Supreme Court describes conduct of Tema High Court judge as ‘shameful,’ calls for investigation

The Supreme Court has described the conduct of Justice Emmanuel Ankamah who sat on the case of the Estate of Rev. Emmanuel Dorgadzi (deceased) at the Tema High Court as “Shameful.”

Justice Emmanuel Ankamah, currently a Justice of the Court of Appeal has been referred for investigation by the apex court for dealing with a matter he had no jurisdiction.

The panel of five chaired by Justice Jones Victor Dotse (now retired) also described as “sordid” the act of the judge and the Clerk at the time, Sebastian Agbo.

In a detailed ruling of the apex court released on June 12, 2023, the court after prohibiting Justice Ankamah from further hearing the case and quashing his subsequent orders provide their reasons for calling for their investigations.

Justice Jones Dotse’s panel recommended that all officers who played roles in the shameful act be investigated.

“In our collective wisdom, we deem it appropriate to refer this case to the Chief Justice to cause further investigations into the conduct of the learned trial Judge and Sebastian Agbo, then Registrar of the High Court, Tema under whose tenure the sordid affairs happened.

“This should cover all officers who played any role in this shameful specie of conduct,” the panel Chaired by Justice Jones Dotse referred.

“We further advise and urge the Hon. Chief Justice to cause investigations into the apparent devise by the Interested Parties herein to undervalue the Estate of the Deceased.

“Learned Counsel who filed the application for and on behalf of the Interested Parties should be made to give explanation as to the basis of the valuations made in respect of the properties stated therein.

“It is the considered view of this panel that, such an investigation will unravel the phenomenon that parties have been adopting to undervalue Estate of deceased persons in respect of whose Estate’s they apply for Letters of Administration.

“We urge the Judicial Service to enquire into the circumstances that led to Sebastian Agbo, then Registrar of the High court, Tema being interdicted,” the Supreme Court urged.

Applicants reliefs

The applicant sought from the Supreme Court “An application for an order ofCertiorari to quash the orders/proceedings of the High Court, Tema presided over by His Lordship Mr. Justice Emmanuel Ankaman dated 18″ day of August 2022 striking out the Applicant’s caveat for want of
prosecution and for turther orders to quash the Letters of Administration dated 18 March 2022, issued by the said court to the Interested Parties herein and for an order of Prohibition to prohibit the said Judge and the Registrar of the High Court, Tema from further hearing and/or dealing with the Applications/matters in relation to the estate of the late reverend Emmanuel Dorgadzi

Grounds of application

It was the case of the applicants that, the High Court, Tema presided over by the learned trial Judge failed to observe the rules of natural justice, specifically, the audi alteram partem rule in Suit Number E6/199/2022.

The applicants also claims that the learned Judge had no jurisdiction or exceeded his jurisdiction when on August 18, 2022 he purportedly ordered for the striking out of the caveat of the Applicants herein for want of prosecution in Suit Number E6/199/2022.

It was also their case that, the learned trial Judge committed a jurisdictional error in respect of the estate of the deceased, Reverend Emmanuel Dorgbadzi when on the face of the record, the same court had earlier issued Letters of Administration over the same estate.

By Court

The court ruled that, it is apparent that, the conduct exhibited by the learned trial Judge would warrant this court (Supreme Court) to prohibit him from further hearing or determining this Suit No E66/199/2022 before the High Court, Tema or at any other forum.

The unanimous decision of the in granting the Applicants the orders for Certiorari and Prohibition on the 15 March 2023 as follows:-

“This is an application at the instance of the Applicants herein seeking to quash the orders/proceedings of the high court, Tema, presided over by His Lordship Emmanuel Ankamah dated 18th August 2022 and also to prohibit the said Judge from hearing and or dealing with any matter in respect of the Estate of Rev. Emmanuel Dorgbadzi (Deceased) Suit No. E6/199/2022 or any such related case.

“Having considered all the processes filed by the respective counsel and also taken into consideration their arguments as well as the exhibits tendered during the testimony of C.W.1, Hilda Epton, Registrar of the High Court, Tema, this Court is of the considered opinion that, the proceedings and orders made by the high Court, Tema presided over by His Lordship, Emmanuel Ankaman J, (as he then was) on the 18th day of August 2022 in Suit No. E6/199/2022 intitutled “In the matter of the Estate of the late Rev. Emmanuel Dorgbadzi – Deceased and In an application for the Grant of Letters of Administration by Mitchelle Dapaah Letten and Garfield Lee Jr. Applicants and in the matter of Caveat by Yaw Godwin Dorgbadzi and Monique Tetteh are hereby brought up into this court for the purposes of being quashed and same are accordingly quashed by order of
Certiorari.

“For the avoidance of doubts, the said Judge Ankaman as he then was), is alsohereby prohibited from hearing or having anything to do with this suit or any related aspect of it whatsoever,” the Supreme Court ruled.

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