2021
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
Justice E. Y. Kulendi, writing for a unanimous Supreme Court panel presided over by V. J. M. Dotse, dismissed an application by the Chairman of the Shama Traditional Council’s Judicial Committee seeking certiorari and prohibition against ongoing High Court proceedings in Sekondi. The dispute arose from conflicting decisions in a chieftaincy case concerning the Konfeiku Stool: the Applicant read a decision dismissing Ebusuapanyin Kwamina Ackon’s claim, but the Registrar later announced a majority judgment by the other panel members in Ackon’s favor, with a perpetual injunction against Ebusuapanyin S.K. Obeng. Obeng then sued in the High Court to declare the majority judgment void for fraud; the Applicant and Obeng were later convicted for contempt after installing a chief. The Supreme Court held that statutory immunity under L.I. 798 and Act 759 does not bar investigation of alleged fraud, misjoinder does not nullify proceedings, and certiorari would not be used to quash an enquiry into fraud. The application was dismissed.
KULENDI JSC:-
Introduction:
This is an application for an order of certiorari directed at the High Court 2, Sekondi to remove into this court for the purpose of being quashed, all proceedings in respect of Suit No.: E12/103/18 titled: EBUSUAPANYIN S.K OBENG vrs. SHAMA TRADITIONAL COUNCIL & 2 OTHERS, and a further order of prohibition against the said High Court from continuing to hear the matter.
Before we proceed to consider the contentions in this application, we wish to observe that the parties described by the Applicant on the face of the motion as 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Respondents ought to have been referred to as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Interested Parties respectively. This error was correctly avoided by counsel for the Interested Parties and we will follow the correct description of the Interested Parties as such.
APPLICANT’S CASE:
It is the case of the Applicant that a chieftaincy matter entitled Ebusuapanyin Kwamina Ackon (Suing For and On Behalf of the Shama Gate of the Ebiradze Family of Shama) Vrs S.K. Obeng (Ebusuapanyin of the Ebiradze Family of Dompoase) was initiated on the 16th of August, 2013 by Ebusuapanyin Kwamina Ackon at the Sharma Traditional Council against Ebusuapanyin S.K. Obeng, the 1st Interested Party herein. In the said suit, Ebusuapanyin Kwamina Ackon sought the following reliefs from the Shama Traditional Council:
i. A declaration that it was the turn of the Shama gate to nominate a candidate to occupy the stool of Konfeiku and
ii. An order of perpetual injunction to restrain the Defendant, his agents, assigns and family members from nominating, electing, confining and installing anyone to mount the Konfeiku stool.
Pursuant to this, the Shama Traditional Council (the 2nd Interested Party herein) constituted a three-member Judicial Committee comprising the Applicant as Chairman of the Panel and the 3rd and 4th Interested Parties as Members to hear and determine the chieftaincy matter.
It is the Applicant’s case that on the 4th of July 2017, he read the judgment of the Judicial Committee in open “court” to the parties, dismissing the case of Ebusuapanyin Kwamina Ackon and entering judgment in favour of the 1st Interested Party. Counsel for both parties then agreed on cost of GHS 2,000.
According to the Applicant, after judgment was given and cost pronounced, the Committee dispersed. The Applicant claims that he subsequently discovered that the Registrar of the 2nd Interested Party had convened a meeting of the losi