Supreme Court Sets Aside Contempt Of Court Conviction Against  Akwatia MP

The Supreme Court has set aside the conviction of the Member of Parliament for Akwatia, Ernest Yaw Kumi, by a Koforidua High Court for contempt of court, after he flouted an injunction issued by the court.

The apex court in a 4:1 majority decision has also prohibited the trial judge, Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe from sentencing the MP.

The MP was before the court contesting the decision of the High Court to convict him for contempt of court and subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest.

He had argued that the trial court breached the rule of natural justice by not hearing an interlocutory application filed by his lawyers prior to the court finding him guilty of contempt.

The decision of the Supreme Court essentially means Mr. Kumi was not in contempt of court and therefore should not be sentenced for same.

However, the court in a unanimous decision dismissed a request by the MP that the Petition filed by Henry Boakye Yiadom, challenging his election in the absence of the Gazette Notification of the Parliamentary Election is incompetent as same did not properly invoke the jurisdiction of the High Court.

By this decision, the parties will go back to the High Court in Koforidua to contest the election but the matter would be determined by a different judge following the prohibition of Justice Amedahe by the Supreme Court.