US-based Ghanaian petitions Ag. Chief Justice over alleged judicial misconduct in land dispute

Nana Osei Bonsu, a principal member of the Huahi Achama Tutuwaa Royal Family of Boadi, has formally petitioned Ghana’s acting Chief Justice, alleging severe judicial misconduct, administrative dereliction, and external interference in a protracted land dispute pending before the Court of Appeal in Kumasi.

Currently residing in the United States under humanitarian parole due to alleged threats and persecution in Ghana, Nana Osei Bonsu claims his family’s allodial title to over 1,298 acres of ancestral land in Benimasi-Boadi, Ashanti Region, is under threat.

The initial High Court proceedings, which ultimately led to the current appeal, specifically concerned a 114-acre portion of these lands, actively pursued to protect it from encroachment and unauthorised alienation.

The petitioner says this specific appeal, now part of a consolidated appellate matter (Suit No. H1/22/2023), reflects systemic failures within the judicial system.

The petition, filed under Article 125(4) of the 1992 Constitution, details a series of alarming incidents, including the alleged unlawful reversal of judgments by courts of coordinate jurisdiction, disappearance of court records, misrepresentation of filing dates, and intimidation of legal representatives. Nana Osei Bonsu asserts that despite full procedural compliance over four years, this crucial appeal has not been assigned a hearing date.

A key concern highlighted by the petitioner is some alleged pronouncement by the Kumasi Traditional Council, which has created some difficult situations for the appellant to secure legal representation in Kumasi.

Nana Osei Bonsu is seeking the administrative transfer of his appeals from Kumasi to the Court of Appeal in Accra to ensure impartial adjudication, an independent inquiry into the conduct of judicial officers and registry personnel, and immediate directives for his case to be set down for hearing.

He also requests the assignment of a neutral and independent panel of Justices in Accra to preside over the matter.

The petition underscores the appellant’s “enduring faith in the Judiciary of Ghana” but stresses the urgent need for intervention to rectify what he describes as a “miscarriage of justice” and to prevent the “normalisation of judicial manipulation, delay, and coercion” in land cases involving powerful interests.