The members of the Western Regional House of Chiefs (WRHC) have settled the dispute over an election that had thrown the house into disarray. The agreement was brokered by the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ebenezer Kojob Kum, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ahanta West.
BACKGROUND
It would be recalled that the House, on October 6, 2020, held an election which was disputed by some of factions within, and this led to back and forth litigations at the courts.
In the said election, Tetreteh Okuamoah Sekyim, Omanhene of Wassa Akropong, was elected President of the House, but was challenged by the Omanhene of Eastern Nzema, Awulae Amihere Kpanyille III, in a nature of certiorari before a Sekondi High Court.
Amihere Kpanyile argued that the decision to disqualify him from contesting the presidency of the House was unlawful, and invited the Sekondi High Court, presided over by Justice Cynthia Taylor, to quash the election.
The court consequently quashed the disputed election and gave ten days for the House, through the Electoral Commission (EC), to conduct a fresh election.
Unsatisfied with the ruling by Justice Cynthia Taylor, Tetreteh Okuamoah Sekyim Hima Dekyi, Omanhene of Upper Dixcove, and Angamatuo Gyan, Omanhene of Gwira, appealed against the ruling by, first, bringing a stay of execution application. The court of Appeal then threw out the stay of execution on grounds that applicants failed to demonstrate how holding a fresh election would affect them.
A day to the holding of the fresh election, three aggrieved applicants brought another suit before another Sekondi High Court Judge, Justice Dr. Richmond Osei Hwere. The applicants, in their application, prayed the court to compel the National House of Chiefs (NHC) and the Registrar of the House to swear into office the elected Vice President of the House and the other five representatives to the NHC.
Their argument, in support of their prayer, was that the election of the Vice President and the five other representatives into the NHC was not a subject of litigation before a court.
Therefore, the court should make orders compelling the NHC and the Registrar to swear in the Vice and the five representatives into the NHC.
But the presiding judge disagreed, dismissing the application, that there was an appeal currently pending.
Still unsatisfied, the three applicants proceeded to the Supreme Court to file another motion for the court to determine, but even before the Supreme Court could make a determination on the suit, the three, through their counsel, withdrew the motion. This was after they realised they were out of time.
The five panel Supreme Court judges, consequently, dismissed the application as withdrawn by the three.
Still undeterred, the three went back to the Sekondi High Court with another writ, this time, praying the court to take a second look at its own ruling that granted the certiorari application filed by Awulae Amihere Kpanyile quashing the disputed election of the House, and consequently set its own ruling aside.
The court, after hearing argument from both parties, fixed January 19, 2022 to give its ruling on the review application. But even before the court could give it verdict, the WRHC, made up of the eleven paramount chiefs, had reached an amicable settlement.
Information available to The Chronicle indicates that, the settlement reached by the House followed the intervention of the sector Minister, Kojo Kum. At the settlement meeting, the Minister reportedly told the House that he would not allow them to leave the meeting without reaching an agreement to end the dispute.
Consequently, a four-member committee, made up of Awulae Attibrukusu III, Omanhene of Lower Axim, Awulae Agyefi Kwame II, Omanhene of Nsein, Nana Kobina Nketia V, Omanhene of Essikado, and Awulae Annor Adjaye, Omanhene of Western Nzema, was formed and tasked to lead the mediation.
Information available to this reporter indicates that, the four, consequently, invited Tetretteh Okuamoah Sekyim and Awuale Amihere Kpanyile, who were behind the multiple court suits, to listen to their concerns and what they wanted the House to do.
Awulae Agyefi Kwame II, Omanhene of Nsein, who confirmed the issue, told this reporter that, when Tetretteh appeared before the committee, he said that he would accept any position given him by the committee, in so far as that would end the marathon dispute.
Amihere Kpanyile, on his part, told the committee he would want to be President of the House.
Agyefi Kwame told this reporter that, following the demands of the two, the committee decided to hand over the President of the House to Amihere Kpanyile, and the Vice position to Tetreteh. On the five representatives to the National House of Chiefs (NHC), Agyefi Kwame said Hima Dekyi, Angamatuo Gyan, and Kwesi Agyemang, Omanhene of Lower Dixcove, plus the President and the Vice, were considered representatives to the NHC.
Agyefi Kwame continued that following the completion of the work of the committee, it brought its proposal to the entire House for endorsement or rejection. He said the entire House unanimously endorsed and approved the positions handed to the parties.
Aware of an action currently before a Sekondi High Court, Agyefi Kwame said the committee and the entire House had instructed the parties in the action to make sure that their lawyers write to the court to discontinue with the case.
