Rawlingses Accommodation Palaver: Lawyers fight over petition before CHRAJ

Two lawyers are heading on a collision course as debate over whether the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) can still continue to investigate a petition brought before it by a group, the Ghana Youth Movement over government use of state funds to renovate the private residence of former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings’ mother.

It has been revealed that the group that petitioned the CHRAJ was not a registered one. In fact, spokesperson for the group, Nana Agyemang Prempeh has apologized to the real owners (Ghana Youth Movement) for using the name of their registered entity wrongly, but said the group intends to go ahead with the petition before CHRAJ, but under a different yet-to-be-registered name. The real owners of the name have however, called on CHRAJ to discontinue investigating the issue, going even further to question the credibility of CHRAJ in going ahead to look into a petition brought before it without first investigating the background of the group.

This however, has been challenged by the two lawyers, Chris Akumey and Ace Ankomah.

Both lawyers speaking to Emefa Apawu, host of the Big Bite on Xfm 95.1, an Accra based private commercial radio station held divergent views as to whether the CHRAJ is mandated to continue the case now that it had been established that the group that petitioned it was a false one.

Lawyer Ankomah was of the view that the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice is not mandated to conduct background investigations on anybody or group that petitions it, even adding that the group needs not necessarily be registered to petition CHRAJ. “The Supreme Court has held many times and over that a body does not require registration before it can commerce legal action or in this instance, require an investigation of a public official. There is no such requirement under the law”. To Mr Ankomah, as long as there are identifiable individuals behind the organization, and not just a faceless group of people, the law does not require a registration before a person can even appear in court “let alone request that the CHRAJ conducts an investigation”. He said the options now available to the original Ghana Youth Movement, is to sue Nana Agyemang Prempeh and his cohorts in court for using their registered name, but he was quick to add that that takes nothing away from the petition before CHRAJ, saying the two issues are different and distinct. Mr Ankomah summed it all up in one word “nonsense”, comments by the owners of the name, that the credibility of CHRAJ and its commissioner has been dented in handling this case.

However, his other learned colleague, Chris Akumey disagrees strongly. Giving his explanation, Lawyer Akumey said the persons or group that initiated the action before the commission is not the proper persons or group to have initiated the action.

According to him, because GYM exists as a legal entity registered under the laws of Ghana, it has the capacity to sue and be sued through its officials. However, the group that petitioned the commission under the name, he said, doesn’t have the legal capacity to do so.

He stressed that the “issue of capacity is very fundamental”, adding that “if you do not have capacity to sue or be sued, any action initiated by you or against you will fail at the courts once the issue of capacity is challenged”. He therefore said that once it has been established that the group that did the petition lacked capacity, the action it seeks CHRAJ to initiate is defeated. He added however that, that would not be automatic as the onus now lie on the original bearers of the name to now petition CHRAJ to discontinue with the matter as the group that petitioned it lacked the legal capacity to.

Story by Robert Israel/Abena Asiedua Tenkorang Xfm95.1 Accra Ghana