State Attorneys have reversed their stance in the mandamus case initiated by Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, which seeks to compel the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, and President Akufo-Addo to take action on the Anti-LGBT+ Bill within seven days.
Initially, the State had indicated to the Court that it wouldn’t oppose the substantive application but would instead respond on legal grounds.
However, during the court session on Thursday, April 18, the State unexpectedly filed an affidavit in opposition, surprising both the Court and the applicant’s lawyers.
The High Court in Accra, presided over by Justice Ellen Lordina Serwaa Mireku, had previously adjourned on April 9 for the Attorney General’s Office to submit legal submissions.
However, a Principal State Attorney, George Tetteh Sackey, stated that they filed their affidavit in opposition on April 17.
As a result, the case has been adjourned to April 29 for the applicant’s lawyer, led by Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo, to file a response to the Attorney General’s affidavit in opposition.
Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson Nelson-Dafeamekpor, has brought the application to the High Court, seeking to compel the Speaker of Parliament to present the Anti-LGBT+ Bill to the President within seven days.
Additionally, the Plaintiff requests the Court to compel the President to either accept the bill and sign it or indicate to Parliament his inability to assent within the same period.
The application for Judicial Review, in the form of Mandamus, filed on March 22, is based on the grounds that the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill has been duly passed by the Parliament of Ghana in accordance with Article 106 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
“When I gained consciousness, I realized I was at a different place – the place was very beautiful. The place was even more beautiful than this world. The people who live there are just like humans, just that some of them are short like genies while others are very tall.
“After I gained consciousness, I cried for two months. I became like a source of entertainment for them, when they touched me and I cried they became happy. But after I stopped crying, they sat and stared at me quietly,” she said in Twi.
She added, “The place was very beautiful, it is in a very huge stone, I wish I was not brought back. Where we slept was amazing… I don’t even know how to describe it”.
The Plaintiff argues that the Bill “must be transmitted to and received by the President of Ghana for assent or otherwise” in accordance with Article 106 of the Constitution.