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‘Supreme Court Ruling Did Not Reinstate Avoke’ – Afenyo Markin

Don’t rejoice yet for Prefessor Mawutor Avoke was not reinstated base on the Supreme Court ruling, this according to Alexander Afenyo Markin who is the Member of Parliament for Efutu in the Central Region.

According to him, the plaintiff did in his statement of claim did not ask for reinstatement but rather was at the supreme seeking a declaration that the reliefs of supi kwayera required the taking of evidence even in the absence of defense by the defendant.

“Avoke was not removed by a court order. He was removed by a governing council decision. The orders of the high court which were quashed today were never executed by the plaintiff supi kwayera. Avoke was at the supreme seeking a declaration that the reliefs of supi kwayera required the taking of evidence even in the absence of defense by the defendant. No order was made to reinstate him. Avoke never prayed the court to reinstate him. It’s important for this to be put on record. The propaganda will not help the NDC”, he disclosed in an interview with MyNewsGh.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday by unanimous decision said the High Court in Winneba breached the rule of natural justice by failing to give the defendants a hearing in a case in which Professor Mawutor Avoke as Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba was involved.

It, therefore, overturned the decision by the High Court on grounds that there was the need to afford both parties [Defendants and Plaintiffs] an opportunity to present their case indicating that the earlier decision by the court amounted to an error of law patent on the record.

Background

The Winneba High Court in 2017 ordered Prof Avoke, to step aside until the case brought against him and the University’s Governing Council was determined.

The case brought before the court by one Supi Kofi Kwayera, who insisted that the Vice Chancellor and the Finance Officer, were operating under the institution’s defunct governing council.

The plaintiff argued that University’s Council’s mandate had expired in November 2013, but the Education Ministry failed to constitute a new Governing Council for the university and rather allowed the defunct Governing Council which had no mandate whatsoever to continue in the functions of a properly constituted Governing Council.

Supi Kofi Kwayera also alleged financial and procurement irregularities on the part of the Prof Avoke.

The court, in July 2017, then ordered Prof Avoke to step aside until a case brought against him and the University’s Governing Council was determined.

Also in July, Prof Avoke, along with four others; the Finance Officer, Dr. Theophilus Senyo Ackorlie; Daniel Tetteh, Mary Dzimey and Frank Owusu Boateng, were interdicted by the school after it emerged that some vital documents at some offices at the centre of an ongoing investigation had disappeared.

They were then found guilty of procurement and other financial irregularities in December 2017.
The irregularities had to do with the monies paid to the contractors of the North Campus Roads project.

In August 2018, the UEW governing council dismissed the five principal officers of the institution after a fact-finding committee had been set up to look into the matter.

Prof Avoke had maintained his innocence and had been challenging his indictment in court. He took the case to the Labour Division of the Accra High Court but the case was beyond its jurisdiction. This compelled his challenge in the Supreme Court.

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