REPUBLIC v. KOFI ANDOH

DENNIS ADJEI, J.A.

On 25th October, 2010 the High Court Agona Swedru convicted the Respondent/appellant herein for contempt and sentenced him to three months imprisonment with hard labour.

The Appellant being aggrieved and dissatisfied with his conviction and sentence filed an appeal to this court on 26th October, 2010. The Appellant further filed additional grounds of appeal on 8th November, 2010. The grounds of appeal are as follows:

“1. That the ruling is against the affidavit evidence

2. That further evidence aside of the affidavit evidence ought to have been taken against the backdrop of the Respondent’s/Appellant’s denial the he had custody of the stool paraphernalia.

3. That the conviction is not maintainable and furthermore the sentence is harsh”.

The two grounds contained in the additional grounds of appeal are thus:

“i. the trial judge committed an error when he held that the lawyers for the Applicant/Respondent’s demand notice dated 21st July, 2008 was proper notice in the face of Regulations 9(3) (4) and (6) of L.I. 798 and

ii. The trial Judge misdirected himself when he relied on the Applicant /Respondent lawyer’s Demand Notice of 21st July, 2008 to convict the “Respondent /Appellant”.

The brief facts of the case were that the Respondent herein instituted an action against the appellant herein at the Judicial Committee of the Ajumako Traditional Council. In the course of the trial at the Judicial Committee of the Ajumako Traditional Council, the appellant herein raised a preliminary objection to the competence of the action and when the objection was overruled, the appellant filed an interlocutory appeal against same. The appellant was of the opinion that the interlocutory appeal would operate as a stay of proceedings and as a result of that, refused to participate in the hearing. The Judicial Committee proceeded to hear the matter and delivered its judgment on 30th October, 2006. The appellant did not appeal against the judgment but he however challenged it by filing an application for judicial review in the nature of Certiorari at the High court. The High court refused his application and he appealed against it to the Court of Appeal and it is still pending.

On 8th November, 2007 the High Court Swedru, convicted the appellant for contempt for acting contemptuously to the judgment of the Judicial Committee of the Ajumako Traditional Council which his application to the High Court to quash had failed. It was in respect of the same