Areeba Case adjourned

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday,December15,2006.
The Commercial Court in Accra yesterday adjourned to February 7, the case in which Richmond Aggrey, a businessman is claiming 20 per cent shares in Scancom Ghana Limited, operators of Areeba mobile phone service.

The trial court presided over by Mr. Justice Henry Kwofie took the decision following a notice to stay proceedings it received from the Court of Appeal.

Mr. Kwofie, however made it clear that the court could go ahead to try the case because the superior court had not brought any motion to stay proceedings, adding “I am acting out of abundance of caution”.


The court, on July 14, granted Mr. Aggrey, a former vice chairman of Areeba, an exparte application to restrain the defendants, Investcom Consortium Holdings S.A of Beirut, Lebanon, Areeba, as well as Grandview Management of Texas, United States, from going ahead to conclude a merger agreement with the MTN Company of South Africa.


Mr. Aggrey had argued “Continuing and / or concluding a merger with and / or acquisition of Investment LLC by MTN without taking into account and/or providing for the plaintiff’s 20 per cent shares in Scancom Limited, will occasion the loss of his shareholding in the company by reason of the accrual of the rights of MTN Group as third party.”


Following the development, Areeba on July 24, filed an application to strike out Mr. Aggrey’s action “in part or whole” on the grounds that he failed to adhere to procedures in filing the application.


The court on October 20, however, ruled that the processes followed by Mr. Aggrey in instituting the suit were proper and ordered Areeba to file its defence within 14 days.


Consequently, Areeba filed a notice of appeal to challenge the Court of Appeal’s ruling and another motion on notice to stay proceedings pending the appeal and the latter was dismissed on December 8.

Before the adjournedment yesterday, Yonnie Kulendi, counsel for Mr.Aggrey said “We have filed two applications namely: notice on motion for injunction which has been pending since September 7, and another motion on notice for judgment in default”.

“We should come back in February and see the next line of action,” the jude said.