The Member of Parliament for Akwatia, Ernest Yaw Kumi, has filed a certiorari and prohibition application at the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn his contempt of court conviction issued on 19th February 2025.

The conviction, delivered by Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amadehe of the Koforidua High Court, also resulted in a bench warrant for Kumi’s arrest after he allegedly defied an interim injunction preventing his swearing-in as a legislator.

Kumi’s legal counsel, Gary Nimako Marfo, argues that Justice Amadehe erred in law by assuming jurisdiction over the Akwatia Parliamentary Election Petition despite the Electoral Commission’s failure to publish a Gazette Notification of the election results.

The legal team contends that this omission rendered the petition filed on 31st December 2024 legally incompetent, as it failed to properly invoke the High Court’s jurisdiction.

The MP’s lawyers further accuse the judge of bias and violating natural justice principles by proceeding with the contempt hearing, even though a motion challenging the court’s jurisdiction was pending.

Grounds of Application

The first ground of his application is that “the learned High Court Judge committed a jurisdictional error of law apparent on the face of the record when he assumed jurisdiction in a parliamentary election petition at the Akwatia constituency at a time when the Electoral Commission had not published the gazette notification of the results to which the election relates.”

Secondly, Ernest Kumi argues that “the learned High Court Judge breached the rules of natural justice when he proceeded to hear and determine the contempt application despite the pendency of the applicant’s motion to set aside the said contempt application for want of jurisdiction.”

Lastly, he contends that “the learned High Court Judge was biased and highly prejudiced against the applicant when he, among others, refused to grant counsel for the applicant audience on the basis that counsel had not filed ‘Appearance’ in the contempt application.”

Based on these three grounds, Mr Ernest Kumi is seeking six reliefs. First, “a declaration that the petition filed by the 1st Interested Party on 31 December 2024, in the absence of the gazette notification of the parliamentary election results to which the election relates, is incompetent as it did not properly invoke the jurisdiction of the High Court, and that any order founded on it is void and of no effect.”

Second, “a declaration that the contempt proceedings and the ruling dated 19 February 2025, founded on the premature election petition filed on 31 December 2024, is void and of no effect.”
Third, “an order of certiorari by this Honourable Court quashing the ruling of His Lordship Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe, sitting at High Court 3, Koforidua, dated 19 February 2025, the petition filed on 31 December 2024, the interim injunction order dated 2 January 2025, and the ruling dated 6 January 2025 made under the said premature election petition.”

Fourth, “an order quashing the ruling delivered on the contempt application and the execution of the bench warrant issued by the court dated 19 February 2025 by His Lordship Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe.”

Fifth, “an order of prohibition against His Lordship Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe from proceeding to sentence the applicant, Hon. Ernest Yaw Kumi, pending the hearing and determination of the instant suit.”

Lastly, he seeks “any other order(s) as the court deems fit.”

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has yet to schedule a hearing date for the application.