Kwame Owiredu, Lawyer for Ernest Kumi, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Akwatia has expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the Supreme Court ruling, describing it as a vindication of their client’s rights.
On Wednesday, June 11, the apex court quashed a ruling by the High Court in Koforidua, which had held Kumi in contempt and was set to sentence him. The Supreme Court also barred Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe from proceeding with sentencing.
The ruling follows a judicial review application filed by Mr. Kumi, led by his legal counsel Gary Nimako-Marfo, who also serves as the NPP’s Director of Legal Affairs. The legal team argued that the High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the election petition that resulted in an injunction against the MP and the subsequent contempt proceedings.
Speaking to the media after the ruling, Kwame Owiredu said, “As we speak now, Hon. Ernest Kumi remains the elected and valid MP for Akwatia. Hon. Ernest Yaw Kumi is as free as a bird. He’s a free man, and he will continue his good works as an MP for the good people of Akwatia.”
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision, Bernard Bediako Baidoo, lawyer for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate in Akwatia, maintained that the ongoing election petition at the High Court remains unaffected.
“The petition stands. The matter would be on unabted, it’s a valid petition, and we will pursue it. We await the analysis the Supreme Court will make, and we take it from there,” he said.
In this case, while the petition was filed on December 31, 2024, Nimako-Marfo said the results were not gazetted until June 6, 2025—well beyond the statutory timeframe.
He argued that because the court’s jurisdiction was improperly invoked, all subsequent rulings, including the injunction and contempt conviction, were invalid.
He also criticised the High Court for convicting Mr. Kumi of contempt without granting him a hearing, calling it a breach of natural justice.
However, counsel for the NDC parliamentary candidate, Henry Boakye Yiadom, opposed the claims, insisting the High Court acted within its legal mandate and that both the injunction and the contempt ruling were valid.
