The Court of Appeal has dismissed an application by Pastor Kusi Boateng to set aside a High Court ruling in his contempt suit against North Tongu Member of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa for refusing to serve a defamation suit.
This is the third attempt by the National Cathedral Project Board Secretary, Rev. Kusi Boateng (aka Adu Gyamfi) to get a favourable outcome from the court.
The three-judge panel, which handed down its ruling on Wednesday morning, argued that Pastor Kusi Boateng’s application did not comply with court rules.
“The reasons are inappropriate and unacceptable,” he said, rejecting the request.
“This motion violates the Court of Appeals rule that an appellant must articulate the judge’s error.”
The court ordered the defendant, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, to pay 3,000 cedis.
Despite Wednesday’s ruling rejecting Pastor Cusi Boateng’s “incompetence” contempt claim, the Court of Appeal has given him and his legal team leave to submit written submissions within seven days seeking a final decision on the matter.
The defendants’ lawyers have submitted additional arguments to the court in an attempt to win the highly publicized legal battle.
Court of Appeals rejects challenge to newly constituted hearing committee
Before ruling on the substantive issues, the Court of Appeal dismissed the objections raised by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa’s lawyers over the composition of the new committee.
According to the court, the objections were based on “speculative insinuations.” During the hearing on Tuesday, June 25, Thaddeus Soly argued that the new committee was unconstitutional and would undermine a fair hearing.
Thaddeus Solie argued that once the Chief Justice constitutes a jury, that jury must address the specific issue for which it was constituted and cannot be reconstituted.
The lawyer further argued in open court that the High Court judge who dismissed the contempt petition filed by Pastor Kusi Boateng was subsequently transferred from Accra to Sunyani and then to Borga.
He concluded that this may be because “Plaintiff has an affinity with members of the jury panel who are church members.”
But Boateng’s lawyer, Bobby Banson, said Solie’s allegations were false. Banson argued the allegations were based on hearsay and had no legal basis.
The claim was later upheld by the court. The committee said the lawmakers’ lawyers had no evidence to back up their claims.
The court also ruled the allegations were without merit and dismissed the objections.
background
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who has raised a number of issues of irregularities and violations in the construction of the National Cathedral, has accused the Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng of engaging in conflict of interest as the Board Secretary of the project.
He then petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in January 2023 to investigate him for alleged conflict of interest, holding multiple identities and other criminal offences.
The petition also states that 2.6 million cedis cash was transferred from the National Cathedral Secretariat to JNS Talent Centre Limited, owned by Rev. Khusi Boateng alias Kwabena Addo Gyamfi.
Ablakwa’s petition seeks to empower the CHRAJ under Section 218 of the 1992 Constitution to investigate the “abhorrent conflict of interest” surrounding the position of the Rev. Kusi Boateng on the National Cathedral Board, where he “paid the staggering sum of 2.6 million cedis to his own company without having done any work, literally.”
suit
Pastor Kusi Boateng has since filed a defamation suit against Mr Ablakwa and further filed a contempt suit, accusing the lawmaker of refusing to serve the defamation suit.
He applied for a civil rights enforcement order to prevent the MP from commenting further on the matter.
In May 2023, a high court in Accra dismissed the contempt petition on the grounds that it was flawed, inconsistent, irregular and did not meet the standards of law.
The court presided over by Justice Charles Gyamfi Dankwa after dismissing the contempt petition, also ordered Pastor Khusi Boateng to pay costs of 10,000 cedis in favour of the Member of Parliament.
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