A high court in Bolgatanga has struck out the name of the registrar of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs (UERHOC) as a defendant in a suit filed by the Paramount Chief of Talensi, Tongraan Kugbilsong Nanlebegtang, and the Paramount Chief of Sandema, Nab Azagsuk Azantilow II.
The court also awarded a cost of Gh¢2,000 (current equivalent of $124) against the two paramount chiefs after striking out the name.
The plaintiffs (the two paramount chiefs) sued the Paramount Chief of Chiana, Pe Ditundini Adiali Ayagitam III, and the registrar in connection with an election the regional house of chiefs held on September 16, 2024.
They claimed the election was in breach of the house’s rotational system of choosing its president and asked the court to declare it “null and void and of no legal effect” and set it aside.
The plaintiffs also asked for an interlocutory injunction restraining the paramount chief from holding himself out as the president-elect of the house and restraining the registrar from submitting the result of “the said election” to the National House of Chiefs until “the final determination of this action.”
In addition, they requested a permanent injunction restraining the two defendants (the Paramount Chief of Chiana and the registrar) from using their offices to “unilaterally” change the “known and settled practice” of electing a regional president who also represents the house at the national level.
The reason the court struck out the registrar from the suit
Subsequently, the lawyer for the defendants, Kenneth Adabayire, filed a motion asking the court to set aside the writ of summons for irregularity.
He told the court the registrar should not have been included in the suit as a party per the statutory law and asked that the 2nd defendant (the registrar) be struck out from the suit.
Delivering his ruling on the motion Wednesday, 23 October 2024, the court, presided over by Justice Charles Gyamfi Danquah, said it agreed to the position of the defendants’ lawyer.
“I have considered the affidavit in support of the application as well as the statutory provisions on chieftaincy in Ghana. The statutory law as well as legal precedents are clear on the fact that in instituting a suit against the Regional House of Chiefs the Registrar of the House is not a necessary party and therefore should not have been added as a party.
“The complaint of learned Counsel for the Plaintiff [sic] is that the application was brought under a wrong rule of Court. The authorities have pronounced that it is not the rule under which the application was brought which is gemain [sic] but the substance of the application. In the application before the Court what the 2nd Defendant wanted the court to do is to have the 2nd Defendant struck out from the suit,” said the court.
The court added: “This is a position I agree with and accordingly strike out the 2nd Defendant from the suit. The 2nd Defendant is not a necessary party. The suit (is) to take its normal course. Cost of Gh¢2,000 is awarded to the 2nd Defendant.”
The court is scheduled to sit again on Monday, 4 November 2024, on the plaintiffs’ application for interlocutory injunction.
The latest development comes about a week after the lawyer for the plaintiffs, Mohammed Tiamiyu, pulled out from the case on the first day. He did not cite any reasons for the withdrawal.
From congratulations to litigations
The Tongraan (one of the plaintiffs) did not contest at the election for any position but voted.
The Paramount Chief of Chiana (now the sole defendant) secured 19 votes ahead of his lone contender, the Paramount Chief of Bongo, Naba Baba Salifu Atamale Lemyaarum, who got 10 votes.
After the election, the Tongraan congratulated the winners at 7:35 p.m. on a WhatsApp platform shared by the region’s traditional chiefs.
“Congratulations to all who won the vote today and to those who lost should take heart for better luck next time. May God and our ancestors be with you all. Thank you all, TONGRAAN,” he wrote and, then, dragged the president-elect to court two weeks later.
Another paramount chief congratulated the president-elect on the same WhatsApp platform and filed a case against him one month later, also claiming the election was in breach of the house’s rotational system and asking the court to declare it null and void.
“Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations. Yesterday, we demonstrated to Ghana that with divent [sic] views, we can exist as a House. There was peace and with keen interest candidates impressed us with what they can do for the House if they are elected,” the Paramount Chief of Sakoti, Naba Sigri Bewong, wrote on that platform before filing the case against the president-elect.
He added: “For well over 5 hrs, the atmosphere was siren [sic] and EC officials were on their feet supervising the process. To winners and losers, I congratulate you all. Let us all rally behind our elected leaders to lift UPPER EAST REGIONAL HOUSE TO A HIGHER HORIZON! May our Almighty God bless us all.”
Source: Edward Adeti/Media Without Borders/mwbonline.org/Ghana
