ande THREE APPEALS Court judges hearing an application by the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central Adamu Daramani Sakande, challenging the capacity of Sumaila Bielbil to sue him over his nationality, have unanimously declared that the civil action taken by the latter was wrong in the face of the law.
According to the judges, Mr. Bielbil should have initiated the legal action by way of an election which should have been done 21 days after the gazzetting of Parliamentary election results.
The court presided over by Justice A.K. Akamba said the High Court did not have any jurisdiction to hear the suit because it was an election complaint disguised as a civil suit.
The judges also said matters bordering on breach of the Constitution such as the action taken by the cattle dealer should be dealt with by the Supreme Court.
On the last hearing date, counsel for the MP, Yonny Kulendi, in his written submissions filed before the court stated that the civil action taken by Mr. Bielbil was an election petition dressed as a constitutional action.
In an interview with the media after the ruling, Mr. Kulendi said any Ghanaian can go to the Supreme Court when there is a breach of the Constitution, but the High Court does not have the capacity to deal with such matters unless someone's right has been infringed upon; a case which Mr. Bielbil was not able to prove.
Mr. Kulendi says an applicant at a High Court must be able to prove that indeed his human right has been abused by a situation or an action, but the Supreme Court is the only court that is made to deal with constitutional matters.
Dr. Raymond Atuguba, counsel for Mr. Bielbil, who also relied on his submission filed before the court, was of the opinion that his client has the capacity to sue as a citizen of Ghana, relying on certain decisions of the Supreme Court on capacity to sue to buttress his point.
Other judges who sat on the appeal include Justices Marful Sau and C. J. Honyenugah.
The MP has been accused of nationality fraud at the time he contested the 2008 Parliamentary elections and has pleaded not guilty to nine counts of illegal voting and having multiple nationals.
According to the Bawku Central MP, he is innocent of the charges as he denounced his British citizenship at the time he filed his nominations as parliamentary candidate.
In the trial, both Mr. Bielbil and the investigator in the case who claim the MP has multiple nationalities are yet to see any of the alleged passports, with the former claiming that he only saw one of the accused person's passports in the national dailies.
Last year, the MP was ordered by an Accra High Court to vacate his seat in a default judgment, but the Court of Appeal ordered that he should be allowed to continue representing his constituency till the final outcome of his appeal.
By Fidelia Achama
Accra floods: 70 seized excavators to be deployed to NADMO for desilting — Munta...
Kasseh Market executives stop sale of food near toilet facility
Three arrested over theft of critical equipment at Komenda Sugar Factory
Nearly half of Ghanaians say military rule can be justified if governments fail ...
GWL resumes production at Barekese Water Treatment Plant after completion of rep...
Economic performance most powerful source of Mahama’s goodwill — IEA
Nyinahini SHS assault: Court strikes out case, urges reconciliation
Even traffic lights in front of police headquarters are being stolen — Roads Min...
One major cause of Ablekuma North rerun violence was lack of security coordinati...
BTU Council divided as Chairman rejects parliamentary mediation in VC dispute
