Assin North MP James Gyakye Quayson has been directed to file his defence in a case seeking to stop him from holding himself as MP for the constituency.
This was after a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court ruled that the substituted service ordered by the court had been effectively executed.
This means the case has been brought to the notice of the MP.
By this, he is expected to file his statement of case on or before 16 March 2022.
On 22 February, the apex court gave the green light for a writ of summons against Mr Quayeson to be published in the Daily Graphic.
This was after several attempts to serve the legislator with the court processes.
But when the case was called on Tuesday, 8 March, the legal team for the MP led by Tsatsu Tsikata informed the court that its order for substituted service had not been fully complied with.
He said the publication in the Daily Graphic did not contain all court processes but had the order of the court and date for hearing.
He drew the court’s attention to two of such publications in the Daily Graphic on 26 February and 1 March 2022.
According to him, the publication in the Daily Graphic on 26 February 2022, had no other processes except the order for substituted service and hearing notice for the parties.
He said that publication on 26 February indicated a hearing date of 5 March which was a Saturday.
He explained again that another notice appeared in the Daily Graphic on 1 March, and again it had only the order for substituted service and hearing notice for the parties.
He insisted the 26 February publication was an error.
Mr Tsikata further argued that the time was not ripe for hearing the case because the court indicated that the substituted service would take effect seven days after the publication in the Daily Graphic.
However, counsel for the plaintiff, Frank Davies, noted that a misunderstanding of its order in respect of the Daily Graphic publication does not mean the MP is not aware of the court processes.
According to him, the other modes of service had been complied with, thus the MP had been duly served.
Having heard the parties, the apex court dismissed the objection raised by Mr Tsikata regarding the substituted service.
The panel presided over by Justice Jones Dotse held that the posting of the court processes at the Supreme Court, the High Court at Assin Fosu and the residence of the MP were enough to bring the case to the attention of the MP.
“The essence of substituted service is to bring to the attention of a party of the pendency of the suit. This court does not expect all processes to be published,” the court said.
How it all started
It would be recalled that a resident of Assin Breku, Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, had filed an interlocutory injunction against the Assin North MP at the apex court after the Cape Coast High Court nullified the December 2020 parliamentary results for the area.
The court said the MP weakened his case when his renunciation certificate showed 26 November 2020, less than two weeks to the general elections.
Per court records, Mr Quayson had two citizenship certificates at the time of filing.
He still had his Canadian citizenship when he filed for parliamentary elections between 5 October and 9 October 2020, meaning the NDC MP was not qualified when he applied to compete for the Assin North seat.
Per the judgment at the High Court on 28 July 2021, the MP was expected to step down as legislator for the constituency for a fresh election to be held.
But the MP to date continues to parade himself as the substantive MP despite the judgment of the Cape Coast High Court, the plaintiff argued.
Ghana’s laws bar dual citizens from holding public offices in Ghana.
In freezing the MP’s right to be in Parliament, the judge said: “the allegation contained is of grave nature, and he could not hold himself as MP.”
NPP strategy
On 23 December 2020, the governing New Patriotic Party sought to trigger a by-election by challenging the eligibility of James Quayson to contest in the Assin North parliamentary elections, but he won.
Legal practitioner, Gary Nimako, asked the Ghana Immigration Service to confirm if the NDC MP-elect had renounced his Canadian citizenship before the 7 December parliamentary elections.