The Court of Appeal on Thursday ordered an Accra Regional Tribunal to hear an application of contempt on its merit brought before it by a former top official of the Bank of Ghana (BOG) for his alleged involvement in the 1.5 million-dollar financial scandal that hit the bank in May last year.
The three-member panel chaired by Mr Justice Kwame Afreh granted the appeal filed by Mr Sebastian Gavor, former Director, Budget and Accounts Department of BOG.
While Gavor together with Mr Justice Ofosu Larbie, former Deputy Director, Banking Department and Alhaji Abubakar Sidiq, a businessman, were being tried by the tribunal, BOG went on to interdict them.
Counsel for the accused persons brought this to the notice of the trial tribunal and requested it to charge the bank with contempt and order it to return to the “status quo” by re-instating the two officials until the case was determined.
For failing to comply with the order, Gavor, in August, took the matter up at another regional tribunal.
Dismissing the application, which he described as “incompetent and vexatious”, Mr Justice Benjamin Tetteh, chairman of the tribunal, said it had no jurisdiction to hear the matter because “it had assumed civil character”.
Not satisfied, Mr Gavor appealed against the ruling of the tribunal.
The Court of Appeal pointed out that the tribunal erred when it ruled that it had no jurisdiction to hear the application because it had assumed civil dimension.
The court stated that regional tribunals are superior courts, which are at par in rank and status with High Courts. Therefore, they have constitutional powers to adjudicate in contempt cases be they criminal or civil.
The other panel members were Mr Justice J. C. Amonoo-Monney and Mrs Justice Vida Akoto-Bamfo.
Gavor was represented jointly by Mr Charles Hayibor and Mrs Margaret Insaidoo while Mr Nutifafa Kuenyehia and Mr Osafo Sampong appeared for BOG and the State respectively.
