Thaddeus Sory, counsel for Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, in the ongoing defamation suit filed against him by Reverend Victor Kusi Boateng, has said his client will not get a fair trial due to the composition of the panel.
The lawyer has alleged that Rev. Kusi Boateng is a spiritual father of the Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Essaba Torkornoo, and hence suspects the trial will go against his client.
Meanwhile, counsel for Rev Kusi Boateng, Bobby Banson, has objected. He indicated that Thaddeus Sory’s assertions aren’t grounded in law.
The court has set Wednesday, June 26, to rule on the matter. The suit is aimed at restraining Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa from discussing Rev Kusi Boateng in relation to the National Cathedral project.
Having failed on two previous occasions, this is the third attempt by Rev. Kusi Boateng also known in other quarters as Adu Gyamfi to restrain the MP.
Rev. Kusi Boateng, a troubled member of the board of trustees of the National Cathedral project suffered a second defeat in July 2023, when the Human Rights Court dismissed a similar application in May that year.
Rev. Kusi Boateng’s lawyers have furnished the court with additional grounds, hoping to turn the tide in their favour in a legal battle that has garnered a lot of media attention.
Setting the basis for challenging the panel, Thaddeus Sory indicated that the composition of the panel was not constituted within the remit of the Constitution. He says it undermines his client’s opportunity to get a fair trial under Article 13 of the 1992 Constitution.
Thaddeus Sory claims that information available to their team shows that the panel has been reconstituted, with Justice Dzamefe taken off the original panel. For him, this contradicts the standard practice.
But Bobby Banson argues that Thaddeus Sory’s submission is nothing but hearsay and not grounded in law.
With additional files from Laud Adu Asare
