THE REPUBLIC vs. HIGH COURT (COMM COURT 7), ACCRA EX PARTE: MINISTRY OF INTERIOR ATTORNEY-GENERAL NATIONAL TRUST HOLDING COMPANY LTD. [2021]DLSC11159

THE REPUBLIC vs. HIGH COURT (COMM COURT 7), ACCRA EX PARTE: MINISTRY OF INTERIOR... [2021]DLSC11159

Date	2021-12-01
Suit No.	CIVIL MOTION NO. J5/01/2022
Citation No.	[2021]DLSC11159

DOTSE (PRESIDING)

KOTEY JSC

OWUSU (MS.) JSC

TORKORNOO (MRS.) JSC

PROF. MENSA-BONSU (MRS.) JSC

JASMINE ARMAH (PRINCIPAL STATE ATTORNEY) WITH HER AURIEL ASARE BOATENG (ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY) FOR THE APPLICANTS PRESENT.

KWAME BOAFO AKUFFO FOR THE INTERESTED PARTY/RESPONDENT.

[2021]DLSC11159
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>HIGH COURT (COMM COURT 7), ACCRA<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>EX PARTE: MINISTRY OF INTERIOR ATTORNEY-GENERAL
&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;(APPLICANTS)<o:p></o:p>NATIONAL TRUST HOLDING COMPANY LTD.<o:p></o:p>(INTERESTED PARTY)<o:p></o:p>[SUPREME COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:
.0001pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-align:center;line-height:150%;border:none;
mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">CIVIL MOTION NO. J5/01/2022&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;DATE: 15TH DECEMBER,
2021<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL<o:p></o:p>JASMINE ARMAH (PRINCIPAL
STATE ATTORNEY) WITH HER AURIEL ASARE BOATENG (ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY) FOR
THE APPLICANTS PRESENT.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;<div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

KWAME
BOAFO AKUFFO FOR THE INTERESTED PARTY/RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>DOTSE
(PRESIDING), KOTEY JSC, OWUSU (MS.) JSC, TORKORNOO (MRS.) JSC, PROF.
MENSA-BONSU (MRS.) JSC<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top-width: 1.5pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-left: none; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0cm;">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;line-height:150%;border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">RULING<o:p></o:p>

</div>TORKORNOO (MRS.) JSC:-<o:p></o:p>In one of Gilbert &amp; Sullivan’s satirical
comedy productions in the 1880’s called The Mikado, there is a character called
Koko who lived in the Japanese town Titipu. He was condemned to death for
flirting at a time that the Mikado of Japan had decreed flirting to be a crime
punishable by decapitation. In order to frustrate the implementation of the
law, the people of Titipu appointed Koko to the office of the Lord High
Executioner and pushed Koko’s name to the top of the list of those to be
executed for flirting. This resulted in a situation where Koko had to put his
head on the chopping board, get up and take up the axe to decapitate his own
head, and finding that his head is not there, go through the whole routine
again. Suffice it to say that the execution was frustrated time and again. It
is this complexity of roles resulting in multiple appearances in different
capacities that the Attorney General of Ghana and Minister of Justice has found
himself in, in this action. <o:p></o:p>Background
to the Application<o:p></o:p>Under Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution, the
Attorney General is the constitutionally mandated agent of the Government
responsible for the institution, conduct of all civil cases on behalf of the
state, and also defence of all civil proceedings against the State. <o:p></o:p>In this multiplicity of roles, the proceedings
before us show that he was sued with eight others in a claim commenced by the
Interested party herein in March 2017. The title of the suit is National Trust Holding Company Ltd v Santa
Baron Ventures Ltd and 8 Others, with suit
number CM/BFS/0194/2017. The Minister of Interior is 8th
defendant and the Attorney general is the 9th defendant in the suit.
According to the affidavit attached to the application before us, though there
was no contract between the State and the Interested Party as Plaintiff, the
suit was indorsed with the following claims by the Plaintiff in the High Court<o:p></o:p>a.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Jointly
and severally against the Defendants the payment of the liquidated sum of GHS
135,190,410.83 being an amount owed to the Plaintiff in principal and interest
as at 31/01/2017 under a loan advanced to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th,
and 6th defendants under five facilities between 21/06/2013 and
21/02/14 <o:p></o:p>