Jail Freddie Blay for holding Steering Committee meeting : 3 Ashanti NPP members ask court
An application for contempt has been filed against six executive members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
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Counsel for the applicants wants the six — including the First Vice-Chairman of the NPP, Mr Freddie Blay, imprisoned for convening and holding a steering committee meeting in clear disregard for a pending application for injunction seeking to restrain the party from holding any meeting that has not been properly convened by the suspended Chairman of the NPP, Mr Paul Afoko.
The respondents are Mr F. F. Anto, C. K. Tedam, John Boadu, Sammy Awuku and Kamal Deen Abdulai.
Three members of the NPP have filed an application seeking to challenge the enforcement of what they termed the “purported suspension” of Mr Afoko.
The applicants — Emmanuel Tweneboa Kodua, Stephen Owusu and Joseph Oppong, all from the Ashanti Region, on October 23, 2015, filed an application challenging moves by the National Executive Committee (NEC) to suspend Mr Afoko.
The application was served on the NPP well after the decision on the suspension had been publicised in the media on the same day, October 23, 2015.
That, nonetheless, did not deter the applicants from filing an additional motion seeking to stop the enforcement of the said NEC decision and also to stop Mr Blay from convening any meeting in his capacity as acting chairman until the final determination of the case.
Contempt Application
Mr Azali Ackuaku, a lawyer, filed the contempt application at the Human Rights Court registry on October 28, 2015. It will be moved on November 11, 2015.
The applicants are praying the court to grant their reliefs because the six respondents knew of the pendency of the motion for interlocutory injunction but went ahead to convene the said steering committee meeting.
Their action, according to the applicants, amounted to flagrant disregard for the authority of the court.
Substantive Case
In the substantive application, the applicants are seeking an interlocutory injunction to restrain Mr Blay from acting as chairman of the party and convening and attending meetings.
They also want the court to stop the 29 defendants from taking decisions in any meeting not convened by Mr Afoko until the dispute is finally determined.
The respondents in the substantive application include former President John Kufuor, NPP flag bearer, Nana Akufo-Addo and Mr Blay.
According to the applicants, contrary to the NPP’s constitution (Article 9D), Mr Blay convened a NEC meeting on October 23, 2015
“to consider a purported report of the National Disciplinary Committee (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Committee’) on Mr Afoko when indeed Mr Afoko was able and willing to convene the said meeting.
The applicants argued that the decision to suspend Mr Afoko was communicated to Ghanaians through the media by the Communication Director of the NPP, Nana Akomea, while the Deputy General Secretary of the NPP carried the said decision to
Mr Afoko.
Mr Afoko’s lawyers have argued that the processes leading to his suspension were unlawful and, therefore, null and void.
Writer’s email: [email protected].
