KMA faces contempt for failing to vacate terminal
The Commercial Division of the High Court yesterday gave the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) five days to vacate the Kejetia Bus Terminal which it took over from Freko Enterprise.
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The court, presided over by Mr Justice Emmanuel Amo-Yartey, also gave the assembly the same period to purge itself of contempt before it could come back to argue an instant case seeking to maintain its presence at the terminal.
The court, however, refused to grant a request by Freko Enterprise to strike out an application by the KMA which is seeking to dismiss Freko’s case that the assembly had wrongfully taken over the management of the terminal.
Ruling on a preliminary objection raised by counsel for Freko Enterprise on the legitimacy of the KMA to file the application before the very court whose earlier order the assembly had refused to obey, Mr Justice Amo-Yartey said it was important that the order it gave on November 13, 2013 was obeyed before the assembly could come back to fight its instant application.
According to the judge, if the sanctity of the court was to be maintained, no one should be allowed to treat its orders with impunity.
Mr Justice Amo-Yartey stated that there was evidence before the court that the injunction order was served on the assembly, adding, “He who comes to equity must come with clean hands.”
That notwithstanding, he said, the court would not strike out the instant application filed by the KMA, as requested by Freko Enterprise.
Mr Richard Appiah- Nkyi, counsel for Freko Enterprise, had argued before the court last week on the striking out of the KMA application, saying the assembly was already in contempt for refusing to obey the order of the court to vacate the terminal.
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Counsel also pointed out that the assembly did not come properly before the court, having failed to abide by the limited injunction on November 13, 2013.
Mr Appiah-Nkyi further argued that having failed to vacate the terminal as directed by the court, the KMA had treated the court with contempt and could, therefore, not go before the same court to pray for the granting of an order.
In his reply, lead counsel for the KMA, Mr Thaddeus Sory, said the application they brought before the court was properly laid and, therefore, called for the dismissal of the objection raised by the lawyer for Freko Enterprise.
He further stated that the defendant (Freko Enterprise) should have come by formal application and not verbal objection.