The High Court in Accra has reportedly set Friday, June 23, 2023, to rule on whether or not to suspend the ongoing criminal trial of ousted Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson.
This is according to a news report by myjoyonline.com.
The report also indicated that Gyakye Quayson was permitted to be absent from the hearing on Friday.
This comes after the lawyers of the ousted MP filed an application to challenge the ruling of the High Court that stated that his criminal trial would be heard on a daily basis, on Tuesday, June 20, 2023.
Gyakye Quayson, through his lawyer, applied to the High Court for a review of the ruling on constitutional grounds.
The lawyer of Quayson argued that the ruling of the court was made after an oral application without notice to the accused person which is against good practices.
The court adjourned the ruling on the application to today, June 21, 2023.
Background:
The High Court in Accra, on Friday (June 18, 2023), ruled that the ongoing criminal trial of ousted Assin North Member of Parliament, James Gyakye Quayson, will be heard daily starting from Tuesday, June 20, 2023.
This was after the presiding judge, Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh, turned down an application for the trial to be adjourned till after the by-election.
The Court has since fixed June 20, 21, and 23 for the trial to continue.
Quayson was recently ousted from parliament after the Supreme Court of Ghana ruled that he was ineligible to contest in the 2020 parliamentary election because he failed to renounce his Canadian citizenship in time.
But there is still one case the former MP has to face in court after the Office of the Attorney General accused him of deceiving public officers to acquire state documents.
On February 12, 2022, the State charged James Gyakye Quayson with five counts; deceit of a public officer, forgery of a passport, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury, and false declaration.
Source: ghanaweb.com
