General News of Wednesday, 30 December 2020

Source: starrfm.com.gh

AG’s intervention in Amewu’s injunction shocking – Amaliba

Legal team member of the NDC, Abraham Amaliba Legal team member of the NDC, Abraham Amaliba

A member of the NDC legal team, Abraham Amaliba has described as an anomaly, a law suit filed by the state in defense of the John Peter Amewu over an interim injunction secured by the people of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi restraining him from holding himself as MP for the Hohoe constituency.

The State through the Attorney General has filed a case at the Supreme Court challenging the order of the Ho High Court and wants the decision quashed. In the suit, the State said the ruling from the court “constituted a patent error” since it did not have the capacity to hear the matter.

But reacting to the development on Starr Today with Naa Dedei Tettey, Mr. Amaliba said the state was not party to the suit and was strange for it to involve itself in the matter.

“I was so shocked to my bone marrow. What is the interest of the State in this matter? Once again democracy in this country has been thrown to the dogs. Our democracy is suffering. Why would the Attorney General in a matter like this go to the Supreme Court requesting that the Supreme Court quashes the decision of the High Court? What is the interest of the Attorney General in this matter? This is the between the citizens of the Guan area against the MP-elect for Hohoe John Peter Amewu. So where does the AG come in?" Mr. Amaliba quizzed.

He also punched holes in the assertion by the state that it was seeking to prevent a constitutional crisis.

“I have heard the AG say that that ruling will create a constitutional crisis and it’s on that basis that he is coming in. What is more a constitutional crisis than ignoring the appeals of thousands of people who want to vote for their MP and were denied? Do we have a more constitutional crisis than that? So please what is happening in this country? We don’t know and unless those who are supposed to speak rise up and talk, I am afraid we are heading towards something that we’ll all regret.”

Mr. Amaliba added “Whoever is doing that and allowing the Attorney General to do these things to the people of this country will regret one day. The state has no responsibility in this matter at all. I sue a PC then the State comes in to intervene in the matter and we are all sitting down because the group of people ruling this country are the real owners and the rest of us are tenants”.

He told Starr News he was sure the lawyers for the residents of four areas, Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) will respond accordingly to the AG’s suit.

“Lawyers of those citizens in the Guan area are capable of dealing with this matter and will go to the Supreme Court and argue along these lines that the AG has no business in this matter and that whatever application has been filed is incompetent, has no place in our law and so it should be thrown out. They are capable so they will do that," Abraham Amaliba concluded.

Meanwhile, an application for abridgment of time is expected to be heard by the Supreme Court today Wednesday (December 30, 2020).

Per the original date the case was to be heard on January 21, next year, but the A-G has filed an application for abridgment of time to bring the case forward.

According to the AG, the case ought to be heard early because it had implications on the composition of the next parliament scheduled for January 7, next year.