Story: Yaw Takyi
The Minority group in Parliament says it will go ahead with its protest on Tuesday, September 12, even though the court has not yet heard the injunction application against the protest, which was originally scheduled for September 5.
The court on Friday overruled the preliminary objection of lawyers for the Minority MPs and directed the police to correct some irregularities in the injunction application.
The Minority MPs, through their lawyer, Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, objected to the police filing the injunction application without authorization from the Attorney General.
He argued that this practice is a violation of the State Proceedings Act, which gives the Attorney General the power to initiate civil proceedings in the name of the republic.
The court however ruled that the Police were powered by the Public Order ACT to institute an action to injunct processes but indicated that the filing of the application in the name of the Republic was irregular.
The court, presided over by Justice Edward Twum, gave the police the opportunity to correct the defect and file the action in the name of the Ghana Police Service or the Inspector General of Police.
The judge stated that the case would not be dismissed simply because of technicalities.
After the ruling, counsel for the MPs, Edudzi Tamekloe, asked the court to hear the substantive injunction application.
However, the court granted the police permission to amend the application and adjourned the case until September 18.
After the proceedings, the NDC’s Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, disclosed that the protest will be held on September 12, even though the injunction application had not yet been heard.
Meanwhile, the organizers of the #OccupyBoG protest will meet with the police later today to discuss the protest planned for September 12.