me to place on record misconception and misperception that have been made about the intervention of Attorney General in this matter. That is clearly because the Attorney General was sued.

“The Attorney General was a party to the High Court proceedings at Ho and so we reserved the right to take any action at all that you think is available to you at law. So that is what the Attorney General did.

“So, we came to the Supreme Court to quash what went at the Ho High Court because it was not according to law and it was granted by the Supreme Court.

“Our contention was that the matter was in the nature of a parliamentary election petition and to that extent the orders pf the court dated 21st December ought to be struck out. The court granted an order of certiorari quashing the entire proceedings of the High Court so we are satisfied with that one.”

The Attorney-General (AG) had dragged the Ho High Court to the Supreme Court for granting an injunction against the swearing-in of John Peter Amewu as the Member of Parliament for the Hohoe Constituency.

The AG wants the Supreme Court to quash the High Court’s order of injunction and also stop it from hearing the substantive matter brought against Mr. Amewu and the Electoral Commission for lack of jurisdiction.

The AG argues, in a suit, that the ruling from the Ho High Court “constituted a patent error” since it did not have the capacity to hear the matter.

“The High Court has no jurisdiction under Article 33 of the Constitution to entertain a matter in the nature of a parliamentary election petition and to grant any relief(s) interim, interlocutory or final, available in a parliamentary election commended under article 99 and section 16 of the Representation of the People’s Law, 1992 (PNDC 284).

“The proceedings of the court below and the orders emanating therefrom dated 23rd December 2020 were void as same were in violation of article 99 of the Constitution,” the plaintiff noted in their application.

The Ho High Court on Wednesday, December 23, presided over by Justice George Buadi granted an interim injunction restraining the Commission from gazetting the New Patriotic Party’s candidate as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hohoe.

This was after an ex-parte application by residents in the Guan District who were not given the opportunity to vote in parliamentary elections.