Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng, now known by the public as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi in an application, has asked the High Court to cite the North Tongu Member of Parliament (MP), Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, for contempt after he kicked a court writ on the ground upon service by bailiff.
According to him Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has brought the administration of justice and the authority of the law as well as the Honorable Court into disrepute and same ought to be punished by the Court, by committal to prison for contempt. He said the court’s action will protect the whole administration of justice and serve as a deterrent to others.
The North Tongu Member of Parliament (MP), Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa kicked away a writ filed against him by the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, Rev Victor Kusi-Boateng. The order seeks to restrain him from making further public disclosures of the private information, documents, correspondence, communication and property belonging to the Applicant; and for such further order or orders as the Court deems fit.
Ablakwa was served by a bailiff on the premises of Metro Television after appearing on their morning show, Good Morning Ghana because the bailiff has been chasing the MP around for days. In a video, the legislator who was seen standing by his vehicle in the company of the bailiff, later entered the car in an attempt to drive off.
However, after the bailiff tried to force it into his car with no possibility of doing so, the bailiff dropped the document on the ground in his presence. This compelled Mr Ablakwa to get out of the car. He then kicked the document away from his vehicle, returned to his seat and drove off.
You Can’t Serve Him a Writ On His Way To Parliament
The former Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Suhum, Margaret Ansei popularly known as Magoo, has stated that the Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzato Ablakwa, did nothing wrong in rejecting the service of legal documents as captured in the viral video.
According to her, it is against the law for the bailiff to give the said court order to the Member of Parliament while he is performing parliamentary duties or attending parliamentary sessions. She continued that the bailiff is only allowed to serve the latter through the Speaker of Parliament and not directly.
She claimed that the bailiff failed to introduce himself to the lawmaker and that the latter informed the former that he was on his way to perform a parliamentary duty, leading to his refusal of the documents. She added that it would be unfair for the MP to face legal repercussions for his conduct because that is not how the law specifies serving a lawmaker with writs.
“So, he wouldn’t even know what you’re carrying and looking at this critical issue and the revelations that are coming, anybody can do anything at all. Why do you throw something at him? And you want him to carry it and take it along. Can you imagine? You the bailiff threw something at a Member of Parliament when he had explained to you that, he is not preventing you but do the right thing. I am on my way (to Parliament) and if you’re a bailiff truly, you should know that you should serve him through the Speaker of Parliament.”
Margaret Ansei
Magoo further pointed out that, “What stops him from serving him through the Speaker of Parliament? But rather than throwing the thing at him and you expect him to bend down and take it, who does that?”
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