Minority protest against BoG Governor: Court adjourns case to Sept 18 over misnomer

The High Court in Accra has given the Ghana Police Service seven days to change the title of its injunction application seeking to debar the Minority in Parliament’s protest against the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison and his two deputies.

In a ruling today (Sept 8) the Court presided over by Justice Edward Twum, said the use of “Republic” as the title on the application brought by the Ghana Police Service was a mere misnomer on behalf of lawyers of the Police Service. 

It added that the service had indicated in its supporting documents that its real intention was to institute the action on behalf of the Inspector General of Police for the Police Service, a corporate body with the capacity to sue and be sued under the 1992 constitution and not the Attorney-General 

While commending lawyers for the Minority in Parliament for scrutinizing the application filed by the Police Service, Justice Twum noted that in the interest of fairness, technicalities should not be employed to delay the substantive matter. 

The Court subsequently gave the Police Service seven days to replace the title, “Republic” to “Inspector General of Police”. 

The case has been adjourned to Monday, September 18, 2023. 

Meanwhile the Minority is expected to meet with the Accra Regional Police Command later today to discuss the modalities for the demonstration originally scheduled for Sept 5 this year  but was later rescheduled to Tuesday, 12th September, 2023 following the Court action. 

Preliminary legal objection

Filed by Ghana Police Service, the  application was seeking to debar the Minority in Parliament’a demonstration “in the interest of public safety” following a disagreement on selected routes for the demonstration.

But in Court last Monday, (Sept 4), counsel for the demonstrators, Godwin Edudzie Tamekloe, argued that per section 99(1)(a) of the State Proceedings Act, 1998 (Act 555), the Attorney-General or a person authorised by the A-G was the sole person mandated to conduct the proceedings and not a lawyer from the Ghana Police Service since on the face of the charge sheet, the police had labelled the Republic and not the Ghana Police Service as the institution conducting the case.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Sylvester Asare, lawyer for the Police, he said, was not the A-G, or an officer authorised by the A-G adding: “Therefore, he cannot purport to sign this originating process for and on behalf of the Republic”.

He further added that the Ghana Police was a corporate body with the capacity to sue and be sued hence, the action ought to have been filed by the Inspector General of Police.

He therefore, urged the Court to dismiss the application. 

Opposed 

However, DSP Asare, who is also the Head of Legal and Prosecutions at the Criminal Investigations Department, argued that the points raised by Mr Tamakloe were unfounded.

“There is nothing that bars a constitutionally mandated institution such as the Ghana Police Service from bringing a public order action.

“The Public Order Act clearly gives us the mandate to apply to this court praying for the prohibition of the proposed special event,” he added.