Ben
The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Vice Admiral Seth Amoama, have had their contempt conviction set aside by the Accra High Court. The court ruled that the contempt application against them was defective and did not correctly name them as individuals. The court stated that without the personal names of the Minister and the CDS; it lacked the jurisdiction to determine the application and therefore set aside the conviction. The Attorney-General and Minister CDS; CDS, Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame, argued that contempt should be prosecuted as a criminal offense with the respondents named.
He emphasized the importance of specifying the public officer being charged to prevent subsequent officeholders from being held responsible for the actions of their predecessors. The contempt case arose from a land dispute between an estate developer, Jonathan Obodai Sai, and the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF). Mr. Sai won a judgment declaring his title to the land, and the court ordered the GAF to cease interfering with his enjoyment of the land unless it was acquired through proper legal means and compensation provided. A year after the judgment, Mr. Sai filed a contempt application alleging the GAF had not complied with the court’s ruling and was still occupying the land.
_
Source: Omanghana.com
