Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare popularly known as Kwaku Azar, a Fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has expressed strong disapproval of the Supreme Court's decision that declared the election of Assin North's Member of Parliament, James Gyakye Quayson, null and void and called for his name to be expunged from parliament.
Professor Azar labeled the judgment as one of the worst he has seen in Ghanaian legal history.
During an interview on Citi TV on June 14, 2023, Kwaku Azar criticized the Supreme Court's decision, highlighting numerous errors in the case. He expressed astonishment at what he perceived as the court's misinterpretation of the Constitution, disregard for statutory provisions, and insertion of timelines where none existed.
“Of all the Ghanaian cases I have seen, this one stands out as almost the worst, because when you read the case, there is a plethora of errors. From misinterpreting the Constitution to shredding statues to inserting timelines where there are no timelines. It’s almost as if the court decided we are going to remove this guy [Quayson] for whatever reason. And we don’t care how many laws we break or how many rules we violate. We are going to do it anyway,” Kwaku Azar lamented.
He further elaborated on his disagreement with the court's reasoning, particularly regarding the concept of allegiance and citizenship. He stated that owing allegiance to a country can be rooted in various reasons, not solely tied to citizenship.
“It’s almost like me saying that allegiance and citizenship are inexplicably tied, so when the president swears the oath of allegiance, he’s swearing the oath of citizenship. That is completely bizarre. I have never heard such strange reasoning,” he added.
The State had on February 12, last year, charged James Gyakye Quayson with five counts being; deceit of a public officer, forgery of a passport, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury, and false declaration.
As the trial continued on July 2022, his lawyers led by Lawyer Tsatsu Tsikata questioned the competency of the Prosecution’s First Witness, Richard Takyi-Mensah, a teacher and his subsequent tendering of his witness statements.
But, his objection was overruled by the trial Judge Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzu on grounds that the witness was competent and duly admitted the witness statements and paragraphs.
Dissatisfied with the High Court’s ruling, Mr. Quayson and his lawyers filed a motion at the Supreme Court seeking to quash the decision of the trial judge and order of Prohibition against the judge.
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Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare
