THE REPUBLIC v. RAMATU KUMOJI & 2ORS

This High Court judgment addresses a motion for committal for contempt arising from an ongoing land dispute. The applicant had filed a further amended statement of claim asserting ownership and, on September 10, 2024, moved for interlocutory injunction and preservation of property. Despite this pending motion, the respondents demolished shops and began constructing a wall on October 4, 2024; the first respondent had earlier evicted a tenant and razed a structure on August 29, 2024. The second and third respondents argued they were enforcing a separate High Court judgment in Dr. Robert Kumoji and Yvonne Kumoji v. RV. Issac Oti Boateng & 3 Others concerning the same land, and challenged service and penal notice. Reviewing Ghanaian contempt doctrine, the court held that acting to do the very thing a pending injunction seeks to restrain is contempt, even absent a formal order, and distinguished Order 43’s penal notice requirements applicable to enforcement of existing orders. Finding actual notice through service on the first respondent and counsel’s appearance, the court concluded contempt was made out but, noting family ties, cautioned and discharged the respondents.