‘Swear in Prince Asumadu as UG SRC President within 14 days’ – High Court rules

Univers News gathered the Court ordered for this to be done within fourteen days.

Sources say the Court granted a cost of 1,000 Ghana cedis payable by the defendants, made up of three top officials of the University of Ghana; the Vice-Chancellor, the Registrar and the Dean of Students’ Affairs.

The rest include the SRC Electoral Commission and the former Chief Justice of the UG SRC, Regina Apaloo.

Plaintiff, Prince Asumadu filed a lawsuit on the eve of the 2021 Christmas celebration seeking an interlocutory injunction restraining all five defendants from proceeding with any swearing ceremony that will not see him as SRC President.

Among other reliefs, he prayed the court to impose a mandatory injunction compelling the other four defendants aside from the Chief Justice, to swear-in or cause to be sworn-in the Plaintiff as SRC President pending the publishing of the findings and recommendations of the Dean’s committee.

Background

The 2021 University of Ghana SRC elections landed in a runoff after none of the four presidential teams succeded in amassing fifty plus one votes during the October-20 first round.

The Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Henry Ackon announced Prince Asumadu as the President-elect in the early hours of Saturday, October 30, 2021, following the coalition of both manual and online results.

Prior to the announcement, students believed to be residents of Mensah Sarbah Hall and Commonwealth Hall clashed in the environs of the SRC Union building leaving properties and some valuables items destroyed.

Days later, the team of Samuel Amos Ofosu (Nana B) and affiliates rushed to the office of the Dean of Students Affairs citing irregularities with both manual results from Sarbah, Akuafo halls and the online polls.

The Dean of Students, Prof. Godfred Bokpin subsequently set up a six-member committee chaired by Prof. Emmanuel Kofi Ackah to “review and investigate the alleged electoral improprieties and irregularities and irregularities contained in the petitions, determine any other improprieties and irregularities related to the 2021 SRC elections, and make recommendations on the basis of their findings.”

The report from this investigation has since then not been unveiled.

The Judicial Board claimed it received an election petition from team Nana B 48 hours after the declaration of the results while it was still on a recess.

In its ruling, the Judicial board unanimously annulled the results of the manual election at Mensah Sarbah and Akuafo Halls and further advised the EC to organize fresh polls at the aforementioned polling stations else the leading candidates as SRC president and vice.

The Electoral Commission noted in a statement later that ‘it will not conform to the ruling and directives of the SRC Judicial Board’ insisting that it ‘still’ expect the report of a committee set up by the Dean of Students’ Affairs.

The Judicial board sacked the EC Chairperson and the first deputy EC as Boaz Twumasi, the 2nd deputy EC resigned.

In December last year, the former acting SRC President, Kwame Amo Ntow Fianko announced that he will hand over to Nana B.

This did not sit well with Prince Asumadu as it pushed them to file an application at the Accra High Court seeking to impose an interlocutory injunction on the 2021 UG SRC election.

Mr Fianko went ahead to hold an online swearing ceremony to transfer power to Nana B and his running mate, Alfred Acquah as SRC President and Vice respectively disregarding management’s caution about possible consequences.

Authorities of the University later denounced the swearing-in of Nana B and ordered for the General Secretary elect to be sworn in as the interim acting SRC president until such a time the court rules on Prince Asumadu’s lawsuit.