The Supreme Court has warned it will go ahead to make a determination of the case against the two former Guantanamo detainees in Ghana, if the Attorney General fails to appear in court on Wednesday, June 22.
The decision by the five-member panel of judges, followed the failure of the AG’s representative to appear in court today [Tuesday], after several other instances of absence.
Two Ghanaian citizens, Margaret Bamful and Henry Nana Boakye, about a month ago, sued the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, together with the Minister of Interior, accusing President John Mahama of illegally bringing in the two former Gitmo detainees, without recourse to the laws of the land.
The plaintiffs are seeking among other reliefs a “declaration that on a true and proper interpretation of Article 75 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the President of the Republic of Ghana acted unconstitutionally by agreeing to the transfer of Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby.”
A search conducted at the registry of the Supreme Court, on February 9, 2016, revealed that the Attorney General and Minister of Interior, were duly served with the plaintiffs’ statement of case on January 22, 2016.
Ex-Guantanamo detainees pose no security threat – US Embassy
Ghanaians met government’s decision to host the two as a threat to national security, but Government insisted the two men posed no threat.
In January 2016, the United States Embassy in Ghana, assured Ghanaians that the presence of the two former detainees, posed no threat to the security of the country.
“The two detainees that were transferred to Ghana have already arrived…we don’t have access to the specifics of their whereabouts, you have to go to the government of Ghana for that,” Public Affairs Counselor at the US Embassy in Ghana, Daniel Fennell said. Two Guantanamo bay detainees, Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby had been in detention for 14 years, after being linked with terrorist group Al-Qaeda.
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By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana