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The Supreme Court of Ghana has set aside a contempt conviction issued by the Koforidua High Court against Ernest Kumi, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Akwatia.
The country’s highest court also stopped Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe from proceeding with sentencing the MP. This decision came after Mr. Kumi filed a judicial review application to challenge the High Court’s earlier ruling.
Mr. Kumi was represented by Gary Nimako-Marfo, the NPP’s Director of Legal Affairs, who argued that the High Court lacked the legal authority to hear the election petition that initially resulted in an injunction against the MP.
According to Nimako-Marfo, Ghana’s electoral laws require that any election petition must be filed within 21 days after the certified results have been published in the official gazette. However, in this case, he pointed out that the petition was submitted on December 31, 2024, even though the official gazetting of the results did not occur until June 6, 2025 — a violation of the legal time limit.
He therefore argued that the High Court’s jurisdiction had not been properly triggered, making its subsequent decisions, including the contempt ruling, legally invalid. He further criticised the court for convicting Mr. Kumi without giving him an opportunity to be heard, describing the move as a breach of natural justice.
On the other side, legal representatives for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Henry Boakye Yiadom, rejected these claims. They maintained that the High Court acted within the scope of its legal powers and that both the injunction and the contempt conviction were lawful.
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