Parliament is considering an amendment of the Chieftaincy Act which would soon make it a punishable offence to deliberately refuse to honour summons from chiefs in the country without reasonable excuse.

The consideration follows a Supreme Court ruling which struck out Section 63 (d) of the Chieftaincy Act, 2008, Act 759 from the Chieftaincy Act.

The  Act states that a person who “deliberately refuses to honour a call from a chief to attend to an issue commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than two hundred penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not more than three months or both”.

A former Chief of Goaso in the Brong Ahafo region Nana Agyei Ampofo challenged the Act and sought constitutional interpretation in 2012.

He posited that sub-section (d) of Section 63 of the Chieftaincy Act 2008 (Act 759) is an encroachment of the liberty generally and freedom of movement in particular of citizens and inconsistent with the spirit and letter of articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana”.

He also sought a declaration that “the said sub-sections a, b, c, and e, of Section 63 of the said act is legally vague and overboard and also inconsistent with the spirit and letter of articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana”.

Agyei Ampofo held that it may be entirely possible for a person to have reasonable cause not to honor a chief’s summon.

The Supreme Court in part agreed with the plaintiff and described Sub section (d) of Section 63 as unconstitutional because it did not make any provision for an offender who has a reasonable excuse to refuse the summons.

The ruling has led to chaos in some traditional communities, with some residents said to be refusing to heed the call and invitation from chiefs.

Now Parliament is looking to restore order by ammending Act 759 to include that if  the offender has no reasonable explanation for refusing a summon he will be punished by a jail term of three months.

The amendment will now read as follows: "d) being a subject of a chief or a resident of the traditional area of a chief or other person who is involved in a harmful economic or social activity within a chief's traditional area, refuses, without reasonable excuse, to honour a call from the chief to attend to an issue affecting or relating to that person or in the public interest" commits an offence.

The amended clause is in its second reading. The next stage will require a vote to become law.

The provision if so amended will make the offence punishable by 200 penalty units or 3 months or both.