Contempt case: IGP to know fate on November 19

Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame has prayed an Accra High Court to set aside it’s decision to convict the Inspector General of Police, David Asante Appeatu of contempt of court.

The Deputy AG is convinced the trial judge erred in law, saying he failed to take into account that none of the mandatory procedures required by the High Court rules for enforcement of judgement or for recovery of immovable property were complied with by the plaintiffs.

The IGP was on September 25, 2018, found guilty of contempt of court for willfully disobeying orders to provide security for the execution of a court order, for the sale of a 12-block flats belonging to two citizens, Samuel Aggrey Jnr and Augustine Gyekye.

The presiding judge, Justice Daniel Mensah, unhappy with the conduct of the police chief was of the view the appropriate sanctions needed to be proffered.

But before the sanction could be imposed, the Deputy AG informed the court of an application for suspension of execution and a notice of appeal on October 25, 2018.

He is therefore praying the High court to take a second look at it’s earlier decision.

The court has set November 19, 2018 to rule on the Deputy Ag’s request.

Background

The case started from 1988 when a woman, Mrs Aggrey (now deceased), filed the case against REDCO Company limited, claiming the company had failed to pay an amount of money owed her. She won the case as the court in the judgment attached the property, 12-block flat at Madina in Accra.

That is to say that if REDCO fails to pay the money the court will sell the property in order to retrieve the money for her.

REDCO appealed this decision but lost. But even before the court ruled on the matter REDCO gave out the property to the Ghana Police Service to house some of its officers.

The applicants then went back to court to seek an order for the police, who are now claiming ownership of the property, to vacate the property and rather help execute the High Court’s order to sell the facility.

Failure by the police to vacate, her lawyers filed another suit citing the IGP for contempt, arguing that the police failed to perform its statutory duty and for that matter have willfully disobeyed the orders of the court to provide security for the execution of the court order.

Justice Daniel Mensah who sat on the case ruled: “It is my humble opinion that the defence offered by the respondent after the applicant has successfully proved his case, is not legally tenable and the respondent has therefore failed to fully discharge the burden required to avoid a conviction and must, therefore, be committed for contempt of court and sanctioned accordingly.’’