Court throws out NDC’s ‘mischievous’ case against Martin Adjei Mensah

A Wenchi High Court, in the Bono Region, has thrown out an injunction application challenging the swearing in of Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah as the MP-elect for the Techiman South Constituency.

The court, presided over by Fred Nawura, dismissed the application on grounds that it will deny the people of Techiman South a representation in the 8^th Parliament.

Application

The opposition NDC Parliamentary Candidate for the Techiman South Constituency in the 2020 general election, Christopher Bayere Baasongti, has filed a petition at the Wenchi High Court challenging the declaration of Mr Adjei Mensah by the Electoral Commission (EC) as the MP-elect for the area.

The NDC brought the case against Mr Adjei Mensah Korsah, the NPP candidate, as the first respondent; the Electoral Commission (EC) as the second respondent and the Clerk of Parliament as the third respondent.

The party, in the petition filed yesterday at the court, also filed an exparte motion praying the court to among other things order an interim injunction to “the second respondent herein, its assigns, agents, privies or any person acting upon its instructions or authorised by it or acting in furtherance of the same objective as it from informing the third respondent/respondent that the first respondent/respondent is the duly elected Member of Parliament for the Techiman South Constituency or taking any steps towards having the first respondent sworn in as the Member of Parliament for the Techiman South Constituency.”

The NDC is also asking the court to restrain the EC from, in any way, presenting the name of Mr Adjei Mensah Korsah as duly elected to represent the Techiman South Constituency in Parliament from 7th January 2021 to 6^th January 2025 or holding Mr Adjei Mensah Korsah out as such.

They are also praying the court to restrain the Clerk of Parliament from giving recognition to Mr Adjei Mensah Korsah as the “duly elected Member of Parliament for the Techiman South Constituency or granting him access to Parliament as such or permitting him to vote in the first sitting of Parliament as such or counting his vote in the first sitting of Parliament as such or holding him out as such as well.”

Furthermore, the NDC is asking the court to restrain Mr Adjei Mensah Korsah from “presenting himself to Parliament as the duly elected Member of Parliament for the Techiman South Constituency or presenting himself to be sworn in as such or to vote in the first sitting of Parliament as such or otherwise holding himself out as such.”

Ruling

The judge after denying lawyers of Mr Adjei Mensah Korsah the opportunity to respond to the petition threw the case away arguing that any attempt to grant the request will be unfair to the people of Techiman South.

“I shall refuse the Exparte injunction application. I think the people of Techiman South need a representative at the swearing in. To injunct the 1st respondent will be unfair. At the end of the trial, if it is established that the election was not done properly, I shall make my orders. I hereby refuse the application,” the Judge in dismissing the injunction application said.

Mr Fred Nawura stated that he could not grant the request since the case is not an exceptional case to warrant an exparte application. He noted that Mr Adjei Mensah Korsah was duly declared elected and was gazetted by the EC on 22^nd December 2020 and wondered why the NDC waited to less than some 72 hours for the swearing in of Mr Adjei Mensah before filing the application. According to him, for the time being that the EC has gazetted Mr Adjei-Mensah Korsah as the duly elected MP, he has to be sworn in to represent the people of Techiman South until such a time that the court will determine otherwise.

Mischievous

Meanwhile, Kwabena Asare Atuah, counsel for Mr Adjei Mensah Korsah has described the application as ‘mischievous’.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Statesman, Mr Atuah said the application was just meant to delay the swearing in of Mr Adjei Mensah Korsah so that the NDC will have majority at the time of swearing in of the 8^th parliament to determine the Speaker of the house.

He wondered why Mr Adjei Mensah Korsah has still not been served with the petition if the NDC is so minded to carry out with the case.

Meanwhile, the court is yet to set date for the substantive case to begin since the respondents are yet to be served.