The Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has been cited for contempt over the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill (LGBTQI+ bill).
Dr. Amanda Odoi, a researcher, filed a petition claiming that the Speaker has shown disdain and contempt for court processes.
She said the respondent has continually violated and shown utter disregard for the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and the court process.
That the respondent’s clear, intentional, and continuous disregard of the court process necessitates the Respondent being sanctioned for contempt in the public interest and to protect the dignity of the Court.
Dr. Odoi is one of two citizens who have sued the Speaker of Parliament and the Attorney General over the anti-LGBTQ+ bill.
The citizens in their suit said the Provisions of Article 108 of the 1992 Constitution were not complied with at the time the Bill was first introduced in Parliament.
It seeks to restrain the Speaker, his deputies, assigns, agents, and privies from proceeding with the promotion of the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Value Bill 2021.
On Thursday, June 29, 2023, Parliament sat in anticipation of a second reading of the anti-LGBTQI Bill in vain, after the bill also failed to appear on the order paper on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.
Earlier the Speaker of Parliament, in a statement read on his behalf by the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, directed the Business Committee to programme the Bill on the order paper to make way for the second reading that never was.
However, Dr. Odoi said her checks show that the Speaker has been served with all relevant court processes including one asking the court to place an injunction on Parliament’s consideration of the law.
She stated that despite this, the Speaker caused the Bill to proceed to its Second Reading in Parliament adding that by his [Bagbin] conduct in directing or causing Parliament to proceed to a Second Reading of the Bill, in full knowledge of the pending suit and related interlocutory injunction application, the Respondent has disregarded and disrespected the authority of this Court.
She indicated that such disregard interferes with the outcome of the pending litigation, brings the administration of justice into disrepute, and undermines public confidence in the judicial system.
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