K.T Hammond’s Contempt: We decide who to choose as our victims – Amaliba

Director of Legal Affairs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba, has said the legal team of James Gyakye Quayson choose who they drag to court for comments deemed Contemptuous in the ongoing criminal trial.

On Friday, July 28, the High Court in Accra presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh fixed October 19, to determine a Contempt Application filed by lawyers of the legislator against the current Minister for Trade and Industry.

It is the case of James Quayson’s legal team that, K T Hammond, a Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, had made comments that are prejudicial to the pending trial and has pronounced him guilty contrary to the presumption of innocence as per Article 19(2)(e) of the 1992 Constitution.

Director of legal affairs Abraham Amaliba who was speaking to Journalists after the Court sitting said the James Quayson’s legal team decides who to take to court.

“The minister (KT Hammond) made comments and those are the comments that we have brought to court,” Mr Amaliba explained.

“Those comments that we think affects the trial of James Gyakye Quayson. We choose our victims, everybody chooses his victim so we have decided that we are bringing K.T Hammond.

“Maybe another day, it will be someone else. Today we have chosen our victim to be K.T Hammond,” Mr Amaliba stated.

Meanwhile, the court has said James Quayson who is facing criminal charges would be made to subject the first prosecution witness to further cross examination should his lawyers fail to show up on Monday, July 31.

James Quayson has pleaded not guilty to Deceit of a Public Officer, forgery of passport or travel certificates, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury and false declaration for office.

Brief facts

James Gyakye Quayson is standing trial for perjury, forgery and other counts of criminal nature pertaining to his Ghanaian passport and eligibility to contest in the 2020 general elections.

The Republic’s case against Hon. Gyakye Quayson is that he lied on his passport application form filled on July 26 that he was not a dual citizen and that he held only Ghanaian citizenship.

This was in spite of the fact that he was yet to renounce his Canadian citizenship issued on 30th October 2016.

Further to this infraction against the law, Hon. Quayson also submitted forms to the electoral commission declaring that he only held allegiance to the Republic of Ghana.

This was despite knowing that the application to renounce his Canadian citizenship had not yet been granted by the time he filed his eligibility papers with the electoral commission on or between 5th and 9th October 2020.

Richard Takyi, a resident of Yamoransa in the Central Region prayed a High Court in Cape Coast to cancel Hon. Gyakye Quayson’s electoral victory because he was not eligible to have taken part in the elections.

The matter travelled all the way to the Supreme Court which upheld the ruling of the Cape Coast court. The apex court of the land subsequently ordered Gyakye Quayson to be removed from Parliament occasioning a by-election.

The National Democratic Congress in spite of the criminal prosecution he faces repeated him as the candidate for the election which he won. He has since been re-sworn in as the Member of Parliament for Assin North while his trial proceeds.