Akwatia MP Ernest Kumi Runs To Supreme Court To Overturn Contempt Conviction By Koforidua High Court
- Akwatia MP Ernest Yaw Kumi has filed a suit at the Supreme Court to overturn his recent conviction for contempt
- He was convicted by the high court in Koforidua after he defied an injunction to keep him from being sworn in as MP
- The court had earlier restrained Kumi from presenting himself for the swearing-in, pending the resolution of a legal dispute
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Akwatia MP Ernest Yaw Kumi has filed a suit at the Supreme Court to overturn his conviction for contempt by a Koforidua high court.
Citi News reported that Gary Nimako Marfo, Kumi's lawyer, argued that the high court had committed a jurisdictional error.
Source: Facebook
Marfo stated that the Electoral Commission had not published the Gazette Notification of the results, to which the Election relates in the Gazette before the court started hearing the case.
“The learned High Court Judge breached the rules of natural justice when he proceeded to hear and determine the contempt application despite the pendency of Applicant’s Motion to set aside the said contempt application for want of jurisdiction.”
Kumi's team has also accused the judge hearing the case of bias, claiming he refused to meet them on a technicality.
As part of its reliefs, the MP is urging the Supreme Court to declare the entire proceedings void, contending:
"The Petition filed by the 1st Interested Party [Henry Boakye-Yiadom] on 31st December 2024 in the absence of the Gazette Notification is incompetent, and any Order founded on it is void and of no effect."
Arrest warrant out for Kumi
The Koforidua High Court issued a bench warrant for Kumi’s arrest after he failed to appear before the court for sentencing on February 19.
GBC reported that the court had earlier restrained the MP from presenting himself for swearing-in, pending the resolution of the legal dispute.
Citing evidence of willful defiance, the court ruled that the lawmaker had acted in contempt and an injunction order was granted on January 2, 2025.
This followed a petition filed by Henry Boakye-Yiadom, the National Democratic Congress parliamentary candidate in Akwatia, which was in line with the Representation of the People Act, 1992 (PNDC Law 284).
Other areas like Nsawam suffered similar legal contentions.
Source: Facebook
Boakye-Yiadom is claiming electoral infractions that saw Kumi win the parliamentary election with 19,269 votes to his 17,206 votes.
The declaration was made at the National Police Training School in Tesano, Accra, after multiple failed attempts to finalise the results in the Eastern Region.
Kumi still made appearances in Parliament after his conviction, prompting opposition from the Majority Caucus on an instance where he tried to speak during proceedings.
The caucus insisted that a convict and someone a bench warrant has been issued against cannot be allowed to deliver a statement.
The beginning of the ninth Parliament
YEN.com.gh reported that the acting Clerk to Parliament, Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, chaired the first sitting of Parliament on January 7.
There were 274 out of 276 constituencies that were submitted to the ninth Parliament as having duly elected candidates within the House.
Ablekuma North and Akwatia were the two seats with eligibility issues and Djietror served Kumi with a warning as well as an injunction.
The ninth Parliament of Ghana has the NDC with a commanding majority of 183 seats, while the NPP has 88 seats as the new Minority.
Proofread by Bruce Douglas, senior copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
