Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo, the lawyer for the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has revealed that the Supreme Court did not serve them with a hearing notice, resulting in their absence from court on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.
In an interview with Citi News, Lawyer Addo cited that, he was not in his office yesterday, however, the court decided to dismiss their application.
“We didn’t have the benefits of the hearing notice because I never stepped in the office yesterday. The court has gone ahead to decide on our injunction application. The substantive case is still pending and we are waiting for the court to call us and we will go and attend to it”, Lawyer Addo stated.
He further noted that, for now, their focus is on the upcoming LGBTQ substantive case hearing.
“Also, we have a mandamus application coming up in the High Court on the 8th in respect of the LGBTQ matter so we have moved on and we are focused on that one while we wait for the substantive case to be called. We have had our day in court. The court has ruled. That is all that you can do as a citizen of the country.”
The Supreme Court dismissed an application for an interlocutory injunction against approving President Akufo-Addo’s new ministerial appointees filed by the South Dayi MP, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor.
The South Dayi lawmaker’s suit was deemed frivolous and an abuse of court processes by the apex court on Wednesday, March 28.
In Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor’s suit filed by Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo on March 18 against the Speaker of Parliament and the Attorney General is contending that a declaration of any Ministerial appointment which has not been subject to prior Parliamentary approval is in direct violation of Article 78(1) of the 1992 Constitution which states that “a Minister of State shall be appointed by the President with the prior approval of Parliament” hence the failure of the President to refer some of his re-assigned Ministers to Parliament violates provisions of the 1992 Constitution.
The Chief Justice, who was leading the bench, noticed that the plaintiff’s lawyer, Nii Kpappo Addo, had told a staff member not to accept any documents from the Supreme Court however, the plaintiff and his lawyer were not in court.
However, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has slammed the Chief Justice for what it describes as palpable judicial bias in scheduling political cases in the Supreme Court.
According to the opposition NDC, it is surprised by the listing of the Dafeamekpor case for hearing, ahead of the case of Richard Dela Sky versus the Parliament of Ghana and the Attorney-General challenging the constitutionality of the Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2024, filled on March 5, 2024.
