The Supreme Court has adjourned to Thursday, January 10, 2022, the hearing of an application filed by embattled Assin North MP to enable the Court to refer to itself an interpretation of article 94(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution.

James Gyakye Quayson is in the Court of Appeal contesting a judgment of the High Court invalidating his election and ordering a re-run of the parliamentary poll for his Constituency.

But the question about whether a Ghanaian holding the citizenship of another country could be said to owe allegiance to that other country has become a contentious issue of law requiring interpretation.

Mr. Quayson is thus asking the Supreme Court in the instant application, to refer to itself the question of article 94(2)(a) and to interpret the same.

Lawyers for Mr. Quayson led by Tsatsu Tsikata informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon that the matter had been set down for Court without the benefit of Mr. Quayson’s reply to the affidavit in opposition and statement of the case of the interested party.

This, he argued was an aberration of the rules of the Court and prayed the Court to grant them a minimum of the statutory 10-day window to file the replies.

Lawyers for the 1st Interested Party, Michael Ankomah Ninfa, led by Frank Davis, however, contended that Mr. Quayson had the benefit of at least six days with which he could have filed the necessary replies.

He wondered how the lawyers could be arguing for time on a matter that they had brought to the Court. He prayed the Court to go ahead to hear the application.

The five (5)-member Supreme Court, upon listening to the submissions, granted Mr. Quayson’s lawyers up to Thursday, February 10, 2022, to file their replies and re-appear in Court.

Where is James Gyakye Quayson?
The Court, upon noticing the absence of the applicant, James Gyakye Quayson, quizzed the lawyers as to the whereabouts of their client. Mr. Qyayson has been personally absent, and without a designated representative, at all the Supreme Court hearings over his Membership of Parliament.

But Lead Counsel, Tsatsu Tsikata, informed the Court that, with respect to the instant hearing, Mr. Quayson “is having to attend to some urgent matters in relation to Parliament”.