MARTIN ALAMISI AMIDU v. THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL & OTHERS

Alfred Agbesi Woyome sought to overturn Supreme Court single-judge orders directing his oral examination to aid enforcement of the Courts 29 July 2014 monetary judgment requiring him to refund over GH21 million to the Republic of Ghana. Benin JSC had granted the Attorney-Generals application under Order 46 of C.I. 47 for oral examination and related measures on 8 June and 24 July 2017. Woyome argued that the questions were irrelevant, that the procedure was confined to garnishee proceedings, and that an open-court examination would violate his constitutional right to privacy. Writing for the Court, Dotse JSC held that courtroom proceedings are presumptively public and that privacy is qualified by law, and that Order 46 r.2 properly authorizes oral examination when enforcement difficulties arise. Atuguba JSC concurred in dismissing the application, reasoning that the matter could be treated under Order 46 r.1 for money judgments and that subpoenas were supported by implied constitutional powers. The panel dismissed the application and directed that the oral examination continue.