A JUDGE at the Koforidua High Court [2], Justice Frederick Meizah Anyimiah, has complained to the Office of the Chief Justice to conduct investigation into the circumstances under which Obaapanin Asantiwaa Aboagyewaa of Akyem Apedwa, did not serve her prison term as ordered by the Court.
Obaapanin Asantiwaa Aboagyewaa, instead of serving her six weeks committal sentence of imprisonment for contempt of court, unknowing to the Court for some strange reasons, never spent a single day in the Nsawam Prisons as ordered by the Court. Rather, with the connivance of the Police, she spent her term of six weeks at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra, possibly to dodge another case against her where her subjects may destool her for having gone to prison.
Justice Anyimiah made the complaint when sitting on the Apedwa chieftaincy case at Koforidua High Court [2] on June 19.
His complaint to the Chief Justice followed a petition filed by Obaapanin and other respondents against the Judge’s continued sitting on the case after their committal of contempt of court.
The respondents, Obaapanin Asantiwaa Aboagyewaa, Odehye Yaw Asare,Opanin Kwame Nyame and Akwasi Darko, levelled destoolment charges against the Apedwahene, Barimah Addo Gekye.
The case was referred to the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs Judicial Committee that had Nene Darwutey Ologo VI-Chairman, Nana Appiah Kumi II-Member and Nana Osei Nyarko-Member. The Committee ruled in favour of the applicant and awarded a cost of five million cedis against the defendants
However the defendants, not satisfied with the ruling, filed an appeal at the National House of Chiefs Judicial Committee which had Nana Kwame Ansah as Chairman. Other Members were Nana Kwame Aburam Akpandu VI, Nana Ansah Adu Baah, Nana Tiafun Ampratwum II and Nana Hamidu Shani.
In the process of trying the case, appellants filed a notice of discontinuation through their counsel of which the case was struck out. But the Committee awarded a cost of 10 million cedis for the respondent, Barima Addo Gyekye.
Before Justice Anyimiah, could give the judgement, Odehye Yaw Asare, filed a petition against his continued sitting on the case to the then Chief Justice George Kingsley Acquah, complaining that the High Court Judge had a special interest in the case and therefore was not giving them fair hearing.
Accordingly, they were ordered by the Court to open the Apedwa Palace for the applicant to stay there until the determination of the case, which they did not do and attracted the contempt of court, which committed them to the Nsawam and Koforidua Prisons.
"That if his Lordship is not restrained from hearing the same application which is a clear intention of the applicant and his solicitor to imprison us, I am afraid we will not be heard fairly,” they petitioned.
Reacting to a query sent to him by the Chief Justice on March 17,2006, Justice Anyimiah, denied ever having any interest in the case.
Accordingly, ten of the signatories of the petition followed up to the Court dressed in red and wearing red armbands and headgears. Upon enquiries, the ten were identified and he [the judge] being of the view that the petition amounted to contempt of court, swiftly convicted each of them to prison for seven days.
He said, the order of the court was not carried out in the manner specified in the ruling so Obaapanin Asantiwaa Aboagyewaa and Seth Yaw Asare, both respondents were brought to court by the applicant, Barimah Addo Gyekye and having satisfied the court that the respondents were in contempt of the court, the judge ordered for their six-week imprisonment.
Justice Anyimiah stated that following the court’s ruling, the first respondent, unknown to the Court, never spent a day in Nsawam Prison as ordered by the court; but with the assistance of the Police, spent her term of six weeks at 37 Military Hospital in Accra.
"I am therefore asking respectfully that the circumstances under which Obaapanin Asantiwaa Aboagyewaa did not serve her prison term as ordered by the court be also investigated,” the High Court Judge ruled.
Chronicle has learnt that since March 17, last year when the Judge reacted to the query, no answer had been received and since he has no power to transfer the case to another Judge or Court, he keeps sitting on the case and adjourning it anytime it is called, while waiting for an answer from the Office of the Chief Justice. The case was adjourned to July 24.
