Don’t use technicalities & procedural issues to frustrate anti-LGBTQI bill – Gyampo tells Supreme Court

A Professor at the University of Ghana, Ransford Gyampo has appealed to the Supreme Court not to use technicalities and procedural issues to frustrate the anti-gay bill.

He says Ghanaians expect the bill to be signed by the President, therefore, nothing should be done to that their will and aspiration.

Speaking on the Key POoints on TV3 Saturday, May 11 in relation to the indefinite adjournment of the case, he said “To the extent that the president’s decision to sign the bill or not was contingent on what the Supreme Court was going to say I believe that an indefinite adjournment will unnecessarily frustrate any attempts at passing the bill into law that reflects the hopes and sovereign will of the people of Ghana, who are the owners of the powers that are exercised in the state by the arms of the government including the judicial arm of the government.

“If you look at how we have come as a nation and the support that Ghanaians have given to the bill any attempt to adjourn it indefinitely will be seen as frustrating the implementation of the bill which reflects the general will, hopes, and aspirations of the people of Ghana. If you look at the positioning of the president from Day One, he clearly didn’t want to respect the general of the people.

“I will urge the Supreme Court not to use procedural legal technicalities to also stampede the realization of the general will of the people of Ghana.

“If you want to locate who, in terms of power balance between the arms of government, I will place it at the doorstep of the legislative arm of government because it is within parliament that we have all Ghanaians being represented, it is not all Ghanains who voted for President Akufo-Addo, you need just 50% plus one of Ghanaians to become the president of Ghana.

“When it comes to the judicial arm of government is purely by appointment. So it is within the legislature that you can locate sovereignty and power of the land and of the people and so if the people, through their legislators, said this is the route that they want to go I think the least we can do is respect the expressions of the hopes and aspirations of the people. Any attempt at using executive power, any attempt at using procedural and legal technicalities to frustrate the realization of the general will of the people as expressed in this bill will be unfortunate and I know the good people of Ghana may not want to countenance that.”

The Supreme Court adjourned the case against the anti-LGBTQI bill indefinitely.

The apex court on Wednesday, May 8 held the view that the documents presented to it by the Speaker of Parliament contained intemperate language. Hence they have directed the lawyers of the Speaker to file new documents.

Prior to adjournment, the court had dismissed the preliminary objection by the lawyer of the Speaker of Parliament, Thaddeus Sory in the case against the anti-LGBTQI bill.

When the court sat to hear the case which was carried live on television, Lawyers for broadcast journalist Richard Sky who filed the case, sought to amend one of the reliefs on the motion for injunction.

Lawyer for the Speaker of Parliament Thaddeus Sory objected to this.

He argued that he had already indicated in documents filed earlier that his side objected to how that relief had been couched and so allowing them to amend it would defeat his objection.

After hearing the arguments, the Justices of the Apex Court chaired by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkoornoo ruled that “our considered view is that the preliminary objection is unnecessary and does not seek to assist any process before this court. Every party has an inherent right to present the appropriate formulation of their reliefs or other process before the court to enable the court to determine the real matters in controversy. The objection is dismissed.”

The Chief Justice further told the lawyers of the speaker that “You have taken our time and energy for nothing.”

Ghanaian Journalist, Richard Dela Sky, and Researcher Dr. Amanda Odoi are set to appear before the Supreme Court, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, to move their respective lawsuits challenging the passage of the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill.