Justices who have disagreed with the Supreme Court on Gyakye Quayson's ruling

The Supreme Court of Ghana, on May 17, 2023, ordered the Parliament of Ghana to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson as a Member of Parliament.

Justice Jones Victor Dotse, Justice Nene Amegatcher, Justice Mariama Owusu, Gertrude Araba Torkornoo, Justice Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Justice Yonny Kulendi, and Justice Barbara Ackah-Yensu declared that Quayson was not qualified at the time he contested the 2020 election in the Michael Ankomah Nimfah vs. James Gyakye Quayson case.

According to the court, the ousted Assin North MP failed to prove that he had renounced his Canadian citizenship when he filed his nomination to contest the 2020 general elections.

This decision of the court has come under the limelight once again after Justice William Atugubu, a former acting Chief Justice, criticised it. Aside from Justice Atugubu, some active and retired judges have also chastised the court for its ruling.

Here are the justices who have disagreed with the Supreme Court over its ruling and the reasons why they think the court erred:

Former Justice of the Appeal Court, Justice Isaac Douse

A former Justice of the Appeal Court, Justice Isaac Douse, was one of the first justices to criticise the judgement of the Supreme Court that led to the removal of the Assin North Member of Parliament, James Gyakye Quayson, from the house.

According to him, the justices who presided over the case made a serious mistake by ruling that Gyakye Quayson was not eligible to contest in the 2023 elections.

Speaking in an interview on CTV on Friday, June 17, 2023, the former judge said that the ousted MP proved to the court that he did his part to renounce his citizenship, which was sufficient.

“You write an examination, and you are given a result that shows that you have passed, but you are denied admission because you have not been given a certificate yet. So even though you have passed, because you don’t have the certificate, you don’t get admission.

“This is what the ruling of the judges means. They (the judges) erred bad time,” he said in the Twi dialect.

Justice Douse also said that the criticism the Supreme Court is facing over its ruling is justified.

He added that when Ghanaians living abroad get high positions in foreign governments, they are praised, but when one is going home to help, s/he is faced with unnecessary impediments.

High Court Judge Justice Daniel Mensah (Dormaahene)

The traditional ruler of the Dormaa Traditional Area and President of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, also voiced his opposition to the Supreme Court ruling that ousted James Gyakye Quayson as Member of Parliament in May.

Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, who is also a High Court judge by the name of Justice Daniel Mensah, expressed his disagreement with the initial ruling by the Supreme Court that nullified Gyakye Quayson's mandate due to his dual citizenship status.

Speaking at the 10th Atta Mills Anniversary lecture that took place over the weekend, the Dormaahene made it clear that he would have taken a different position if he had been sitting as a member of the panel.

“I would like to talk about an honourable person who was a citizen of Canada. He said he was not willing to stay in Canada, so he dropped his citizenship and returned to Ghana to help. When he got here, he had a bit of a challenge, and the Supreme Court ruled that his mandate as an MP should be nullified,” he said.

“Some of us were not happy with that. If I were on the Supreme Court, I would have taken a left position and not the right. The reason why I will opt for the left will raise another issue, so I will not say it,” he added.

He, therefore, called on the President and the Attorney General to drop the charges filed against the MP in the high court.

Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II argued that Quayson's overwhelming victory in the Assin North elections, where he secured 57.56% of the votes, should be taken into account.

Former Supreme Court Judge, Justice William Atuguba:

Justice William Atuguba, a former justice of the Supreme Court, is the latest to slam the apex court of the land over its judgement in the trial of Gyakye Quayson.

Speaking at a public lecture on ‘Protecting Our Democracy: The Role of the Judiciary’, on Tuesday, Justice Atuguba described the ruling of the court on the trial of Assin North legislator James Gyakye Quayson as scandalous.

He explained that the court should not have heard the case in the first place because it was adjudicated by the High Court, and the decision to do so goes against the basic principle of law.

He added that the Supreme Court should have executed the High Court’s decision and not started a fresh trial.

“The decision in the Gyakye Quayson case was scandalous. The Supreme Court re-adjudicated the matter already decided by the High Court,” he said.

Justice Atuguba said that the Supreme Court erred with its decision to declare Quayson's election victory null and void when the MP had clearly renounced his Canadian citizenship in November 2020 and the election was in December 2020.

He indicated that it does not make sense for the court to say Quayson owed allegiance to Canada when it had also cited his renunciation certificate issued in 2019.

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