TE. ADJEI & 2 OTHERS AND GHANA AIRWAYS (IN OFFICIAL LIQUIDATION) [2010]DLCHRAJ6019

Date	2010-02-11
Suit No.	CHRAJ/1008/1994/180
Citation No.	[2010]DLCHRAJ6019

JOSEPH WHITTAL

[2010]DLCHRAJ6019
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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:#00B050">TE. ADJEI &amp; 2 OTHERS<o:p></o:p>(COMPLAINANTS)<o:p></o:p>AND<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:#00B050">GHANA AIRWAYS (IN OFFICIAL LIQUIDATION)<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>(CHRAJ)<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:justify;mso-pagination:
none;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in;
mso-padding-alt:31.0pt 31.0pt 1.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes">CHRAJ/1008/1994/180&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 11th FEB, 2010<o:p></o:p>

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:center;
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padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:31.0pt 31.0pt 1.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes">DECISION<o:p></o:p>

</div>INTRODUCTION<o:p></o:p>The Complainants, T.E. ADJEI,
DAVID NSIAH and ELIZABETH APPIAHAMPOMAH, until their dismissal were the Station
Manager, Finance Manager and Sales Supervisor, Ghana Airways, respectively and
stationed at Freetown, Sierra Leone.<o:p></o:p>On 23rd February
1989, they were dismissed or had their appointment terminated when the
management of Ghana Airways came to the realization that there were some
malpractices involving the issuing of Prepaid Advice Tickets at the Freetown
Office in Sierra Leone. The Complainants petitioned the Commission alleging
that their dismissal and termination of appointment were unfair. They sought
the intervention of the Commission to compel the Respondent to reinstate them
and to pay them their emoluments from the date of their interdiction to date.
After several attempts to resolve the matter had failed, the Commission
instituted a formal hearing into it.<o:p></o:p>Available records show that the Complainants first petitioned the
then PNDC Secretary In-Charge of Mobilization and Social Welfare after several
attempts at getting Ghana Airways management to listen to them had failed. They
also petitioned the then Head of State and Chairman of the PNDC. In March 1992,
the matter was transferred to the then National Investigation Committee. At the
dissolution of the National Investigations Committee, the matter devolved on
the Ato Ampiah Committee before its eventual transfer to the Commission.<o:p></o:p>COMPLAINANTS'
CASE<o:p></o:p>In their complaint to the Commission, the Complainants vehemently
denied the allegations levelled against them.<o:p></o:p>According to the Complainants,
prior to their respective dismissals and termination of appointment, they had
had an unblemished record after 24, 22 and 12 years respectively of meritorious
service to the Respondent. They alleged that by a telex message from their Head
Office in Accra in connection with some false Prepaid Ticket Advice (PTA)
tickets which were detected in New York by Swissair and received in Freetown on
the 2nd of December 1987, their office was instructed not to accept any Prepaid
Ticket Advice message from Swissair forthwith until further notice and that
those already issued should be dishonoured. They complied with the directives
and by a circular, they communicated same to the staff of Ghana Airways, all
travel agents and all Airlines then operating in Freetown. They stated that the
Manager (one of the Complainants) also reported the matter to the Police which
led to the arrest of some staff of Societe Internationale Transports
Aeoronautique (SITA), some travel agents and some passengers for questioning.<o:p></o:p>The Complainants further stated that it was established beyond all
reasonable doubts that the false PTA messages were generated locally by SITA
personnel using SITA reference codes to Ghana Airways office in Freetown. They
also stated that Ghana Airways operated open type telex machine through SITA
and Post and Telecommunication (P &amp; T) offices in Freetown. Furthermore,
the Complainants noted that all messages transmitted from either Ghana Airways
office in Freetown or outside the country were intercepted by SITA personnel.<o:p></o:p>The Complainants alleged that they were being penalized for
handling the false Telex Messages even though they were not the only persons
who handled the said false Telex Messages and were not in a position to detect
them. They alleged that the following also handled the alleged false Telex
Messages and could not detect them both in Freetown and Head Office, Accra:<o:p></o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.95pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:
-.25in;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo4;border:none;mso-padding-alt:
31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes">a)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Ghana Airways Telex Machine <o:p></o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.95pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:
-.25in;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo4;border:none;mso-padding-alt:
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