Court dismisses contempt application by Kotokuraba traders

A Cape Coast Circuit Court has struck out an application for contempt filed against the Central Regional Minister, Mr Aquinas Tawiah Quansah and three others in relation to the demolishing of the old Kotokuraba market.

The three are Mrs Priscilla Arhin Korankye, Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Gilbert Nuri-Teg, the Coordinating Director of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, and the contractor on site.

The eight aggrieved traders of the market on December 18 filed a motion of contempt, non-compliance and extension of time in the demolishing of the old Kotokuraba market.

They said the Assembly had not complied with some conditions it was to fulfil before the demolition exercise began, as ordered by the Court presided over by Justice Kwasi Dapaah in its ruling on the case on Friday November 28.

The conditions were that the Assembly could demolish the market after the midnight of Friday, December 19, only if it gave a written alternative note assuring the applicants and the members of the concerned traders association, space in the ultra-modern structure, when completed.

The Assembly was also to hand over to each of the eight applicants, keys to their cubicles in the temporary structure, in not less than seven days before the demolition exercise.

But the eight aggrieved traders claimed they were not given keys to any of the cubicles before the demolishing was carried out as directed by the Court on November 8, 2014.

In their statement of response, the second respondent being the Metropolitan Chief Executive said they had fulfilled all the conditions given by the Court before carrying out the demolishing exercise.

They claimed they had given keys to all the eight applicants and that three of them had refused to accept the allocation letters.

Justice Dapaah, in his ruling, said the action of the applicants to file a motion of contempt and non-compliance on the eve of the execution of the demolishing exercise, was ineffective and that the applicants could have dealt directly with the respondents without going to court.

Mr Harry Hayford, Counsel for the second respondent, prayed the Court to award a cost of GHC2,000 each to the applicants for wasting the Court's time but the court awarded GHC500.00 to each applicant.

On Wednesday, September 24, 2014, eight aggrieved Kotokuraba traders filed a motion of stay of execution against the demolishing of the market scheduled for Wednesday October 1, 2014.

In their statement of claim, the traders alleged among others, that cubicles in the temporary market were too small, made with inferior materials and was inconvenient for business.

Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, the Omanhen of Oguaa Traditional Area, also intervened in the process and prayed the Court for a possible out of court settlement which was granted but it yielded no results.

The matter was subsequently brought to the Circuit Court again for full trial, at the end of which an order for the demolishing of the market was given based on the aforementioned conditions.