GRi in Court Ghana 18 - 12 - 2000
Hajia Fati seeks
high court injunction over Bawku results
Four on provisional charge of murder
Hajia Fati seeks
high court injunction over Bawku results
Bolgatanga (Northern Region) 18 December
2000
Hajia Fati Seidu, incumbent MP for
Bawku Central, on Friday filed a petition at a Bolgatanga High Court
restraining Madam Hawa Yakubu, MP-elect, from holding office as MP for the
constituency.
The petition also seeks to
restrain the MP-elect from participating in proceedings in the next parliament.
Counsel for Hajia Fati, Mr James
Benjamin Kaba, who announced this at a press briefing at Bolgatanga, said the
petition is "a prayer to the court to make an order for scrutiny of only
the results of nine polling stations, which had not been collated before the
violence erupted at Bawku on December 8.
He said a petition is the only
civilised way of challenging alleged election malpractice, and an indispensable
avenue for exercising one's democratic right.
According Hajia Seidu, her agents
were not present when ballots in nine boxes were counted.
Mr Kaba added that if the people
involved in the Bawku violence had appreciated the rationale in the law that
allows an aggrieved party to challenge the outcome of an election, the violence
could have been averted.
He said the incident is
regrettable in view of the international community's appreciation of the free
and fair manner the December 7 election was conducted, adding that it was a
minus to Ghana's reputation.
He argued that in the
circumstances of the petition at hand, Section 21 of PNDC Law 284 of 1992
mandates the high court to order the production of the said nine ballot boxes
for proper recount.
Mr Kaba further contended that
since the declared results had not been recounted in the presence of lawful
agents of his client, the Electoral Commission could not have rightly declared
those results.
"The petition filed is
neither challenging malpractices in the conduct of elections in the
constituency nor seeking an order for nullification of the entire results. It
is a prayer to the high court to decree a scrutiny of only nine polling station
ballots," he explained,
The polling stations in contention
are Tukzua; Kpalnaba; Zabugu; Jenteega Number One; Yakote; Widi Primary School;
Dabia Primary School; Sugud Primary School, and Boya-Natinga.
Madam Hawa Yakubu and the Upper
East regional office of the EC are required to appear in court or be
represented by their solicitors eight days after the filing of the petition.
GRi…/
Aflao (Volta Region) 18 Dec. 2000
Four people have appeared before the Aflao Circuit Court on a provisional charge of murdering Mr. Kofi Agama Agbanu, a teacher, who was found dead in his room at Ehie-Adrume near Dzodze on October 17, this year.
They are Dofi Mikesokpor, the deceased's landlady, Huze Agbanyo, her husband, Victoria Adasi, also a teacher and co-tenant of the deceased and David Mensah.
They were granted 10 million cedis bail each with one surety to be justified and would re-appear on December 20.
Inspector Enoch Adjatey told the court presided over by Mr Francis Opoku that Agbanu, who attended Dambai Training College in the Volta Region, was posted to the Adrume Junior Secondary School.
He said Agbanu reported on September 13, rented a room from Mikesokpor and moved in on October 1, after paying 120,000 cedis rent advance.
The prosecution said David Mensah, told the police that on October 15, he visited the deceased, who complained of ill health.
Mensah told the police that Agbanu pleaded with him to pass the night with him but he declined.
The prosecution said Mensah stated that he did not see the deceased the following day, October 16 and enquired from the headmaster on October 17, who also said he did not see him the previous day.
Chief Inspector Adjatey said Mensah then informed the landlady who produced a duplicate key. When Agbanu's room was opened, he was found dead.
An autopsy at the Ho Regional Hospital, indicated the deceased died of unnatural cause.
GRi…/