MERCY KABUKIE TETTEHFIO vs MERCY KABUKIE TETTEHFIO
2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE LAURENDA OWUSU JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT
Areas of Law
- Employment Law
- Evidence Law
- Constitutional Law
- Civil Procedure
2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
Plaintiff claimed her birthdate as 21st May 1956 and opposed Defendant's choice of 21st May 1954, which led to premature retirement. Evidence showed inconsistencies in her birth records. The court validated her claim, deemed the retirement unlawful and unfair, and granted her damages and salary arrears.
The Plaintiff caused out a Writ of Summons to be issued against the Defendant on the 20th of November 2014 claiming the following reliefs:
a. Declaration that Defendant’s act to force her to retire prematurely is unlawful and unconstitutional.
b. Declaration that Plaintiff’s actual date of birth is 21st May, 1956.
c. Declaration that Defendant’s letter dated 5th June, 2013 asking Plaintiff to proceed on compulsory retirement is void and of no effect and amounts to unfair termination and/or wrongful dismissal.
d. Declaration that the letter dated 5th June 2013 is unconstitutional.
e. An order directed at Defendant to pay all salaries due the Plaintiff from, June 2014 to day of judgment.
f. An order of perpetual injunction directed at the Defendant, its agents, workmen, privies, assigns, staff etc. from ever asking her to proceed on compulsory retirement until May, 2016. 1
g. An order directed at the Defendant to amend its records to reflect Plaintiff’s actual date of birth being 21st May, 1956.
h. An order directed at the Defendant to pay all salary arrears of the Plaintiff effective 21st May 2014 till date of judgment.
i. Interest on the salary arrears at current commercial bank rate.
j. Damages.
k. Cost.
l. An order directed at the Defendant not to interfere with Plaintiff’s work or conditions of service on the same grounds of date of birth until May 2016.
SUMMARY OF CASE THE PLAINTIFF’S CASE
The Plaintiff sets out her case by an accompanying Statement of Claim to the Writ of Summons, her Witness Statement filed on the 8th of October 2015 and the Witness Statement of Emmanuel Djeminyatah Akrofi (PW1) filed on the 6th of January, 2016. Her case is that she was employed at the Public Works Department (PWD) on 15th February, 1975 and later transferred to the Ghana Highways Authority (GHA). When she was employed she completed a Personal Record Card on which was stated 21st May 1955 as her date of birth.
According to her when she was transferred to GHA she was made to complete various forms and she realized that other forms including her Personal Record Form were completed with dates 21st May 1954 and 21st May 1956. Plaintiff’s case further is that her actual birth date is 21st May 1956 as evidenced by her birth certificate, Exhibit B and her other important documents, Exhibit C series.
Realizing that there were three different birth dates on her record, Plaintiff stated that she took steps to amend this as per her Exhibit D series and applied