Supreme Court Dismisses Dafeamekpor’s Injunction Against Parliament

The Supreme Court has dismissed an application for an interlocutory injunction seeking to prevent Parliament from proceeding with the vetting of new Ministers nominated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

In a unanimous decision today, a five-member panel of the court held that the application was frivolous and an abuse of the court process.

The applicant, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Member of Parliament for South Dayi, had sought to halt the vetting process in Parliament pending the determination of his suit challenging the constitutionality of the President’s decision to reassign Ministers without Parliament’s involvement.

However, the Supreme Court ruled that the MP’s case had no direct relevance to the nominees currently before Parliament, as it primarily concerns reassigned Ministers.

It came to light in court that the lawyers for the South Dayi MP did not accept some court documents. These included the notice of hearing and the Attorney General’s opposition to a temporary court order.

This was revealed when the case was called on Wednesday March 27, 2024, and the plaintiff and his lawyer were not in court.

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.

The bailiff swore that he had to leave the notice of hearing and the Attorney General’s opposition to the temporary court order when the staff of the South Dayi MP’s lawyer told him about the instruction.

The Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, argued that this was disrespectful to the court. He asked the court to hear the temporary court order application anyway.

After confirming that the documents were properly filed, the Supreme Court allowed the temporary court order application to proceed.

More soon…