Court convicts traders for contempt

A Kumasi High Court presided over by Justice Mariama Owusu has convicted six traders, who forced open stores at North Suntreso, in spite of the fact that the court had granted the plaintiff, Nana Kofi Boateng, Chairman of Kejetia Traders Association (Mighty 18), writ of possession.

The six, were, therefore, asked to purge themselves of the contempt, by opening the doors to all the stores and fined one million cedis each or in default serve three months jail.

They were in addition bonded to be of good behaviour for six months or in default serve three months' jail sentence. They are Agyenim Boateng, Otuo Acheampong, Andrews Manu, Kwaku Dadzie, Joseph Owusu Afriyie and Yaa Konadu.

The Court upheld the affidavit in support of the application for contempt filed by the plaintiff, which said the respondents by forcing the doors to the stores open, after destroying the padlocks, constituted contempt.

It said where a party felt genuinely that an order of a Superior Court of Judicature was made without jurisdiction, it was safer for the affected person to take steps to have the offending order discharged or set aside, than to allow it to stand and then treat it with contempt.

The court said it was important to note that unlike the judgement or orders of the inferior court, the orders of judgement emanating from the Superior Court of Judicature could not be presumed to be void until the contrary was proved.

So that, any person who wilfully disregarded or disobeyed such orders, did so at the risk of being brought up for contempt. Meanwhile, the respondents have appealed against the ruling and hearing had been fixed for December 3.