High Court dismisses contempt suit against KT Hammond

A contempt suit filed against Trade and Industry Minister Kobina Tahir Hammond for his comments about the outcome of Assin North MP James Gyakye Quayson’s trial has been dismissed by an Accra High Court.

The Court, presided over by Justice Mary Yanzuh, stated that Mr Quayson’s counsel did not replicate the entirety of what Mr Hammond was purported to have said.

Mr Quayson’s lawyers brought the contempt suit in response to comments made by the Trade and Industry Minister during a media interview that were deemed contemptuous.

Mr Hammond is alleged to have compared Mr Quayson’s case to that of Adamu Sakande and implying that the Assin North MP will face the same fate.

Sakande, who won the Bawku Central set on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party in the 2008 Parliamentary elections, was in 2012 convicted by an Accra High Court after he was found guilty of perjury and forgery.

He contested and won the election at a time when he held multiple nationalities.

The Judge stated that it was obligatory for Mr Quayson to exhibit the entire interview to the court, but this was not done, and the court was deprived of the opportunity to know exactly what was said.

Justice Yanzuh said the court could not pass judgement on a man based on a manifestly incomplete publication.

“There is no room for conjecture. Evidence was required; therefore, the instant application was without merit,” Justice Yanzuh added.

Source: GNA