What the Supreme Court said about Gyakye Quayson’s citizenship

The Supreme Court of Ghana, on May 17, 2023, ordered the Parliament of Ghana to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson as a Member of Parliament (MP).

The apex court of the land ruled that Quayson was not qualified at the time he contested the election 2020 in the Michael Ankomah Nimfah vrs James Gyakye Quayson case.

According to the court, the ousted Assin North MP failed to prove that he had renounced his Canadian citizenship when he filed his nomination to contest in the 2020 general elections.

Gyakye Quayson is still facing a criminal suit in the High Court regarding his dual citizenship.

The State, on February 12, 2022, charged James Gyakye Quayson with five counts; deceit of a public officer, forgery of a passport, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury, and false declaration.

It is, therefore, important to know exactly what the Supreme Court said about his citizenship.

The court, in its detailed judgement which was released on Monday, June 5, 2023, explained that citizenship is a matter of law.

It said that the evidence before it showed that the former MP had not renounced his Canadian citizenship before he filed his nomination.

“Since the 1st defendant had not received his certificate of renunciation as a Canadian citizen as of 9th October 2020, then he was not qualified to be a Member of Parliament at the time that he filed his nomination papers, at the time he stood for elections, and at the time he was declared as elected Member of Parliament, because he owed allegiance to another country as at 9th October 2020, the date when he should have satisfied the qualification criteria,” parts of the court’s ruling read.

Read the full explanation given by the Supreme Court below:

The effect of the renunciation of alternate citizenship

When does cessation of allegiance' occur when a Ghanaian citixenship renounces their citizenship of another country? Is it on the date the person declares that renunciation, or does it occur as a matter of law from settled regulations?

The 1 defendant set down the following issues regarding the effect of renouncing the citizenship of another country. They are:

-Whether, if the holding of another nationality at the material time for determining 1 Defendant's qualification to be a Member of Parliament resolves the issue of his owing allegiance to a country other than Ghana, the material time for determining the said issue was the time when the 1st Defendant was nominated to stand as a candidate for the election, the time when the election was held or the time when the 1 Defendant, having been elected, took the oath of allegiance as a Member of Parliament

and

Whether plaintiff has satisfied the burden of proof and established that 1st Defendant owed allegiance to a country other than Ghana at the material time for determining Defendant's qualification to be a Member of Parliament

We find the answer to these issues from the record before us, and the interpretation of the Constitution as has been evaluated.

According to the averments of the plaintiff, between 2nd and 5th October 2020 when the 1st defendant filed his nominations to contest the parliamentary seat, he had not received his certificate of renunciation of Canadian citizenship. The 1 defendant said he had received the certificate of Renunciation in November and by the date of the election on 7 December and his taking the oath of allegiance as a Member of Parliament in January. This admission, verified from the findings of the High Court on page 42 of the judgment in suit number CRP/E/3/21 informs us that the 1" defendant is well aware that beyond submitting to the Canadian authorities his intention of renouncing that citizenship, he needed a Certificate of Renunciation to complete that process of become a sole citizen of Ghana.

A necessary incident of the Constitution as a living document is that its interpretation and application must not lend itself to confusion and absurdity, but harmony and consistency in meaning.

Since citizenship is a matter of law and is determined by the law and the regulatory mechanisms of States, it is not a valid legal submission that a unilateral statement of renunciation of citizenship of another country should be recognized as severance of allegiance from that country. If that were plausible, persons who have complied with stringent conditions and borne considerable costs to become citizens of Ghana or another country could simply throw affidavits or Declarations at the State and deem themselves divested of citizenship if they find a reason to quickly remove the burden of that citizenship from themselves because of changed needs. There would be no need for the Certificate of Renunciation Issued by the Canadian authorities to take effect from 26th November 2020.

In the same way that the obtaining of alternate citizenship is done through due process and by legal means, we are satisfied that without a legal record granted by the State that conferred the alternate citizenship, persons who present themselves as having renounced their alternate citizenship cannot be accepted as having done so, unless they show an official record stating so from the alternate State. To accept such a proposition will make a mockery of the weight that Ghana and States place on the grant of citizenship other than through birth and the rights and obligations that go with holding allegiance to the State.

This court has to, therefore, reiterate its earlier conclusion that the qualification of holding only Ghanaian citizenship must be present at the time of nomination, and not any date thereafter - in this case by 9th October 2020.

We hold that by the requirements of article 8 as amended by Act 527, and article 94 (2) (a), any person, who has obtained citizenship of another country other than Ghana, and who files for nomination with the Electoral Commission to contest for election as a Member of Parliament will not be qualified to contest for elections unless and until they show a record from the alternate State that they no longer hold the citizenship of that State as at the date of filing their nominations with the Electoral Commission.

Since the 1st defendant had not received his certificate of renunciation as a Canadian citizen as of 9th October 2020, then he was not qualified to be a Member of Parliament at the time that he filed his nomination papers, at the time he stood for elections, and at the time he was declared as elected Member of Parliament, because he owed allegiance to another country as at 9th October 2020, the date when he should have satisfied the qualification criteria.

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