State attorneys sued

Charles Wilcox Ofori, the sacked National Secretary of the State Attorneys Association, has sued the Association over what he describes as “his unlawful dismissal” from the association.

Mr. Ofori prayed the Accra High Court (Human Rights Division) for an order of certiorari to quash his dismissal.

According to the applicant, the respondent breached the impeachment procedure against executive committee members.

He said the procedure was also misapplied.

The applicant incurred the wrath of the association after he granted an interview on September 9 to Joy FM, an Accra-based radio station on the judicial bribery scandal.

In the said interview, the former National Secretary of the Association was reported to have said that “if the judicial council findings/reports are adverse against those judges, they should be prosecuted.”

But Mr. Ofori insisted that although he was introduced in the said interview as the National Secretary of the Association, the views he expressed were personal.

In an 11 paragraph affidavit in support of the motion filed at the court, the applicant said “the gravamen of the entire interview is personal. I further apologized to the respondent that I was deeply sorry and that the interview was personal.

Mr. Ofori said, “I neither heard nor received any official communication to the contrary from the respondent about its exact position on the interview or any notice of meeting until the night of 15th September 2015”.

He said as the national secretary he was not aware of the meeting and there was no notice to all 150 members of the association about the ‘Trojan meeting.’

The affidavit indicated that only 25 members out of the entire 150 members held the meeting without due notice and moved for his dismissal in a purported compliance with the respondent’s constitution.

Mr. Ofori said that he was unhappy with the respondent’s illegal modus operandi and lack of due process of law adopted in dismissing him which sins against rule of law and natural justice.

It said the quorum, which took the decision, lacked jurisdiction and same was flawed because it was made up of only 25 members while the general assembly also did not pass any resolution to waive that constitutional requirement.

“Having demonstrated such grave procedural impropriety and illegality against the respondent, I am also aggrieved by the respondent’s conduct violating my human right of freedom of speech and expression and freedom of thought and belief on national issues guaranteed by laws of Ghana,” it argued.

As a result, Mr. Ofori wants the court to declare that the quorum that dismissed him lacked jurisdiction, was illegal and should be set aside.

The former Secretary of the Association wants the court to declare that the interview was personal and did not represent the view of the respondent.

The applicant, among other reliefs, also wants a declaration that his dismissal was unlawful and that he cannot be prevented from exercising his right to freedom of speech and expression and freedom of thought as guaranteed by Article 21 (1) of the 1992 Constitution.