A member of the General Legal Council and a former President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Sam Okudzeto, has called for the resignation or dismissal of the ruler of the Dormaa Traditional Area, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II as a High Court judge.
Okudzeto cited the call by the paramount chief for the discontinuation of James Gyakye Quayson the Member of Parliament elect for Assin North Constituency’s criminal case, as his reason.
The President of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs, who doubles as a High Court judge, speaking at the 10th Atta Mills Anniversary Lecture that took place over the weekend, appealed to the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, to as a matter of urgency, abort the trial against James Gyakye Quayson.
He called on the minister to immediately file a nolle prosequi to discontinue the case for the sake of the public.
However, reacting to the comment in an interview with Joy, FM on July 3, 2023, Sam Okudzeto condemned the Dormaahene stating “it is wrong, it is repugnant, it is senseless for a sitting High Court judge to stand on a public platform and make an utterance of that nature.
The former GBA president also called for the dismissal or resignation of the High Court Judge.
“If I was sitting in that disciplinary committee of the judicial council, I would have asked him to resign or asked him to be sacked as a judge.
Gyakye Quayson is currently facing charges of perjury and four other charges related to his Canadian citizenship status at the time of filing his nomination forms for the 2020 parliamentary election.
The legal proceedings against Gyakye Quayson arose following a Supreme Court ruling that the Electoral Commission’s decision to allow him to contest the 2020 polls without proof of renouncing his Canadian citizenship was unconstitutional.
The apex court instructed Parliament to expunge Gyakye Quayson’s name from its records, nullifying his election and declaring it to be of no effect. Furthermore, his swearing-in was deemed unconstitutional.
According to the Electoral Commission’s announcement, James Gyakye Quayson garnered a total of 17,245 votes, representing 57.56% of the total votes cast. His closest contender, Charles Opoku of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), received 12,630 votes, accounting for 42.15% of the votes. Bernice Enyonam Sefenu of the Liberal Party Ghana (LPG) secured 87 votes, which represented 0.29% of the overall tally.
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