REPUBLIC vs. NUMAPAU; EX PARTE AMEYAW II AND OTHERS [1999]DLSC473

Date	1999-07-21
Suit No.
Citation No.	[1999]DLSC473

CHARLES HAYFRON-BENJAMIN JSC

AMPIAH JSC

ACQUAH JSC

ATUGUBA JSC

AKUFFO JSC

C K AGBANU FOR THE APPLICANT.

NANA ADJEI AMPOFO FOR THE FIRST TO FIFTH AND SEVENTH TO FIFTEENTH RESPONDENTS.

S KWAME TETTEH (WITH HIM ANTHONY FORSON JNR) FOR THE SIXTEENTH RESPONDENT.

[1999]DLSC473
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">NUMAPAU; EX PARTE AMEYAW II AND OTHERS<o:p></o:p>[SUPREME COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>[1999-2000] 1 GLR 283<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>C K AGBANU FOR THE APPLICANT.<o:p></o:p>NANA ADJEI AMPOFO FOR THE FIRST TO FIFTH AND SEVENTH TO FIFTEENTH
RESPONDENTS.<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

S KWAME TETTEH (WITH HIM
ANTHONY FORSON, JNR) FOR THE SIXTEENTH RESPONDENT. <o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM: <o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

CHARLES HAYFRON-BENJAMIN,
AMPIAH, ACQUAH, ATUGUBA AND AKUFFO JSC<o:p></o:p>

</div>JUDGMENT OF CHARLES HAYFRON-BENJAMIN JSC.<o:p></o:p>Nana Adu Ameyaw II is the chief of Effiduase within the Asante
Mampong Traditional Area and one time acting president of its traditional
council. By a motion on notice, Nana, as the applicant prays this court for:
“an order of attachment or committal for contempt or both against the
respondents herein.” The applicant’s ground for the application is that the
respondents have shown “utter disrespect” to two of the superior courts—namely,
the High Court and the Supreme Court. In amplification of his complaint from his
affidavit in support of his application, I deduce that the applicant was
complaining against conduct exhibited by the respondents which “interferes with
the administration of justice or impedes or perverts the course of justice.”<o:p></o:p>In his supporting affidavit, the applicant avers that the genesis
of the present litigation commences from February 1979, when in the applicant’s
view, the sixteenth respondent “fraudulently got himself nominated, elected and
installed as the Effiduasehene.” The landmarks in the following litigation were
a ruling by Ampiah J (as he then was) sitting in the High Court, Kumasi dated 6
October 1981; The order of Amua-Sekyi (as he then was) also sitting in the High
Court, Kumasi, and the ruling of Okyere J sitting in the High Court, Kumasi,
and dated 11 April 1988. The third of these rulings is relied on by the
respondents as having cleared the decks for the restoration of the name of the
sixteenth respondent to the national register of chiefs which had previously
been expunged on the order of Amua-Sekyi J (as he then was). The applicant
avers that when the sixteenth respondent was ipso facto removed from the
Effiduase Stool, Nana Konadu Yiadumsic(1) I, queenmother was installed the
caretaker, and later the chief in her own right, of the Effiduase stool. Nana
Kunadu Yiadom I having subsequently abdicated, the applicant Nana Adu Ameyaw
was installed chief of Effiduase in accordance with custom. In paragraph (14)
of his affidavit the applicant avers:<o:p></o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none;border:none;mso-padding-alt:
31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes">“That by Notice No 18 in the Ghana Local Government Bulletin of
Friday, 25 October 1991 I was recognised as having been installed
Effiduasehene.”<o:p></o:p>The applicant contended that in civil motion No 80/94 this court
had ordered the abusuapanin of the sixteenth respondent’s family to perform all
customary rites to the applicant before burying the Benkumhene of Effiduase who
is the uncle of the sixteenth respondent. That on the refusal of the said
abusuapanin to perform the customary rites, he (the abusuapanin) suffered a
month’s imprisonment for contempt of court. The applicant further averred that:<o:p></o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none;border:none;mso-padding-alt:
31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes">“On 7 March 1997 the sixteenth respondent filed in the judicial
committee of the Mampong Traditional Council a petition dated 5 March 1997
against me in which he asked, inter alia, for relief that he is the customary
and lawfully properly elected, enstooled and registered incumbent Effiduasehene
and the nifahene of the Mampong Traditional Area.”<o:p></o:p>(The emphasis is mine.)<o:p></o:p>The applicant further averred that on 13 August 1997 while the
sixteenth respondent’s petition was pending before the judicial committee of
the Mampong Traditional Council, the sixteenth respondent submitted another
petition to the National House of Chiefs asking for his name to be re-entered
into the National Register of Chiefs. This petition was referred to Nana Kunadu
Yiadom for her comments. Nana Kunadu Yiadom I made her comments and warned
nananom that:<o:p></o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none;border:none;mso-padding-alt:
31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes">“the sixteenth respondent was not only committing trouble for
himself but for nanaanom as well as asking them to interfere with an act done on
the order of a High Court judge and under, the PNDCL 10.”<o:p></o:p>Nananom, it seems, disregarded the warning to consider the
petition, granted his prayer and re</main>