REPUBLIC v. OPANIN KWAME BOAMAH & OTHERS

ANIN-YEBOAH JSC:

This is an appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal that confirmed the previous decision of the High Court, Kumasi in a contempt application. For the sake of convenience, in this judgment, we refer to the applicant in the trial High Court as the respondent and the respondents in the trial court as the appellants. The circumstances in which the contempt application was taken out by the respondent in the High Court are these. Following the death of Nana Kwaku Affum, the Akwamuhene of Agogo Traditional Area, the stool became vacant and therefore it became necessary for the kingmakers to find a successor. In his capacity as the head of family, the respondent herein nominated one Nana Adu Asabre whiles the second appellant nominated the first appellant herein.

At a meeting held subsequently to elect the successor to the stool from the two nominees, the kingmakers agreed to determine their choice by the casting of votes. Out of the sixteen votes cast, the majority opted for Nana Adu Asabre, the nominee of the respondent while the other contestant, the first appellant herein had five votes. The victorious party thereafter performed the requisite customary rites by providing two bottles of schnapps and five hundred cedis, which was shared among the elders with the first and second appellants herein, however, refusing to accept their share. It appears that from this moment, the Asakyiri royal family was not at peace as subsequent events would attest to. In order to bring the family together, the respondent as head asked the queen mother of Asakyiri family of Adansi Akrokeri to intervene in the matter but she referred the matter to the chief of Morso, the third appellant herein.

Instead of resolving the impasse, the third appellant asked the queen mother to nominate one of the two contesting parties to occupy the stool. This she did by nominating the first appellant. Naturally, the other side felt aggrieved and resorted to legal action by taking out an action before the Judicial Committee of the Agogo Traditional Council claiming reliefs that were in their nature causes or matters affecting chieftaincy including a declaration that Nana Adu Asabre has been lawfully nominated and elected for enstoolment as the occupant of the Akwamu Stool of Agogo traditional Area and a declaration that the subsequent nomination and election of the first respondent herein ( third defendant in the chieftaincy case) for enstoolment is void and of no legal effe