Subin Lawmaker petitions Chief Justice for succour

Eugene Boaks petitioned the Chief Justice on behalf of the four other respondents facing coye Antwi, Member of Parliament for Subin constituency in the Ashanti region hantempt charges before a Kumasi High Court.

The Subin lawmaker who also doubles as the Deputy Minister for Works and Housing wants the CJ to call for the case docket and assign a another judge either in Kumasi or Accra to handle the case because the trial judge, His Lordship Justice Amedaher Senyo who is sitting as a vacation judge, is bias from the way he is handling the case. “His comments and conduct in this case are very bias”, the petitioner stressed and challenged the judge to recuse himself.

The petitioner also explained his action in his conviction that the judge and counsel for the applicants are well known NDC sympathisers.

The MP further said he had been informed that the leadership of the NDC while in Kumasi On September 15, 2020 secretly met with Justice Senyo and promised him fat money to convict the him (Eugene Boakye Antwi) and the NPP Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako alias Chairman Wontumi.

In the six-paragraph petition, the MP appearing before the court as the third respondent also did not understand why the case should come before His Lordship Justice Amedaher Senyo because to him it should have been handled by His Lordship Justice Charles Wilson, who is on legal vacation.

He also accused the Registrar of the High Court of unilaterally changing the judge handling the case.

The petition was copied to His Lordship Justice Amedaher Senyo, the Judicial Secretary, the Supervising High court judge, counsel for applicants and respondents and Justice Charles Wilson.

The CJ who swiftly reacted to the MPs petition last Thursday directed the Deputy Judicial Secretary to write to the vacation judge to respond to the allegations of Bias leveled against him.

The Member of Parliament for Subin, Eugene Boakye Antwi and the Ashanti Regional chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako alias Chairman Wontumi together with Patrick Acheampong, Ashanti Regional Director of Research and Election, the Subin constituency chairman Michael Adusei Bonsu and his Secretary Akuamoah Boateng, are facing contempt of the honourable court brought against them by 51 disgruntled delegates of the Subin constituency led by Isaac Nimako, as first applicant.

The 51 applicants are seeking a declaration that the June 20 NPP polls by which the sitting MP claims to have been re-elected by 485 votes, is illegal, unlawful and wrongful and should be declared null and void.

At the sitting on Wednesday September 16, 2020, Lawyer Annis Moghtar Mohayideen, counsel for applicants prayed the court to sanction respondents for deliberately disregarding the authority and dignity of the court and thus bringing it to public ridicule with the full knowledge of the court’s restraining orders.

He argued that a case of prima facie had been established against the respondents who had faked and feigned ignorance of the court order on the basis that they were not served.

Counsel said all respondents save the EC had absolute knowledge of the injunction order and therefore the excuse was not an acceptable defence.

Lawyer Kwame Adom Appiah, counsel for the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth respondents, denied all material allegations against the respondents.

According to him nothing is on record to show that the respondents were served with the court order and failed to comply and that the conjecture was a way of seeking to punish them contrary to what applicants were required to do.

Counsel therefore claimed the application for contempt was out of malice because the allegations were unfounded.

Having heard the submissions of the two sides the court adjourned to September 18, 2020 to enable the respondents view a video recording said to have been part of the evidence by the applicants before it (court) gave its ruling at a later date.

But the hearing could not take place as the judge had to decline handling the case for obvious reasons. The case is now on hold awaiting further directions by the Chief Justice.