The Supreme Court will sit today on the two lawsuits filed by Broadcast Journalist Richard Dela Sky and Researcher Dr. Amanda Odoi, challenging the passage of the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill and its possible assent.
Today’s (Wednesday, July 3) sitting will be the second time the Apex Court addresses this matter, with the first hearing taking place on May 8.
The two controversial lawsuits have temporarily halted the transmission of the Bill from Parliament to the Presidency for President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo to possibly assent to it.
Richard Sky, also a private legal practitioner, and Dr. Amanda Odoi, a researcher at the University of Cape Coast, are contesting the constitutionality of the passage of the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill passed by Parliament.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has declined to receive the bill from the lawmaking chamber, citing the two pending cases at the Supreme Court as the reason.
According to EIB Network Legal Affairs Correspondent Murtala Inusah, the two cases will be broadcast on television, radio, and other media platforms following the Chief Justice’s directives.
What happened on May 8?
On May 8, when the case was first called, the Supreme Court ordered the lawyers of Richard Sky, the plaintiff in one of the two cases challenging the passage of the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, to file a fresh motion by May 17.
The panel of five, chaired by Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, further directed Mr. Sky and his lawyers to file fresh supporting affidavits and a statement of the case.
This order came after the lawyers of the plaintiff, led by Paa Kwesi Abaidoo, filed two separate applications seeking leave to amend one of their reliefs and another to file a supplementary affidavit to their application for an interlocutory injunction.
While Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame opposed the request for leave to file a supplementary affidavit, the lawyers of the Speaker of Parliament, led by Thaddeus Sory, urged that a fresh motion paper be filed to clean the processes, which the Apex Court agreed with.
The Apex Court then directed the plaintiff and his lawyers to file fresh processes by May 17, 2024, and the matter was adjourned indefinitely.
Subsequently, a hearing notice was issued to the parties, with the hearing fixed for Wednesday, July 3, 2024.
Dr. Amanda Odoi’s case
In the other case filed by Dr. Amanda Odoi, the Apex Court directed the Speaker to re-file his application seeking leave to file supplementary affidavits within 7 days.
The Supreme Court urged counsel to be mindful of the choice of words used, as it was unhappy with the wording of the initial one.
Panel
The Chief Justice’s panel also includes Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Justice Ernest Gaewu, and Justice Yaw Darko Asare.
Reliefs
Among the reliefs sought in Richard Sky’s writ is an order restraining the Speaker of Parliament and the Clerk of Parliament from presenting The Human and Sexual Values Bill, 2024, to the President of the Republic for his assent.
The plaintiff is also asking the Court for an order restraining the President of the Republic from assenting to The Human and Sexual Values Bill, 2024, as such action will directly contravene the constitutional safeguards of liberties and rights of Ghanaians.
“An injunction barring any attempts to enforce the provisions of The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2024, particularly those criminalizing same-sex relationships and related advocacy efforts,” he asked.
Source: Kasapafmonline.com/Murtala Inusah
