Contempt charge against MP dismissed; applicant fined GHC2, 000.00
Dr. Kwabena Twum Nuamah, MP for Berekum East Constituency
An Accra High Court has dismissed contempt charges filed against the Member of Parliament for Berekum East Constituency Dr. Kwabena Twum Nuamah and the applicant Jibril Mahama was however fined.
Read full article The MP and three others David Cobby, Kwaku Seidu and Mejima Sahibu Mohammed were cited for contempt of court for allegedly using land-guards in their unlawful development of a piece of land at Dome Pillar 2 which is a subject matter pending before the court.
In the High Court ruling on June 29, 2016, the Court ordered the MP and one Majima Shaibu Mohammed should be arraigned before the court on Wednesday, September 27, 2017, to show why they should not be convicted to prison for contempt.
But the court which was presided over by SGD Patience Mills-Tetteh (Mrs) in its ruling stated that the respondents are not Parties to the suit for which the application was filed.
“The contempt application was filed before the order of the court that contemnors were supposed to have violated was granted”.
The court stated that Article 14 (1) of the 1992 constitution provides that a person should not be deprived of the right to personal liberty except in specified cases including the execution of a committal order.
This provision however required that the committal order shall conform to the procedure for committal contempt of the court and obviously called for strict compliance with the rules for committal contained in the rules of the court.
This is why the liberty of the individual is not compromised, the court stated.
“Besides contempt of court is quasi-criminal and the standard of proof is beyond reasonable doubt. Counsel for the applicant has not met this standard and therefore the application to cite the respondents for contempt is hereby dismissed” the ruling further stated.
The court however awarded a cost of GHC 2, 000.00 in favour of respondents
