Court orders Jomoro MP to produce documents renouncing Ivorian citizenship in 10 days

The Sekondi High Court has ordered the MP for Jomoro, Dorcas Affo-Toffey, to produce documents to prove that she has renounced her Ivorian citizenship in 10 days.

The politician, entrepreneur, and philanthropist is being challenged in an ongoing trial over her legitimacy to hold the position of an MP in Ghana.

The 48-year-old won the 2020 parliamentary elections on the National Democratic Congress (NDC) ticket with 24,356 votes against her main contender, Paul Essien, who had 19,889 of the total votes cast.

Nonetheless, she was dragged before the law courts to prove that she did not hold Ivorian citizenship contrary to the laws of Ghana.

According to the petitioner, at the time of filing of nomination for the 2020 elections, Ms Affo-Toffey did not qualify to stand for that position.

To resolve the matter, the court, presided over by Justice Dr Richard Osei Kyere, on Tuesday, June 22, requested her to provide evidence of her renunciation for inspection.

The petitioner had argued that Mrs Affo-Toffey possessed both Ivorian and American citizenship.

In her response, she said she has never been an American citizen.

She, however, admitted that she was an Ivorian Citizen but renounced that citizenship before she filed her nominations to contest the December 2020 polls.

Meanwhile, the petitioner, among other things, is praying the court to declare that the election of Ms Affo-Toffey as the MP for the area was null and void.

He wants the court to cancel the parliamentary election in his constituency and further order the EC to conduct fresh parliamentary elections.

He also wants an order of perpetual injunction restraining the MP from holding herself as the MP for the Jomoro Constituency.