WILLIAM JACOBUS VANDERPUYE vs. VICTORY BIBLE CHURCH AND JOHN KWAW SACKEY [2022]DLHC11470

Date	2022-06-06
Suit No.	SUIT NO. FAL/81/2012
Citation No.	[2022]DLHC11470

HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE SOLOMON OPPONG-TWUMASI

EZRA ALABI-BORQUAYE FOR THE PLAINTIFF

OSEI TUTU NKANTABISA HOLDING BRIEF FOR OPOKU BOATENG FOR THE DEFENDANTS

BISHOP FREDERICK ASAMOAH (HEAD OF LEGAL DIRECTORATE OF VICTORY BIBLE CHURCH)

[2022]DLHC11470
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >WILLIAM
JACOBUS VANDERPUYE<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>VICTORY
BIBLE CHURCH AND JOHN KWAW SACKEY<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANTS)<o:p></o:p>[HIGH 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;">

SUIT NO.
FAL/81/2012&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &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:
6TH JUNE, 2022<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>EZRA
ALABI-BORQUAYE FOR THE PLAINTIFF&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>OSEI TUTU NKANTABISA HOLDING BRIEF FOR OPOKU
BOATENG FOR THE DEFENDANTS<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;">

BISHOP FREDERICK ASAMOAH (HEAD OF LEGAL
DIRECTORATE OF VICTORY BIBLE CHURCH) <o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p>HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE SOLOMON OPPONG-TWUMASI &nbsp;&nbsp;<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-left:108.0pt;text-align:center;
text-indent:-108.0pt;line-height:200%;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">BENCH RULING<o:p></o:p>

</div>This Court, like any other court takes contempt of
it seriously and that is why I adjourned the case to today to consider the
punishment to mete out to the contemnors.<o:p></o:p>From the decision of the Supreme Court in the REPUBLIC VRS. BANK OF GHANA &amp; ANOR.
EX-PARTE DUFFOUR (2018-2019) 1GLR 445 @ 447, the purpose of a contempt
application is to protect the dignity of the court and not the dignity of any
individual.<o:p></o:p>I found the conduct of the contemnors totally
unacceptable especially where the contemnors are a Christian church and I was mindful
of metting out serious punishments to them to serve as a deterrent to show that
the Courts jealously protect their dignity because they are aware that they the
Courts, are the bastions of democracy and without them, our fledgling democracy
may not survive.&nbsp; The courts always
strive to do justice to all people without fear, affection, favour or
prejudice.<o:p></o:p>As I indicated in the ruling of the Court dated 31st
May, 2022, the court’s anger was somehow placated by the forthrightness of MR. EMMANUEL KINGSLEY APPIAH, who by
his subsequent supplementary affidavit in support simply apologised to the
Court for any inconvenience their misconduct might have caused the Court.<o:p></o:p>I have heard the submission of learned Counsel, BISHOP ASAMOAH, who also profusely
apologised for the misconduct of the contemnors.<o:p></o:p>I have also listened to Counsel for the Plaintiff
and I agree with him that the failure of the contemnors to appear in Court
today has added more pain to the injuries already suffered.<o:p></o:p>However, I, having considered all the
circumstances of this case and noting that there is no vicarious liability in
crime or quasi criminal conducts have decided that it may be difficult to
punish in this case since the individual members of the church could not be
shown to be the one who directly committed the contempt. If they are just
ordinary members serving in their zealousness to the Church, to punish them
will be unfair as this may only be a kind of circumstantial evidence and the
settled law on circumstantial evidence is that it must lead to only to one conclusion
that the accused and no one else is the one who might have committed the crime.<o:p></o:p>On the other hand if indeed it is the leaders of
the church that ordered and encouraged this abhorrent conduct, it will not be
fair to punish such leadership unless it could be shown that there is a nexus
between the chain of command at the very top and the actions that resulted in
the misconduct, the subject-matter of my ruling.<o:p></o:p>I must say that I did not find any chain of
command linking the contemptuous conduct to leadership and/or to individual
members of the 1st Defendant Church.<o:p></o:p>Therefore basing myself on the submission of
Counsel, BISHOP ASAMOAH, in all the
circumstances of this case, I will caution and discharge the contemnors.<o:p></o:p>I award cost of GhS2000.00 against the 1st Defendant and in favour of
the Plaintiff to be paid before the 1st Defendant takes any further
step in the matter.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;SOLOMON
OPPONG-TWUMASI (MR.)<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; (JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT)<o:p></o:p>

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