An appeals court ruling on the 26th of October 2017 has accordingly cautioned and discharged, one Kwaku Teye and six others including the purported chief of Gbestsile one Seth Tetteh Tettey who calls himself with the stool name Nii Teye Kojo for contempt charges.
The contempt case brought before the Appeals court was between the republic and the seven persons for defying a court order that sort to restrain them from going ahead with a purported chieftaincy installation.
The court presided over by a jury of three judges with civil Appeal number H1/109/2017 noted in clause 2 of its ruling that “the facts which culminated in this appeal are as follows:- on 16th of June 2015, the applicants/appellants instituted an action before the judicial commitee of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs claiming the following reliefs:
“I. A declaration that the purported nomination, election and pending enstoolment of the 6th and 7th Defendants as Mantse and Mankralo respectively of Gbestsile Kpone is null and void and no legal effect as same is contrary to customary practice of the people of Gbestsile and Kpone Traditional Area.”
The ruling goes ahead to say ” a declaration that the 1st to 5th defendants have no traditional capacity to nominate, elect and enstool the 6th and 7th Defendants as Mantse and Mankralo of Gbestsile, Kpone”
It again went ahead to say ” the installation/outdooring of the 6th and 7th respondents took place during the pendency of the application for an order of interlocutory injunction and respondents ought to have waited till it was heard by the judicial commitee”
The ruling continued that “however upon consideration of all the circumstances surrounding this case including the timing of the institution of the action and application for an order for injunction we are of the view that the justice of the case demands that we caution and discharge the respondents.”
“Accordingly the respondents are hereby cautioned and discharged.” It concluded.
However a family elder of one of the disputing factions at Gbetsile Emmanuel Tetteh Amanquah has cautioned the public to be weary with their dealings at Gbetsile especially in land matters as Gbetsile has no chief.
“Per the court ruling, the action by the self styled chief and his purported elders was an error and we urge the public to be guided by same”
He said “we are still in court to bring total finality to the chieftaincy problems at Gbetsile and we appeal to the public to be weary with their dealings with any self styled chief and elders”