Court throws out UEW's motion challenging capacity of plaintiff
As a result of the ruling, an interlocutory injunction that the court placed on the operations of the vice-chancellor, the registrar and the director of finance of the university, pending the final determination of the lawsuit, will be in full force.
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Also, the UEW will have to file its defence in response to the case.
The lawsuit was initiated in May 2017 by Supi Kofi Kwayera, a former Assembly Member for Donkoryiem, a suburb of Winneba, against the UEW.
Joined to the suit as second defendant is the Minister of Education.
But lawyers for the UEW, in their preliminary legal objection, described the lawsuit as incompetent because, according to them, the High Court was not the appropriate forum for such an action.
They contended that the action should have been initiated at the Supreme Court because the plaintiff was seeking the enforcement of constitutional provisions.
They also argued that Mr Kwayera had no locus in initiating the action because he had failed to demonstrate that he had any personal interest or he would suffer any personal injuries by any action by the UEW.
Again, they were of the view that the plaintiff did not adopt the right procedure by initiating the action through originating the motion.
Related: UEW shuts down pending court decision on legitimacy of governing council
Dismissal
In a ruling that lasted about two hours, the court held that the High Court had jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit because Mr Kwayera was not seeking the interpretation of a constitutional provision but rather the enforcement of certain enactments.
The said enactments included Section 8 of the University of Education, Winneba Act (Act 672) and the Procurement Act, (Act 663).
On the issue of locus, the court was of the view that Mr Kwayera had the capacity to initiate the action per Article 41 clauses (b) and (f) of the 1992 Constitution.
Article 41 (b) states that it shall be the duty of every citizen “to promote and defend this Constitution and the law”, while Clause (f) states that it shall be the duty of every citizen “to protect and preserve public property and expose and combat misuse and waste of public funds and property’’.
The court also held that the mode adopted by the plaintiff in initiating the action was in line with Order 19, rule 1(2) of the High Court (Civil Procedure )Rules, 2004 (C.I.47).
Read also: Court chastises authorities of UEW for closing university.
Lawsuit
Mr Kwayera, in his legal action, claimed that the tenure of the Governing Council of the UEW elapsed in November 2013 after its members had served two two-year terms.
According to him, the Ministry of Education failed to constitute a new governing council and allowed the defunct council to continue to operate, contrary to Section 8 of the University of Education, Winneba Act (Act 672).
He also argued that the Governing Council of the UEW appointed certain officers of the university, such as the vice- chancellor, the registrar and the finance officer and also “approved academic board recommendations for the award of certificates and honorary degrees’’, although it had “no such mandate’’.
The applicant further claimed that the council awarded “contracts to several companies to undertake projects without recourse to the Procurement Act 663’’.
He was, therefore, seeking reliefs such as a “declaration that the extension of the mandate of the governing council of the 1st respondent by the 2nd respondent to stay in office to perform such functions as a properly appointed council was in breach of Section 8 of Act 672 and a declaration that all decisions taken by the de facto body of persons who constituted themselves as the governing council are null and void and of no effect”.
He prayed the court to order the refund of all amounts expended by the university on any contract which “side-stepped the dictates of the Procurement Act’’.
UTAG
Meanwhile, the court will, tomorrow, July 12, 2017, rule on whether or not to allow the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) to join the legal action as third defendants.
The association has filed an application for joinder seeking to be part of the legal action.
During a hearing of the case on June 16, 2017, the President of UTAG, UEW branch, Dr Samuel Bekoe, told journalists that the lecturers would not go to work until the case was brought to a finality.
He described the legal action as a threat to the careers of the lecturers and a move which could invalidate the certificates of more than 65,000 graduates of the university.
University reopens
In line with Kwayera’s suit, the management of the UEW temporary closed the university on June 14, 2017 but reopened it on June 16 after the court rebuked the university authorities for using the ruling that placed the interlocutory injunction on the operations of the vice-chancellor, the registrar and the director of finance to shut down the university.