REPUBLIC v. FRANCIS HUSUNU & OTHERS

The Court of Appeal (per Senyo Dzamefe, JA) adjudicated an appeal arising from contempt proceedings linked to a land dispute at Ankwa Dobro near Nsawam. The applicant, acting for principal Godwin Anagbo, had filed a 2004 civil suit in the Circuit Court, Nsawam. In May 2006, supporters of the respondents disrupted proceedings, after which the trial judge referred the case to the Chief Justice. The applicant later sought, in the High Court, Accra, an order under Order 21 rule 10 of C.I. 47 compelling the parties to produce land documents, citing a prior order warning respondents to desist from activities on the land. The High Court refused, reasoning that such an order would elicit extraneous evidence and that contempt is quasi-criminal with a standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt. On appeal, the Court held that Order 21 rule 10 confers discretion and cannot be deployed to assist the applicant in proving contempt. It concluded that the applicant must adduce positive evidence of willful disobedience without compelling document production. The appeal was dismissed, with Mariama Owusu, JA, and F. G. Korbieh, JA concurring.