REPUBLIC v. NII AYINSAH SASRAKU III & ANOTHER
2015
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- MARIAMA OWUSU, JA (PRESIDING)
- ADUAMA OSEI, JA
- GYAN, JA
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
- Criminal Law and Procedure
2015
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This case is an appeal from a High Court ruling that found the Appellant guilty of contempt of court and sentenced him to one month imprisonment. The Appellant's actions, which involved holding himself out as the head of the Nii Arde Nkpa Family against findings of fact made by the trial court, were deemed to interfere with the administration of justice. However, the appeal court overturned the trial court's decision, finding no evidence that the Appellant's actions interfered with the administration of justice or denigrated the court's authority. The principles established include the distinction between civil and criminal contempt, the requirement for specific court orders to be disobeyed for civil contempt, and the necessity of establishing wilful interference with justice for contempt convictions.
ADUAMA OSEI JA
This judgment is delivered in an appeal from a ruling of the High Court, Accra, dated the 14th of June, 2013, in an application for committal for contempt of court. In this judgment, the 1st Respondent/Appellant shall be called “the Appellant”, the 2nd Respondent shall be called “Oblempong Ababio”, and the Applicants/Respondents shall be called “the Respondents”.
In the application before the High Court, the Respondents prayed the High Court to commit the Appellant and Oblempong Ababio to prison custody for contempt of court until they had purged themselves by refraining from any pronouncements on the issues before the Court or interfering in any way with the proceedings before the Court.
The proceedings concerned were in Suit No. BFA 205/2011, in which the Appellant herein had sued the Respondents for declarations that he, the Appellant, was the lawful, recognised and substantive head of the Nii Arde Nkpa Family, that the 1st Respondent was not the Head of the said Nii Arde Nkpa Family, and also that the 2nd Respondent was not the Administrator of the Nii Arde Nkpa Family Council. Further, the Appellant had in the said suit sought orders of perpetual injunction restraining the Respondents from carrying themselves out as Head of the Nii Arde Nkpa family and Administrator of the Nii Arde Nkpa Family Council respectively, and also restraining their servants, privies, elders and other agents from nominating and electing a Head for the Nii Arde Nkpa Family.
In the same suit, the Respondents herein had counterclaimed for declarations that the Appellant had not been appointed and or elected as the head of the Nii Arde Nkpa family of Plerno, Kokrobite, Tuba and Langma, and that the 1st Respondent was the head of the Nii Arde Nkpa We of Plerno, James Town. Further, the Respondents had counterclaimed for orders of perpetual injunction restraining the Appellant from holding himself out as the head of the Nii Arde Nkpa family of Plerno, Kokrobite, Tuba and Langma, and also restraining all agents, assigns and servants of the Appellant from recognising or in any way holding out the Appellant as the head of the said Nii Arde Nkpa family.
Among the issues set down for determination in the suit was the issue as to whether the Appellant herein was the Head of the Nii Arde Nkpa Family. Before trial of the suit could commence, however, in a ruling in an application for interlocutory injunction filed by the Appellant herein, the trial Court had made findin