The 2024 National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for Akwatia, Henry Boakye-Yiadom, has written to the Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to investigate the Member of Parliament for Akwatia, Ernest Kumi, for allegedly forging a gazette document.
In a letter dated March 7, 2025, the NDC candidate stated that Kumi, in his deposed affidavit at the Supreme Court to challenge an injunction application granted against him by the Koforidua High Court, attached a document captioned “Ghana Gazette, 6th January 2025.”
Boakye-Yiadom said his checks with the Ghana Publishing Company, the official publisher of the Ghana Gazette, showed that there was no publication on January 6, 2025, that included the Akwatia Constituency.
“Following the declaration of the election results, our client filed an election petition and an injunction application at the Koforidua High Court, and the court granted the injunction application.
“Further to the grant of the injunction, Ernest Kumi, through his lawyers, filed a certiorari application at the Supreme Court to quash the grant of the injunction. The said Ernest Kumi deposed to an affidavit for the application and attached as an exhibit a document captioned ‘Ghana Gazette, 6th January 2025,’” the letter from the lawyers of the NDC candidate, Kpatsa and Associates, stated.
It continued that, “However, when our client procured a copy of the Ghana Gazette document, it was found to be dated 24th December 2024. We have further written to the Ghana Publishing Company Ltd. (Assembly Press), the official publishers of the Ghana Gazette, to verify which of the publications is genuine, and the result was that there was no gazette publication for 6th January 2025 that included the Akwatia Constituency.”
Suspecting that the document presented to the Supreme Court could be fake, the NDC candidate has asked the CID to investigate the MP in accordance with the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960, Act 29.
“We suspect that the said gazette publication, attached as Exhibit D to the affidavit of Ernest Kumi, is an act of forgery. Respectfully, Madam, we are confident in your ability to handle this matter; hence, our humble petition to you to investigate this alleged issue of forgery of an official document, which is contrary to the relevant sections of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960, Act 29,” the letter concluded.
Ernest Yaw Kumi, the New Patriotic Party MP for Akwatia, has been embroiled in a legal dispute following his election in 2024.
Henry Boakye-Yiadom, the National Democratic Congress candidate, challenged the election results, which declared Kumi the winner with 19,269 votes against Boakye-Yiadom’s 17,206.
On January 3, 2025, the Koforidua High Court issued an interim injunction barring Ernest Kumi from being sworn in as MP, pending the resolution of this dispute.
Despite this, Kumi proceeded with the swearing-in on January 7, 2025, leading to a contempt of court conviction by Justice Senyo Amedahe on February 19, 2025.
A bench warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to appear for sentencing.
Ernest Kumi’s legal team has since appealed to the Supreme Court, which, in a 4-1 decision on February 27, 2025, stayed the High Court’s sentencing until a final ruling on March 12, 2025.
However, the contempt conviction and bench warrant remain in effect.
The legal arguments from Kumi’s side, led by Gary Nimako, center on procedural issues and claims of bias by the High Court judge, not on allegations of forgery.
GA/AE