DISMISSED: Steve Biko’s writ stillborn

* The tale of last minute betrayal by Antwi’s legal team

IT WAS SWIFT, decisive and terse. “The ruling of the court is that the writ is dismissed”, blared the soft voice of Justice Asamoah of the Accra Fast Track High Court through the microphone last Thursday, December 18.

Spellbound, Major (Rtd) George Sarpong, counsel for Mr. Ebenezer Kese Antwi, Managing Editor of the defunct National Concord stood up to re-argue his case.

The judge then reminded him that the court had already pronounced its decision.

In Sarpong’s view, though the error on his writ was serious, the writ should be allowed to proceed.

Nope, countered a reserved Tanko Amadu, counsel for Mr Alfred Ogbamey, Editor of the Gye Nyame Concord. In his view, the error was fundamental and the time of the court should not be wasted on it.

Justice Asamoah agreed.

Within seven minutes, the decision on the battle between Mr. Kese Antwi, a.k.a. Steve Biko and four of his former partners on the defunct National Concord had been rendered on a motion brought by Ogbamey. Costs of ?2 million had been awarded against a dazed Antwi and his legal team for committing an elementary, but fundamental error.

Major (Rtd) Sarpong, a lecturer in law at the University of Ghana, Legon, and boss of the chambers where Steve Biko currently practice as a lawyer, had committed the most basic irregularity that first year students of law admit is a trite law.

His 29-point statement of claim filed on behalf of Antwi, his junior at their chambers, flouted the mandatory requirement of Order 4 rule (1) of the rules of courts, which requires that the solicitor of the plaintiff endorse on the writ of summons the address of plaintiff.

According to Order 4 (rule 1), “The solicitor of a plaintiff suing by a solicitor shall indorse upon the writ of summons the address of the plaintiff and his own name or firm and his own place of business within the jurisdiction which shall be an address for service when notices, pleadings, orders, summonses, warrants and other documents, proceedings and written communications if not required to be served personally, may be left for him.”

Steve Biko’s writ did not contain his address or a place of contact for him.

So basic was the flaw that Mr Tanko Amadu, counsel for Ogbamey, did not need to go through the writ when he was handed the brief.

“Go and rest, Ogbamey” he said, adding that he would enter a conditional appearance and a motion later to strike out the writ. Barely a week later, he filed the motion which led to the dismissal of Steve Biko’s writ.

Days before the ruling, Sarpong had in a gentleman’s agreement with Tanko accepted the error and offered not to contest the case. He also agreed to pay ?500, 000 as cost in order for counsel for Ogbamey not to oppose his effort to cure the defect.

On the D-day however, Sarpong entered the courtroom atop the Supreme Court building in Accra waving his affidavit in opposition to the motion, handed it over to Tanko, expressing his readiness to battle.

A furious Tanko, who could not believe his eyes and felt that Sarpong had gone back on their agreement and wanted to ambush him in court, then sized himself up for the legal battle ahead.

Opening his argument, he contended that plaintiff’s address was non-existent on the writ and that it was such a fundamental error on the part of his opposing counsel, basing his argument on Order 4.

“Read Order 4! What does it say?’ asked Justice Asamoah.

Tanko read, and followed the judge’s directive to sit.

But Major Sarpong would not buy Tanko’s argument. The address of plaintiff, he argued, was in a paragraph in the pleadings. Moreover, since Antwi was a lawyer and a journalist who works with him at the same chambers, his (Antwi’s) address could be presumed to be that of his (Sarpong’s) chambers, he argued.

The requirement is that the address ought to be on the face of the writ, countered Tanko.

The judge agreed, ruling that the address ought to be on the face of the writ.

Case finished, a forlorn looking Steve Biko walked out of court by the side of his boss.

“I’m very, very sad. I feel humbled but displeased that the case did not go beyond the initial stages for the public to know the real truth” noted Mr Sani Siddiq, one of the three other defendants sued by Antwi in the still-born suit, who was in court to give moral support to Ogbamey. He was the only person apart from Ogbamey who had been served with his writ and his lawyers were getting ready to enter another conditional appearance the following day.

Concord gathered Antwi filed the writ after being urged on by Kofi Coomson, co-publisher of The Chronicle, at the Fast Track High Court seeking damages against Messrs. Ogbamey, Sani Siddiq, Isaac Ansah and Lambert Kuegbey, all shareholders of the GYE NYAME CONCORD newspaper and part of a 20% ownership team of the defunct National Concord.

The other members of the National Concord team not included in his writ were Mr Cofie Ammuako-Annan, one time celebrated Editor of The Ghanaian Chronicle presently with The Heritage and Mr Paa Kwesi Plange, another former staff of the Chronicle currently in the United States

Steve Biko also wanted publication of Gye Nyame Concord ceased, just like the National Concord, which he failed to sustain beyond its fifth edition after he revived it without his colleagues five months ago.