The Supreme Court has in a unanimous decision, ruled that the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho, violated the constitution by not always swearing the presidential oath in the absence of the President and his vice.
The ruling given on Thursday December 3, settles a case in which the Chief Executive Officer of Citi FM, Samuel Atta-Mensah, prayed the court to declare as unconstitutional, the Speaker of Parliament’s decision not to swear an oath on two consecutive occasions in the absence of President John Mahama and the Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur.
[contextly_sidebar id=”WEWIRDh8Z6wfC0owLsgBrOwJJBFLEYpl”]According to the nine-member panel, the Speaker of Parliament is obliged to swear the oath anytime he assumes the position when the two are out of the country.
They further indicated that the swearing of the oath was not a mere formality but an event that reminds him of his duties as a president.
The Apex court in its ruling also said it could hold the speaker for committing a high crime by refusing to swear the oath, although that was not the case brought before it by the complainant.
Mr. Adjaho, on two occasions, refused to take the mandatory oath of office, while President John Mahama was away in Burkina Faso and Vice President Amissah-Arthur was also out of the country on an official assignment.
Doe Adjaho stuck to his decision despite a letter from the President, John Mahama to the Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Woode to swear him in.
Samuel Atta Mensah sought an interpretation of Article 60 (12) in the 1992 constitution, which requires that the Speaker takes the oath of office each time he is to act as President.
Article 60 (12) states that “The Speaker shall before commencing to perform the functions of the President under clause (11) of this article, take and subscribe the oath set out in relation to the office of President.”
The lawyers who represented the Citi FM CEO are lead counsel Yaw Oppong, Nii Apatu Plange Clement Kojo Akapame and Chris Osei Yeboah.
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By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana