Court dismisses appeal against Osafo-Maafo, two others

Monday, August 11, 2008 (Page 38)

THE Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal filed against a former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, and two others by a man who calls himself Oppong Kyekyeku Chancellor Kohl.
Mr Kohl had filed a writ at the High Court against Mr Osafo-Maafo, Ghana’s former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Mr Isaac Osei, and Madam Yaa Helena, a businesswoman, claiming that the defendants had since November 15, 2003 withheld his £254,000 and refused to hand over his first class LLB Certificate awarded to him by a university in the United Kingdom.
According to Mr Kohl, the £254,000 was paid to him by way of compensation by the Home Office and Senate House University of London as a result of administrative error over his LLB examination and his subsequent remand for five months.
However, the High Court dismissed the writ on the grounds that it had no merit and was calculated to soil the reputation of the defendants after it studied the appellant’s statement of claim.
The High Court had on February 1, 2007 ruled that the action appeared to be an adventure for a wild goose chase calculated to soil the reputation of the defendants.
Not satisfied with the High Court’s decision, Mr Kohl then proceeded to the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision of the lower court.
According to the Court of Appeal, which was presided over by Mr Justice P. Baffoe-Bonnie with Mr Justice B. T. Aryeetey and Mr Justice E. K. Ayebi as panel members, Mr Kohl’s appeal “defy all known rules of pleading and actually defy comprehension.”
It said the statement of case filed pursuant to Rule 20 (1) of CI 19 added to the confusion, but, however, held that it decided to consider the appeal on the grounds that the appellant was not a lawyer and was also not represented by counsel.
According to the court, it also decided to look into the appeal on the grounds that the appellant had argued that the High Court’s ruling was completely against the weight of evidence on record.
Ruling on the matter, the court further held that the appellant disclosed no cause of action against Helena while the records indicated that Mr Osei was served with the writ of summons through a fascimile (fax) which was wrong, according to the law.
It further indicated that Mr Osafo-Maafo was also served through his Secretary by name Miss Beatrice while he (Mr Osafo-Maafo) was the Minister of Education and Sports.
The court, therefore, ruled that the Rules did not make room for service of documents through the medium of fax and it was, therefore, appropriate for the High Court judge to have ruled that the mode of service of the writ on Mr Osafo-Maafo and Mr Osei were procedurally wrong.
It, however, indicated that the appellant had the right to re-issue his writ if he so wished by adopting the right procedure.