NANA BACK IN COURT...TO FIGHT MAHAMA

The petitioners were in court last week.

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday January 15, 2013.

The Supreme Court will tomorrow resume hearing of the case in which the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is challenging the validity of John Dramani Mahama as President.

This was after the NPP’s petitioners, led by the party’s 2012 presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo backed down on their opposition to the composition of the Supreme Court panel, presided over by Justice William Atuguba, the second most senior member of the highest court.

Owing to the NPP’s current position to allow expeditious hearing, the court registry fixed tomorrow for the hearing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s motion to join the case.

The ruling NDC was due to move a motion to join the case last Thursday because it says it is an interested party, but the NPP’s legal team raised objection to the composition of the nine-member panel constituted by the Chief Justice to hear the motion.

As a result, the panel, chaired by Justice William Atuguba, asked the NPP to file what it was that they were objecting formally in the form of a motion to enable the court to take a decision.

The NPP’s move incensed NDC legal team, led by Tsatsu Tsikata and President Mahama’s counsel Tony Lithur, who vehemently opposed the NPP’s request, insisting the rule of the court did not permit any aspect of the matter to be heard in camera.

Even though the NPP did not make known publicly the name of the panel member, sources say the objection was in reference to Justice Atuguba sitting on the case because of the connection of his cousin, Dr Raymond Atuguba with the present government.

Dr Atuguba, who is said to have lived with Justice Atuguba, was recently appointed Executive Secretary to President Mahama, the first respondent in the NPP’s petition, and therefore the petitioners think he should recuse himself in the interest of justice.

In the course of the arguments, Justice William Atuguba, who was presiding over the nine-member panel, appeared to have lost his cool and made his feelings known on the emerging matters to the chagrin of the audience.

As a result, the highest court of the land was compelled to adjourn the proceedings sine die (indefinitely), halting the entire legal tussle over who is the rightfully elected President even though Mr. Mahama has already been sworn in.

However, upon a second thought, the NPP legal team wrote to the Registrar of the Supreme Court last Friday, announcing their intention not to pursue the composition of the panel any longer.

“We have upon consideration decided not to pursue the matter in order to facilitate an expeditious determination of the petition,” the letter said.

The letter, signed by Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co and copied to Samuel Kodjoe of Law Trust Company lawyers for NDC, Tony Lithur of LithurBrew & Co lawyers for President Mahama and Lynes Quarshie-Idun and Co, lawyers for EC added: “This will in addition ensure an early hearing of the application for joinder.” 

“We would therefore be obliged if the application for joinder could be fixed for an early hearing.”

Daily Guide learnt that the court accepted the NPP’s decision and thus fixed Wednesday, January 16 as the date for re-opening the case.

The NDC is therefore expected to move the motion for joinder seeking to be part of the case when it is called.

It is only after the NDC motion for joinder has been settled by the court that the main petition in which Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey are challenging the Electoral Commission’s (EC) of Mr. Mahama as President could commence.

The NPP filed a writ at the Supreme Court claiming EC Chairman, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan on December 10, 2012 called the results for President Mahama in spite of its claims that the EC needed to investigate alleged manipulation of figures before the declaration of the results.

President Mahama, in his personal capacity as presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the EC, the body that supervised the December general elections have been cited as respondents in the suit.

The Petitioners are praying the highest court of the land to declare that “John Dramani Mahama was not validly elected president of the Republic of Ghana.”

Militant Patriots

However, a group calling itself Militant Patriots has called on Justice Atuguba to recuse himself from the panel hearing the case.

The group, in a statement issued on Monday, said comments made by Justice Atuguba in response to the NPP’s protest in court had left him with no other alternative than to recuse himself from the case.

“We, of the Militant Patriots of Ghana (MPs), have been watching with unease the recent turn of events at the Supreme Court where a judge, Justice William Atuguba made comments which can only be described as highly reckless and prejudicial.

“By these comments, the said judge has left himself no other alternative than to recuse himself from the case involving Nana Akufo-Addo and others v John Mahama and EC.

“We are confident that with the benefit of hindsight, Justice William Atuguba himself will have come to the conclusion that his extra-ordinary outburst was ill-conceived, misleading and a serious error of judgement,” the statement signed by Michael Omari Wadie, Marlon Anipa and Kofi 1234 said. 

The group noted that Justice Atuguba’s statement that “this country is solid but is breaking down because principles are being chopped down… This is not good” was in bad taste.

“Such definitive, conclusive and judgmental statements are normally reserved for end of trials and not at the beginning of trials. How can Justice Atuguba serve as a judge in the light of such definitive statements? We find this as a rather highly extra-ordinary turn of events”, it stated.

In the view of this, the Militant Patriots said  comments by Justice William Atuguba had damaged public confidence in the judicial process and had especially damaged faith in anyone who wants to stand for the truth in the entire judiciary.

“It reinforces the notion that anyone seeking redress after being a victim of crime is just another trouble-maker in an otherwise seemingly “peaceful” country. It is as if their motivation is to unsettle the peace of the society”, it noted.

This extraordinarily outburst, the group said, had revealed Justice Atuguba as a man who, in court, used the privileges of his profession to conceal the deepest truth about himself.

The group pointed out that the only way for Justice Atuguba is to step aside.

“It is our candid opinion that in order for him to recover some of his now very bruised reputation which is totally in tatters and especially to establish public faith in the judiciary, he should step aside. We are calling on Justice Atuguba to do the decent thing and recuse himself as one of the judges in this matter. He cannot be impartial in this matter,” it said.