Member of President Akufo Addo’s legal team, Frank Davies, has described the inability of former President John Dramani Mahamah’s lawyers to file their witness statement at the Supreme Court as engaging in melodrama and theatricals.
The flagbearer of the NDC for the 2020 election, former President John Mahama is in court challenging the Electoral Commission’s declaration of the incumbent Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as president elect of the 2020 polls.
The Supreme Court last week, adjourned proceedings to January 26, 2021; thereby directing both the petitioners and respondents to file their respective witness statements.
But lawyers for the petitioner failed to file his statement; informing the court on Tuesday that Mr. Mahama had opted not to file witness statements as ordered by the court due to pending applications he had filed, including a stay of proceedings and an application for the apex court to review the dismissal of his permission to serve the EC some 12 interrogatories.
Speaking to the media in reaction to this after Tuesday’s proceedings, Mr. Davies called on their opponents to be serious as according to him, the Supreme Court is not a place for rehearsals and theatricals.
He said “The Supreme Court is not a forum for organise, rehearse and choreographed theatricals or melodrama. It is a place for real, hard and serious legal work. It is not for flying of literature, long prose and rather dull English devoid of any legal merit. I wish to advise my colleagues from the other side that if it’s broken don’t attempt to fix it. So we are ready for them on Thursday.”
Meanwhile, a member of Mr. Mahama’s legal team, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, in response to the comments by Mr. Davies defended his side’s handling of the issue; saying they were not disobeying the Court’s orders as alleged by the NPP.
He also downplayed claims that the petitioner and his lawyers were engaging in delay tactics.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Elijah Beyeni Yenibey|Ghana
