Dr Mustapha Ahmed, a former Minister of Youth and Sports, was sentenced to seven days in prison for contempt of court by the Accra High Court (Financial and Economic Crime Division 2).
On June 12, 2019, the court granted a perpetual injunction prohibiting the former minister, then the defendant, from trespassing on land in a judgment, but he violated the order.
The court also sentenced him to 30 days in prison or a GH12,000 fine.
If the fine is paid, the court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, ordered that GH5,000 be paid to Kofi Ammoah Kwafo, the man who initiated the contempt application against Dr Ahmed, Chief of Defence Staff and Director-General of Logistics of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
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The contempt motion arose from a land litigation case six years ago, in which Dr Ahmed, a former Member of Parliament for Ayawaso North, sold land to Mr Kwafo in the year 2000 and later repossessed it under the pretext of making a mistake.
The applicant, Mr Kwafo, attached the Chief of Defence Staff and the Director-General of Logistics in the contempt application because GAF personnel occupying a property built on the disputed land resisted execution of the court’s judgment.
Justice Asare-Botwe, a Court of Appeal judge with additional responsibilities as a High Court judge, noted in her decision that the Chief of Defence Staff and the Director-General of Logistics were not personally served with copies of the 2019 court land litigation judgement.
Mr Kwafo stated in his affidavit in support and written address that the respondents acted in such a way that they brought the administration of justice into disrepute by defying the authority of the court.
Justice Asare-Botwe, a Court of Appeal judge with additional responsibilities as a High Court judge, noted in her decision that the Chief of Defence Staff and the Director-General of Logistics were not personally served with copies of the 2019 court land litigation judgement.
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Mr Kwafo stated in his affidavit in support and written address that the respondents acted in such a way that they brought the administration of justice into disrepute by defying the authority of the court.
For example, the applicant contended that the first respondent allegedly disposed of the property to the GAF in 2017, which document was executed in 2018 and the application for registration was filed in 2019, as a result, having been made in 2021, when the court’s decision had already been rendered.
Mr Kwafo claimed that the GAF officers were in contempt of court when they obstructed the execution of the court’s decision.
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Mr Kwafo was represented by counsel Kwaku Osei Asare.
Mr Christopher A. Fynn, counsel for Dr Ahmed, stated in his written submission that his client cannot be found in contempt because no evidence was presented to show that he had violated any order, direction, or judgement of the court to warrant such action.
He denied having backdated the assignment of the sub-matter to the GAF or any other allegation of fraud, and stated that this was a ploy to enforce the court’s decision in a way that was not prescribed by the rules of court.
According to the former minister, the applicant used an incompetent process to bring the application in order to incite the court against him and the other respondents.
The Chief of Defence Staff and the Director of Logistics testified in court that there was no evidence of a writ of possession being properly obtained and served on them because they were not parties to the suit.It was their contention that posting the judgment on the property and writing to the GAF were not proper methods of informing them of the judgment.
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