Testimonies of Kpessa-Whye’s, Rojo Mettle-Nunoo’s fanciful and irrelevant - SC
-The court set out five issues for determination in the trial
-Kpessa-Whyte and Mettle-Nunoo were the petitioner’s second and third witnesses in the trial
-But, the court said their testimonies were not relevant
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The Justices of the Supreme Court in the just ended 2020 election petition trial on Thursday described the testimonies of former President John Dramani Mahama’s second and third witness as “fanciful”.
Chief Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah said when he delivered the judgment of the seven-member panel who heard the petition that Dr. Michael Kpessa-Whye’s and Rojo Mettle-Nunoo’s testimonies were of “no relevance” to the issues the court set out for determination.
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“We find them unworthy for consideration whatsoever,” he stated, adding that the least said about them the better. “The testimonies were fanciful.”
The court set up five issues for determination during the trial and they include;
1. Whether or not the petition discloses any reasonable cause of action
2. Whether or not based on the data contained in the declaration of the 1st Respondent (EC), no candidate obtained more than 50% of the valid votes cast as required by Article 63 (3) of the 1992 constitution
3. Whether or not the 2nd Respondent still met the article 63 (3) of the 1992 constitution threshold by the exclusion or inclusion of the Techiman South constituency Presidential Election Results of 2020
4. Whether or not the declaration by the 1st Respondent dated the 9th of December violated article 63 (3) of the 1992 constitution.
5. Whether or not the alleged vote padding and other errors complained of by the petitioner affected the outcome of the Presidential Election results of 2020.
Mettle-Nunoo who was the NDC’s representative in the Electoral Commission (EC) Strong Room together with Dr. Kpessa-Whyte said during their testimonies tricked to sign some of the regional collation sheets.
Mettle-Nunoo also corroborated claims by Dr. Kpessa-Whytte that the EC chair deliberately instructed them to go and have an audience with Mahama to pave the way for the declaration of the results.
The lawyer for the EC, Justin Amenuvor, accused Dr. Kpessa-Whyte of lying when he said Jean Mensa deliberately sent them away from the Strong Room to declare the presidential results.
But, in his response, Dr. Kpessa-Whyte rejected Amenuvor’s accusation, informing the Court that he had no reason to lie.
The seven-member panel dismissed the former president’s petition explaining that Mahama failed to adduce “cogent evidence” to back his claims that there was no winner in the December 7, 2020, presidential elections.
“The court expected the pink sheets to be exhibited to prove the claims,” Justice Anin Yeboah, the president of the panel stated.
Akufo-Addo defeated Mahama in the said election to secure another four-year term; collecting 51.302% of the votes cast against the latter’s 47.359%.
The votes difference between the two candidates stood at 517, 231, representing a four percentage point, one of the highest since 1996.
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