The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has condemned the persistent appeals by Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, Rev Kusi Boateng against decisions of the courts in his effort to restrain the legislator from making publications about him regarding the edifice.
Reacting after the Court of Appeal dismissed another appeal, bringing the number of failed attempts by Rev Kusi Boateng to three, the North Tongu legislator described his actions as attempts to frustrate the oversight responsibility of a member of parliament.
“Clearly, he’s out to just to frustrate us and to put impediment in our way to prevent us from continuously carrying out our constitutional mandate of oversight.
“It is not a fair price to pay, we should be allowed to do our jobs; especially when it has been proven by the courts of our country that we were not malicious, we didn’t fabricate or concoct,” Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa indicated to journalists after the court’s ruling.
The court presided over by Justice Pamela Koranteng held that the appellant, also known as Kwabena Adu-Gyamfi did not comply with the rules of the court.
The Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral in his appeal had indicated that the judge erred in dismissing his contempt suit against the legislator.
The Court, however, in its judgement explained that “An appellant must state what error the trial judge made or misdirected himself” which he failed to do.
The court thus maintained that the “Grounds of Appeal do not comply with the rules of the court. [Rule 8(4) of CI 19.]
“We find the grounds of Appeal objected to are incompetent and hereby struck out,” the 3-member of Justices ruled.
Prior to its decision the court earlier dismissed the objection by lawyers of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. Thaddeus Sory had indicated that the reconstituted panel chaired by Justice Pamela Koranteng replacing Justice Dzamefe would affect the fair hearing of his client citing a newspaper report.
He also noted that Rev Kusi Boateng is the spiritual father of the Chief Justice.
But the court in its decision said there was no evidence of his allegations and bias.
