2018
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Supreme Court of Ghana considered whether the National House of Chiefs lawfully expunged Nana Abor Yamoah II’s name from the National Register of Chiefs after the Central Regional House of Chiefs’ 27 February 2012 request. The National House followed its Research Committee minutes and removed the entry in July 2014, while a jurisdictional battle unfolded between Cape Coast and Winneba High Courts; the Supreme Court later quashed Winneba’s ruling on certiorari. The appellants obtained mandamus in Cape Coast, but the Court of Appeal set it aside. An intervening letter from the Central Regional House rescinded its earlier directive and requested re-entry. The Supreme Court held that expunction without due process—death, abdication, destoolment, or a competent order—was ultra vires. It allowed the appeal and ordered immediate re-entry pending final adjudication by the appropriate judicial committee.
APPAU, JSC:-
This is an appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal dated 27th February 2017. The 1st appellant is the Ebusuapanyin of the 2nd appellant’s royal family of Gomoa Fetteh whilst the 2nd appellant Nana Abor Yamoah II, is the chief of Gomoa Fetteh. They would, hereinafter, be referred to simply as appellants.
The background to this appeal is that; on the 27th day of February 2012, the Central Regional House of Chiefs wrote a letter to the National House of Chiefs requesting the National House of Chiefs to expunge the name of the 2nd appellant from the National Register of Chiefs (Register) as the Chief of Gomoa Fetteh and the Twafohene of Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Area. When the appellants got wind of this letter which was written without any notice to them, they filed a suit in the High Court, Cape Coast against both the National House of Chiefs and the Central Regional House of Chiefs as 1st and 2nd defendants respectively. The reliefs sought in the writ were:
A declaration that the 2nd defendant (i.e. the Central Regional House of Chiefs) has acted in contravention of the rule of natural justice in its decision contained in its letter No. CRHC/71/RC/02/V.3/92 dated 27th February 2012.
A declaration that the said decision contained in the letter No. CRHC/71/RC/02/V.3/92 dated 27th February 2012 is void, ultra vires and offensive to the audi alteram partem rule of natural justice.
Perpetual injunction restraining the 1st defendant from acting upon the said letter as directed by the 2nd defendant.
The 1st defendant entered a conditional appearance to the writ and filed a motion to challenge the jurisdiction of the High Court on the ground that the matters in contention constituted a cause or matter affecting chieftaincy for which the High Court‘s jurisdiction was constitutionally ousted. The trial High Court per Olivia Obeng Owusu, J, on the 20th of December 2012, dismissed the motion holding that the matter before the court was not a cause or matter affecting chieftaincy so the High Court had jurisdiction to determine it. The judge consequently ordered the defendants to file their statements of defence to the action. The suit, however, suffered a jilt when it had to be transferred from the Cape Coast High Court to the Winneba High Court on the transfer orders of the Chief Justice. As to what led to the transfer, the records are silent on that.
The Winneba High Court consolidated the suit with another suit titled Nana Abam & Anoth