Lawyer for Dr. Mahama Tia Kabiru, the disputed parliamentary candidate-elect for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Walewale constituency, has expressed disappointment following a court ruling nullifying the party’s parliamentary primary.
The ruling, delivered by the Tamale High Court on Monday, September 2, 2024, has sparked concerns among Dr Kabiru’s supporters.
The lawyer for Dr Kabiru, Samson Lardi Anyenini, argues that the ruling unfairly favours the plaintiff, incumbent member of parliament Hajia Lariba Zuweratu.
“The bottom line is that once it was established by fact, not concoction, by pure evidence, documentary, telephone conversation and video encounters to show that the elections were fair, our point was that the law is that if you commit a crime, you will not benefit from your crime.
“Once the plaintiff was found to be the one who got the people impersonating the six dead people, and who got the people impersonating the absentees, she must not benefit from her wrong. The law is that if you commit a wrong, you must not benefit. So our expectation was that the court would say, Yes, we found this, that it happened, but the person who did that is the one who has come to court, the plaintiff, so she must suffer, and not get a judgment in her favour,” he explained.
The defendant, Dr Kabiru insists he did nothing wrong in the polls and will explore all options to clear his name.
“You have committed an illegality and you are in court to use the same illegality to punish someone. I have never seen this kind of injustice,” he said.
Speaking to journalists after the proceedings, the lawyer for the plaintiff, Sylvester Isang, said “It’s better late than never.
“We believe that the party, at the moment, can even disregard what has happened in court. The party has the constitutional mandate to reopen nominations and even disregard the two candidates and invite other people who are willing to come forward.”
The court’s decision comes in response to a challenge to the election results by the sitting Member of Parliament (MP), Hajia Lariba Zuweira Abudu.
The election, which took place under stringent security measures and was attended by regional and constituency executives, resulted in a victory for Dr. Kabiru with 345 votes, compared to the sitting Member of Parliament (MP), Hajia Lariba Zuweratu’s 338 votes.
In the primary, two other candidates, Tahiru Sham-Una and Jangdoo Mahama, received 145 and 1 vote, respectively.
Hajia Lariba Abudu promptly disputed the election results and lodged an ex parte motion at the Tamale High Court, accusing the party, Dr Kabiru, and the Electoral Commission of electoral irregularities and misconduct.
She requested an injunction to stop Dr Kabiru from declaring himself the victor, a request that was granted.