By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has filed an appeal against the ruling of the Koforidua High Court on the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Akwatia constituency, Mr. Ernest Yaw Kumi case.
This comes after the court on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, convicted the Akwatia lawmaker of contempt and issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
Speaking on behalf of the NPP minority caucus in Parliament at a press conference, MP for Weija-Gbawe and Second Minority Chief Whip, Mr. Jerry Ahmed Shaib, revealed that the party’s legal team had filed an appeal challenging the High Court’s decision to convict Mr. Yaw Kumi.
He recounted that the high court judge ignored a series of notices intended to prevent him from sitting on the matter and pronouncing judgment.
These notices include a writ of certiorari and prohibition on the grounds of the high court’s lack of jurisdiction as well as a stay of proceeding.
Mr. Shaib further questioned the presiding judge’s decision to ignore the pending notices and pronounced judgment. He revealed that a stay of execution pending appeal has been filed to arrest the ruling of the judge.
“Legal steps have been taken. A notice of appeal has been filed against the ruling of the High Court at the Court of Appeal, and an application for a stay of execution pending appeal has also been filed at the High Court No. 3 Koforidua.
Moreover, all the parties to the certiorari and prohibition application, including the judge, His Lordship Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe, who is a respondent to this application before the Supreme Court, have been duly served,” he stated.
The Koforidua High Court in the Eastern Region, presided over by His Lordship Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe, convicted the Akwatia lawmaker, Ernest Yaw Kumi, for contempt of court on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
The ruling followed his defiance of an interim injunction barring him from being sworn in as a legislator.
Presiding Judge, Justice Amedahe, also issued a bench warrant for Kumi’s arrest after he failed to appear before the court for sentencing.
The court had earlier restrained the MP from presenting himself for swearing-in, pending the resolution of a legal dispute. However, despite this directive, Mr. Yaw Kumi defied the court and proceeded to take the oath of office in Parliament.
Per overwhelming evidence of wilful defiance, the court ruled that the Akwatia lawmaker had acted in contempt.
