Constitutional blunder.
Supreme Court throws out Pastor’s Application and slaps him with Ghc 5000 cost.
The Supreme Court in Accra in its ruling in a case between a Kumasi based pastor, Pastor Macaiah Addai Defendant/ Appellant of the Association of the 7th Day Pentecostal Assemblies and Elder Enoch Ofori and three other Plaintiffs/Respondents also members of the same same church on May 16 2023
ordered that the defendant ( Pastor Macaiah) should pay to the Plaintiffs/Respondents (Elder Enoch Ofori and team) an amount of five thousand Ghana cedis (Ghc 5000) been cost for failing to comply with the earlier judgements of both High Court and Court of Appeal respectively, reports King Amoah, our Chief Correspondent.
The court also indicated that upon reading the affadavit in support and in opposition to the motion,a through review of the annexures thereto, as well as carefully considering the submissions of both counsels of the parties, they were of the considered opinion that proper case was not been made to motivate the subject matter of the case in the discretion in favor of the Applicants (Elder Enoch Ofori and team).
A four member Coram who passed the ruling on the case include Justice V.J.M. Dotse presiding, Justice Lovelace Johnson (Mrs), Justice I O.Tanko Amadu and Professor H.J.A. N Menash-Bonsu.
The counsels for the Plaintiff/Appellants (Elder Enoch Ofori and team) Charles Agbanu Esq and Defendant/Respondent(Pastor Macaiah Addai) Kwame Asiedu Basoah were both present during the ruling.
The court source indicated that the background per the ruling was focused on the application for execution of the judgement of the Court of Appeal.
It was gathered that the parties involved in the legal tussle are all full church members of the Association of the 7th Day Pentecostal Assemblies.
And that upon the death of the founder/ president of the church Apostle Enoch Ofori Snr, confusions broke out between the Applicant/ defendant (Pastor Macaiah Addai) and Plaintiffs/Respondents ( Elder Enoch Ofori and team) of which it eventually ended them up in a legal suit in the High Court for amicable settlement in 2009.
Available facts have it that under the consent judgement from the High Court dated 15th May 2009, the defendant (Pastor Macaiah Addai) was to act as a leader/president of the Church pending an election of a new president in accordance with the church’s constitution.
The website learnt that as at January 2012 no elections were held to elect a new leader of the Association whilst the defendant continue to be at post as acting president of the church.
The plaintiffs it was said, suspecting foul play of the defendant’s actions instituted a fresh action to seek among other reliefs a declaration that the Applicant/defendant (Pastor Macaiah Addai) is not president of the church.
The High Court it was gathered dismissed the suit of the Plaintiffs ( Elder Enoch Ofori and team) ,but Court of Appeal set aside the High Court judgement and ordered that the defendant (Pastor Macaiah Addai should convene a general meeting with all the constituent Assemblies of the Association in the country within six days and elect new president as it was initially agreed and adopted per the consent judgement as earlier directed by the High Court.
But becoming aggrieved by the decision of the Court of Appeal the applicant( Pastor Macaiah Addai) by the notice of the appeal, filed on 14th July 2022 appealed to the High Court and mounted the present Application for an order of stay the execution of the said judgement of the Court of Appeal.
But the four learned judges upon careful deliberations and applications of the state laws discovered that the defendant (Pastor Macaiah Addai) was not ready to cooperate let alone complying with the Court directives for elections to maintain peace and unity in the church.
In the paragraph 6 of the 7 page ruling, part of the judges statements read _ We the Justices of the Supreme Court see no irreparable damage in conducting elections pursuant to the dictatates of the Assemblies as a consent judgements.
In any case, the Applicant/ defendant has not demonstrated good faith to warrant a favourable exercise of discretion.
Stressing that since the adoption of the consent judgement by the High Court the Applicant/defendant (Pastor Macaiah Addai) has faithfully held onto the position of President/leader of the church pending the holding of an election consequent upon the said judgement.
But the Applicant/defendant Pastor Macaiah Addai has rather curiously and consistently refused to hold elections in accordance with the same consent judgement.
In the circumstances,we are constrained to say with respect to the conduct of the Applicant /defendant Pastor Macaiah that such an approbation of a part of the consent judgement whilst reprobating the other part of the same judgement smacks of bad faith.
The page six of the ruling observed that the Applicant/ defendant does not deny the fact that from 15th May 2009 till date, the Applicant though benefiting from the consent judgement as interim leader/ president, has failed, neglected and refused to honour the other terms of the same consent judgement by conducting the elections as ordered by the Court of Appeal
Accordingly we dismiss the application for stay the execution as unmeritorious, and a cost of five thousand Ghana cedis (Ghc 5000) against the Applicant to the Respondents, the judges stated.
Attached pictures
Elder Enoch Ofori (plaintiff) left and pastor Macaiah Addai (defendant
