Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, alias Victor Kusi Boateng, secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral; has revealed why Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa rejected court papers in a dramatic fashion last Friday, February 3, 2023.
According to court documents seeking for Ablakwa to be convicted of contempt for abusing the court and its processes, Adu Gyamfi gave an account of what transpired between Ablakwa and a court bailiff leading to his open rejection of service.
The MP had cited his Parliamentary privilege as the basis for which he could not be served with court documents, Adu Gyamfi revealed in his suit.
Points 7 and 8 of the contempt suit spelled out what ensued between Ablakwa and the bailiff.
It read: "7. That when the Bailiff of this Honourable Court approached the Respondent to serve him with Exhibits VKB1 and VKB2, the Respondent refused to accept service initially, alleging that he was on his way to Parliamentary proceedings and hence was immune from being served with any court proceedings
"8. That when the Bailiff of this Honourable Court reminded the Respondent that Parliament was on recess, the Respondent then claimed that he was on his way to a meeting of one of the committees of Parliament, an allegation which has since turned out to be a falsehood told by the Respondent merely to evade service of the court processes on him."
Adu Gyamfi argued that the basis for his request that Ablakwa be jailed for contempt was partly that his lawyer had explained that "the immunities available to members of Parliament from being served personally with court processes can only be invoked when that member of Parliament is either on his way to or way from Parliamentary proceedings or activities; an immunity which the Respondent could not have invoked on the 3rd of February 2023 because the Parliament of Ghana was on recess at that time.
Ablakwa rejects service
The lawmaker was captured in a viral video in a brief interaction with a court bailiff following which he was seen prevented the bailiff from putting some court papers into his car.
After the document had fallen to the ground and the bailiff taken his leave, Ablakwa returned to kick the document away, twice, from his car.
The documents it has been confirmed comprised a 10-day restraining order that barred him from making any public publications on Kwabena Adu Gyamfi's personal records plus a defamation suit for his previous publications and threats to continue same.
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