Fourteen charged in Aplaku chieftaincy dispute
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 10 Aug. '99
Forty-six assembly members of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) have filed another writ at a Kumasi High Court for a true and proper interpretation of the Local Government Act, Act 462 on the Government appointee component of the KMA not to exceed 20 persons.
The writ was filed on behalf of the 46 assembly members by four of their colleagues, Mr Ishmael Butler, Mr Ibrahim Antwi, Nana Kofi Senyah and Nana Nsiah Awuah against the KMA, the Attorney-General and the Electoral Commission (EC).
They are also seeking an order directing the Government to withdraw the excess number of Government appointees.
In addition the court should order a perpetual injunction to restrain the KMA from conducting any business, as it is presently constituted.
In a statement of claim filed on their behalf by Mr Joe Osei-Owusu, a Kumasi-based lawyer, they said in the last Metropolitan and District level elections held in 1998, 60 members were elected from the 60 electoral areas in the Metropolis.
It said the Government appointed 29 people as representing 30 per cent of the membership of the assembly to the KMA but on a true and proper interpretation of some sections of the Act dealing with the membership of the assemblies, the Government appointees should not exceed 20.
The plaintiffs contended that the Government appointee component of the first assembly of the KMA under the Act was 20.
It said neither the elected member component, the Member of Parliament (MP) nor the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) component is different from the previous Assembly under the Act.
It said it is abnormal for the Government appointee component to increase in number.
It said through their Solicitor, they wrote to the Minister of Local Government and other statutory bodies to draw their attention to the situation.
They said none of them has acted to rectify the situation and the defendants shall continue to defy the statutory requirements unless the court orders them to comply with the statute.
Wednesday, August 11, has been fixed for the hearing of another writ filed by the 46 assembly members to restrain the defendants from conducting a meeting to vote on a vote of no confidence passed in Nana Akwasi Agyeman, the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE).
In another development, eight elected assembly members in the Subin Sub-Metropolitan Area, have also filed a writ at a Kumasi High Court against the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Nana Akwasi Agyeman, seeking a declaration on the management of public toilets.
They are seeking a declaration that the management of all public toilets within the Subin Sub-Metropolitan Council be reposed in the Council and not the KMA.
The plaintiffs are further seeking an order of perpetual injunction to restrain the MCE, either by himself or by his agents or representatives, from interfering with the administration of public toilets within the jurisdiction of the Subin Sub-Metro Council area.
The plaintiffs are Nana Nsiah Awuah, Mr George F. Drah, Nana Kofi Owusu-Afriyie, Mr Baba Abdulai, Mr Francis Boamah, Mr Addai Acheampong, Mr Osei Kofi Owusu and Mr Godfrey Mensah.
In their statement of claim, they contended that all Sub-Metro Councils are semi-autonomous bodies with spelt-out functions, duties, responsibilities and liabilities, which include building, installing, maintaining and controlling public latrines, lavatories and urinals within their area of authority.
It said under the legislative instrument which established the Councils, each sub-metro council shall retain in the Sub-Metro District 50 per cent of all rates, taxes, licences, fees and other monies collected to be used for the development of and recurrent expenditure of the Sub-Metro.
The plaintiffs said, with the provisions notwithstanding, the MCE has issued a directive, dated August two, asking that persons in charge of public toilets in the metropolis should hand over same to the Waste Management Department (WMD) of the KMA.
The statement said the directive directly contradicts the provisions of the establishment of the Sub-Metro Councils and consequently are null and void.
They averred that at a general meeting of the KMA on May one, this year, it was resolved that all the public toilets would be privatised and that until that has been done, they are to be managed by the Sub-Metro Councils
The statement said that since the resolution of the KMA has not been revoked or varied, it cannot be over-ridden by the MCE.
The plaintiffs said the MCE will carry out his threat and wrest the public toilets from the Sub-Metro Councils unless he is restrained by the Court.
GRi../
Cape Coast (Central Region) 10 Aug. '99
A Burkinabe journalist, who posed as an official representative of the secretary-general of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to the just-ended fourth Pan-African Historic Theatre Festival (PANAFEST "99") was on Monday fined 500,000 cedis by a Circuit Court in Cape Coast.
Songo Ben Chareck Omar, 26 will serve a 24 months in jail if he fails to pay the fine.
The court, presided over by Mr Tom Bentsil, in addition, ordered the PANAFEST Secretariat to recover from Omar a total of 1,000,040 cedis and 15 pesewas, being transport and hotel expenses incurred on Omar.
Omar was last Wednesday (August four) remanded in custody when he appeared before the court charged with impersonation, forgery, possessing forged documents and altering forged documents.
He pleaded guilty.
Before the judge pronounced his decision, Mr Daniel Assiam and Mr Kofi Lamptey, both lawyers who described themselves as "friends of the court'' (amicus curiae) pleaded with the court to caution, discharge and deport him as an "undesirable agent".
They said Omar was able to make a statement at the PANAFEST forum, which received standing ovation and that the secretariat has lost nothing.
Earlier, the prosecution, led by Police Inspector Henry Tanor, said Omar arrived in the country without travelling documents on July 19, this year, to attend PANAFEST.
He then introduced himself to officials of the PANAFEST secretariat as the OAU representative and became the guest of the secretariat for two days.
Inspector Tanor said Omar was first hosted at Oyster Bay at Elmina and subsequently moved to "Fairhill Guest House'' at Cape Coast at his request.
The prosecutor said the arrival of another person, Charles Miranka, from Rwanda, on an OAU diplomatic passport on Monday, August two, as the secretary-general's representative aroused the suspicion of officials of the PANAFEST secretariat.
The two men were consequently handed over to the police to verify the real secretary-general's representative, and during interrogation, Omar confessed that the documents he presented were forged, the prosecutor said.
GRi../
Fourteen charged in Aplaku chieftaincy dispute
Accra (Greater Accra), 10th August 99,
Fourteen persons alleged to be members of two factions in a chieftaincy dispute at Aplaku in the Ga District on Monday appeared before a circuit tribunal charged with acts likely to lead to the breach of the peace.
The accused persons, who all pleaded not guilty, were members of the Adam Aplaku and Nii Okuso factions.
The tribunal, chaired by Mrs Elizabeth Anderson-Yeboah, remanded them in custody until August 13.
Police Inspector Joseph K. Adu, said there has been a protracted chieftaincy dispute between the two factions. Early this year, it degenerated into a clash in which two persons were killed.
Some members of the factions were arrested in connection with the clash, charged and put before the court.
On July 21 and July 22, while the case was pending, the accused persons, who were on court bail, clashed again at the outskirts of the town as a result of which four of them were injured.
The prosecution said each of the factions reported the matter to the Police, who after investigations found they quarrelled and fought at a public place.
GRi…/