GRi In Court 01-03-99

Accra (Greater Accra), 1 March 

A bodyguard who inflicted cutlass wounds on his master was today jailed 12 months by an Accra circuit tribunal for causing harm.

William Ayikor, also known as 'Machoman', pleaded guilty, saying he committed the offence under the influence of alcohol provided by his master, Mr Josiah Dadson, a businessman who is also head of the security section of a private company in Accra.

The tribunal, chaired by Mr Charles Quist, asked Ayikor to sign a bond to be of good behaviour for 12 months after the completion of his sentence or go to prison for another 12 months.

The prosecution said on December 24, last year, both Mr Dadson and the accused had drinks together in the evening and later Mr Dadson retired to bed.

At about 2 a.m., Mr Dadson heard an unusual noise from his verandah and when he came out, he saw the accused and questioned him about his mission in the house at that time.

The accused suddenly grabbed a cutlass lying nearby and inflicted wounds on Mr Dadson's head and chest jumped over a wall and bolted.

Kumasi (Ashanti),1 March  

A Kumasi High Court presided over by Mr Justice A. K. Abada today ruled that it has the jurisdiction to hear the libel suit filed by Nana Akwasi Agyemang, Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive against Mr Ebo Quansah, Editor and Mr Dominic Jale, a reporter of the Ghanaian Chronicle for 500 million cedis damages.

The court, therefore, dismissed an application by Mr Akoto Ampaw, counsel for the defendants and awarded 200,000 cedis cost against them.

It ordered that the case should take its normal course at the court.

At an earlier sitting of the court on Thursday, January 28, this year, Mr Akoto Ampaw prayed the court to transfer the case to an Accra High Court because the court is not properly constituted to hear the libel suit since both defendants reside in Accra and carry on their business there.

Last December, Nana Akwasi Agyemang filed the writ against the defendants for allegedly publishing in the November 20-27, 1998 edition of the Ghanaian Chronicle that he has diverted 10 Jumbo tyres belonging to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) purchased for the assembly's earth moving grader.

In his statement of claim, Nana Agyemang said the Publication did not only seriously or severely injure his credibility and reputation in his office as the KMA Chief Executive but his respected position as a royal of the Golden Stool of Ashanti.

It also brought him (plaintiff) into scandal, odium, hatred, ridicule contempt and imputed criminality to his position.

Isaac Kwame Addo, a driver, was on Friday sentenced to three years' imprisonment in hard labour by an Accra circuit tribunal for stealing a mini-bus, valued at 15 million cedis.

Addo, also known as Kwame Ananse, pleaded guilty, saying his acceptance of guilt was to safe the time of the panel and also not to incur their displeasure.

The tribunal, chaired by Mr Charles Quist, ordered that the vehicle, which has been retrieved by the police, should be handed over to Madam Florence Ofori Atta, the owner.

Police Inspector Joseph Anneh Kwame told the tribunal that on January 22, this year, Mr Bright Adjei, the driver of the vehicle, was suddenly taken ill after loading passengers travelling from Madina to Accra.

He therefore asked the accused person, then at the station, to drive the passengers to Accra. Accused did so but neither he nor the vehicle was seen again until the police arrested him after 30 days at Samreboi, in the Western Region.

When he was asked to account for the 30 days' work he had done, he said he used the amount to pay a court fine for careless driving when he was involved in an accident.

Tema, (Greater Accra) 1 March,  

The Tema district council of labour (TDCL) Saturday registered its displeasure at the inability of an Accra high court to give judgement in a case involving workers of the Ghana Textile Manufacturing Company (GTMC).

"After exercising restraint for almost two years, we are disappointed especially because the court is aware that before the workers can enter into any negotiation with management, they must obtain a collective bargaining certificate from the chief labour officer".

An Accra high court has for the past two years placed an interim injunction restraining the chief labour officer from issuing a bargaining certificate in respect of the GTMC workers following a suit filed by the textile garment and leather workers union (TEGLEU).

In a statement to the Chief Justice, signed by Mr Mohammed Baba Tiara, secretary of the TDCL, the workers said the case has been adjourned 16 times, while some of them who have worked for about 10 years earn a paltry 35,000 cedis a month.'

It said 29 of the workers have died and a lot of them can no longer afford to pay their children's education bills, "simply because some one is preventing us from joining a union of our choice, thereby depriving us of our right to negotiate.

"At the moment we are at a loss as to whether or not the court is alive to the consequences of these numerous adjournments", it said, The statement said the entire workers of Tema "will no longer sit down unconcerned while the GTMC workers who are exercising their constitutional rights suffer and die prematurely.=94 The workers said if the case is adjourned at the court's next sitting on Tuesday, March nine, they will advise themselves.