MARIETTA AMA BOTSOE AMEDO vs GHANA COMMERCIAL BANK
2019
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HER LADYSHIP, JUSTICE GIFTY AGYEI ADDO, HIGH COURT JUDGE.
Areas of Law
- Employment Law
- Contract Law
- Evidence Law
- Civil Procedure
2019
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
Justice Gifty Agyei Addo of Ghana’s High Court dismissed a suit by a former Republic House Branch manager, a legal practitioner, against her bank employer over her demotion and exit linked to the Kudi Nkosuo market-savings product. The Plaintiff claimed the bank retroactively applied Circular BO.194/2008 to punish her for imbalances caused by National Service personnel, notably Dickson Yaw Nkansah Karkoh, who was criminally convicted. She also alleged inducement to sign a Voluntary Exit Agreement and sought arrears, interest, damages, and declarations invalidating waiver clauses. The bank argued supervisory failures (e.g., non-daily passbook updates, inadequate authentication) justified demotion; that she accepted the demotion by continuing work for over three years; and that she voluntarily exited, receiving GH¢138,071.15 and agreeing not to sue over pre-exit matters. Applying the Evidence Act, burden-of-proof rules, and the non-applicability of estoppel to constitutional violations, the court found no retroactivity, held the Plaintiff estopped from challenging her demotion, upheld the voluntary exit and release, and awarded costs to the bank while dismissing all claims.
INTRODUCTION
On the 27th day of August, 2014, the Plaintiff caused to be issued against the Defendant a writ of summons accompanied by a statement of claim.
The Defendant entered appearance to the suit per its Counsel and filed its defence on the 16th day of October, 2014. The Plaintiff filed a reply to the Defendant's defence on the 29th of October, 2014. Pursuant to the leave of the Court, the Defendant filed an amended statement of defence on the 23rd day of February, 2015. On the 15th day of July, 2015, the Plaintiff filed an amended statement of claim pursuant to the leave of the Court and on the 14th of October, 2015, filed a reply to the Defendant's amended statement of defence.
Per the amended statement of claim, the Plaintiff seeks the following reliefs:
i. A declaration that the waiver clauses as contained in the Agreement between the Plaintiff and the Defendant dated 30th December, 2013 are contrary to public policy in so far as they are intent on ousting the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court, as such void and of no effect.
ii. A declaration that decision of the Executive Management of the Defendant to demote the Plaintiff during her employment with the Defendant breached her Fundamental Human Rights to the extent of its retrospective application of a circular numbered as BO CIR 194/ 2008 , as such void to that extent.
iii. Recovery of salary and allowances of Seventy-Five Thousand Seven Hundred and Five Ghana Cedis and Seven Ghana Pesewas ( GH¢75, 705. 07) in arrears from September, 2010 to December, 2013.
iv. Interest on relief (iii) at existing bank rate from October, 2010 to the date of Judgment and final payment.
v. General damages.
THE CASE OF THE PLAINTIFF
Plaintiff who described herself as a legal practitioner averred that she worked with Defendant from May 1987 until 2013. According to the Plaintiff, sometime in the year 2001, the Defendant introduced a product called Kudi Nkosuo targeted at mobilising funds from market women engaged in petty trading but without the habit of savings.
It is the case of the Plaintiff that upon the introduction of the Kudi Nkosuo product , the Defendant directed its Retail Banking Unit to go out into market places to collect monies from the market women , record same in customers' passbooks, bank passbooks and market journals and credit a General Ledger 224073040.
According to the Plaintiff, the Retail Banking Unit initially used permanent staff of the Defendant for purposes of this collecti