Four officials of the National Identifications Authority (NIA) have been cited for contempt of court of their roles in continuing the Ghana Cards mass registration in the Eastern Region despite being served with an intercalary injunction restraining them from doing so.
The four are Prof. Ken Attafauh, the Executive Secretary; Mr. William Kofi Baffoe-Mensah, the Head of Administration; Col. Peter Kwame Ghansah, the Head of Operations and Alhaji Salifu Abdulai, the Head of Operations of the Southern Zone of NIA.
The contempt application, “the Applicants caused an interlocutory injunction to be issued against the National Identification Authority to restrain the NIA from continuing with registration and issuance of the Ghana card in the Eastern Region by virtue of the corona outbreak in Ghana”
However, the NIA, it “was served with the originating motion and interlocutory injunction, the NIA issued a statement claiming that the NIA would not suspend the mass registration and issuance of the Ghana card.”
“That on Friday, 20th March, 2020 the NIA still went ahead to register and issue the Ghana card to people in the Eastern Region.” – the contempt application added
Background:
Yesterday, Awake News reported that two citizens of Ghana, Mr. Kevor Mark-Oliver and Mr. Emmanuel Akumatey Okrah has filed a suit against the National Identification Authority (NIA) over its decision to commerce the mass registration exercise of the Ghana card in the Eastern Region of Ghana despite president’s directive suspending of public gatherings amid the deadly Covid 19 spread.
In the writ filed at the High Court, Human Right Division in Accra sighted by Awake News, the two are asking the court to “restrain the Respondents, their agents, privies and assigns from continuing with the mass registration in the Eastern Region for the Ghana card until the final determination of a Human Rights motion challenging the legality and constitutionality of the mass registration exercise in the Eastern Region for the time being in terms of the coronavirus outbreak by the Respondents.”
The applicants argued that “On Thursday, 14th March, 2020, Ghana recorded and confirmed its first two cases of the coronavirus” and “According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS), as at 18th March, 2020 Ghana had recorded and confirmed 7 cases of the coronavirus out of a total of 143 suspected cases.”
This has forced the “President of Ghana, H.E Nana Akufo-Addo on Sunday, 15th March, 2020 in a national address to the nation gave directives that all public gatherings including church activities, conferences, schools and many more should be suspended for at least four weeks.”
Subsequently, “The Government of Ghana has also presented the Imposition of Restriction Bill, 2020 which will seek to proscribe public gatherings of more than 25 people or more to mitigate the viral spread of the coronavirus. As a result of the directives from the President the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ghana issued a communique that the Ministry is suspending the issuance of passports except those considered as emergencies.”
“In spite of all these drastic measures by the Government to curtail the widespread of the coronavirus, the 1st Respondent issued a press release where the 1st Respondent stated that it is still continuing with the registration and issuance of the Ghana Card in the Eastern Region.”- the write said
According to the two, they “serious legal question to be tried or rights to be protected” and “That the Applicants stand to suffer irreparable damage in the likely event that the Applicants are successful in the substantive case.”
In the latest development, Ghana has so far recorded 16 positive cases of the deadly corona virus.
By: Efo Korsi Senyo / awakenewsroom.com
