THE REPUBLIC vs. ELIZABETH NORLEY OKANTEY AND OTHERS [2017]DLHC3317

Date	2017-06-20
Suit No.	SUIT NO. CR CR 228/17
Citation No.	[2017]DLHC3317

ERIC K. BAFFOUR ESQ. JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT

PRINCE NII ASHIE NEEQUAYE ESQ FOR THE APPLICANTS PRESENT

[2017]DLHC3317
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>ELIZABETH NORLEY OKANTEY AND OTHERS<o:p></o:p>[HIGH COURT
(GENERAL JURISDICTION 7), ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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SUIT NO. CR
CR 228/17&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; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;20TH
JUNE, 2017<o:p></o:p>

PRINCE NII
ASHIE NEEQUAYE, ESQ FOR THE APPLICANTS PRESENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p>ERIC
K. BAFFOUR, ESQ. JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%;
border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:
solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in">RULING<o:p></o:p>

</div>I
begin this ruling with the words of Lord George Gordon Byron, an English
Romantic poet (1788-1824) that:<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>“He who holds no law in
awe, he must perish by the law”.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>And
the great English dramatist, William Shakespeare, in his work, the Rape of Lucre
notes that:<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>&nbsp;“sparing justice feeds iniquity”<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The
authority of the court to ensure that its orders are not disrespected or
ignored is at the heart of court of contempt applications. As noted by Atuguba
JSC IN RE KWABENG STOOL, REPUBLIC v
BROWN; EX PARTE KARIKARI [2005-2006] SCGLR 35@41 and relying on the English
authority of JENNISON v BAKER [1972]
1ALR 997 @1005-1006 CA that:<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>“if the orders of
the court can deliberately be set at naught by a litigant employing for her own
personal advantage such means as were here resorted to and if indeed it be the
case that she has to go unpunished for her contumacy, justice vanishes from the
horizon and the law is brought into disrepute… in the memorable word of his
honour Judge Curtis –Raleigh:” the law should not be seen to sit by limply
while those who defy it go free and those who seek its protection lose hope”.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The
Applicant has mounted this application under Order 55 of the High Court (Civil
Procedure) Rules, C. I. 47 seeking an order of committal for contempt against
the Respondents. The grounds for the application had been stated in the motion
paper as:<o:p></o:p>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Disobeying the oral order of mandatory
injunction of Judge Essandoh dated 16th of February, 2017 not to
continue building the toilet on the disputed house the subject matter of the
motion on notice for an order of mandatory injunction filed on 21st
December, 2016<o:p></o:p>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Frustrating the administration of
justice by building and completing the building the pendency of the mandatory
injunction motion to compel the Respondents to demolish the structure pending
before the Circuit Court<o:p></o:p>&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;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>In
the affidavit accompanying the application Applicants claim that that they are
the administrators of the estate of Elizabeth Dede Yemoteley Tetteyfio (decd). And
that whiles their application for interlocutory injunction to restrain the
Respondents was pending and the Respondents fully aware of the orders of Judge
Essandoh, Esq orally to them not to build on the res litiga on the 16th of March, 2017, the Respondents
have disregarded the orders of the court and have completed building a
structure they are using as a to</main>