The Ashanti Regional Police Commander and his lieutenant, who heads the Striking Force/Buffalo Unit, together with the Regional Lands Officer at the Lands Commission, were yesterday slapped with GH?6,000 fine for failing to appear before a Kumasi High Court to answer contempt charges.
The three are among four people being held in contempt of court for destroying properties on a tract of land situated near the Santasi Roundabout in Kumasi, which is a subject of litigation at the Kumasi High Court.
While the lands officer and Buffalo Unit Commander were fined GH?1,500 each, the Ashanti Regional Commander of the Ghana Police Service was fined GH?3,000 for willful showing disrespect to judicial process through their lack of personal representations in court on a number of occasions.
However, the fourth respondent, Akwasi Addai Odike, the failed presidential aspirant of the United Progressive Party (UPP), was not fined after it emerged that no notice was served on him to appear in court.
Odike’s legal representative told the court that apart from the fact that the court failed to give the respondent any proper notice for him to appear, he was also out of the jurisdiction and therefore could not appear in person.
The case was adjourned to May 30, 2017 for the matter of application for contempt to be dealt with in order to pave way for the determination of the substantive case.
Counsel for the applicants, Nana Obiri Boahen of Enso Nyame Ye Chambers, is praying the court to commit the respondents to prison for purposefully undermining the administration of justice in suit No:11/2015 titled: Obaapanin Adwoa Adowaa Vs. the Lands Commission and others.
According to the applicants, the respondents, who were in an unholy alliance, on the dawn of January 12, 2017 mobilized armed police officers and invaded the land during which they destroyed properties on the land lying between Southern Bypass road at Patasi, the Santasi Roundabout and the Odeneho Kwadaso Road.
They averred that the respondents, who were fully aware of the case pending before the court, acted maliciously to undermine the efficacy, integrity and potency of the judiciary.