Tsatsu Tsikata and Godfred Dame argue in court once more on “announcement of presence”

Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney General (AG) and Minister for Justice, faced well-known attorney Tsatsu Tsikata over his complaint that the AG failed to introduce himself in court.

Asaaseradio.com claims that the AG responded by bringing up Tsikata’s well-known practise of purposefully omitting his own name from court proceedings.

On Friday, July 14, 2023, when James Gyakye Quayson was on trial in the High Court, the incident happened.

Tsikata finished his argument and asked the court to halt proceedings as Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, the deputy attorney general, entered the courtroom while clutching the attorney general’s brief.

He had appealed the High Court’s decision to deny his plea for a stay of proceedings by filing an application with the Court of Appeal.

In an effort to reverse the High Court decision, he also submitted a judicial review application to the Supreme Court.

The Attorney-General, Godfred Dame, arrived and promptly rejected Tsikata’s request, claiming that there were no good reasons to support a stay of the proceedings based on the motions that were still ongoing at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

The court was not required to pause its proceedings in such cases, according to any legislative requirement, rule of procedure, or precedent, Dame emphasised. He also criticised Tsikata for making no reference to any authority to back up his claims.

Tsikata expressed his worry in open court in response to the AG’s objection, pointing out that the AG broke with tradition by speaking to the court without first introducing himself.

He hoped the court wouldn’t permit such swerves in his statement. The concern raised by Tsikata, according to Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh, was irrelevant because the AG’s name was already visible on the screen.

Godfred Dame responded by expressing astonishment at Tsatsu Tsikata’s concern over the correct notice of counsel’s attendance and drawing attention to Tsikata’s own repeated disregard for court regulations by hiding his name.

Dame emphasised that the trial judge had accepted that his attendance had been properly documented and shown to all of the present solicitors on screens. His conclusion was that Tsikata’s accusation was unfounded.

Tsikata was warned by Justice Yanzuh to use better judgement while speaking to the court after she took issue with his answer to the AG’s statement.

After the discussions, the court dismissed Tsikata’s request for a stay of proceedings based on the ongoing Court of Appeal case, citing the lack of any legal basis demanding such a delay.

Additionally, the court set Tuesday, July 18, 2023 as the new deadline for issuing a decision on the Supreme Court’s ongoing judicial review application.