GOC President lied under oath – Plaintiff lawyers charge in final address. An Accra High Court presided over by Justice Ananda Aikins has on two occasions adjourned proceedings into the Erasmus Kwaw vs. Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) after the GOC failed to file its final address.
The parties to the case were originally ordered to file final addresses by the end of January and February 2021 respectively. While the plaintiff’s legal team led by Nathaniel Hegbor filed its final address as ordered by the court, the defendant showed up in court on 1st March 2021 to ask for more time to file final address after which the trial judge Ananda Aikins adjourned the case to 17th March 2021.
But the GOC’s legal team led by Peter Zwennes requested for more time on 17th March 2021 to enable them file same final address which was granted by the court. Justice Ananda Aikins adjourned proceedings to 14th April 2021.
Meanwhile, Plaintiff avers in his final address that the President of the GOC Ben Nunoo Mensah lied under oath when he claimed the GOC had no absolute record of Ghana’s participation in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2014 African Youth Games.
The Plaintiff claims the GOC boss made the statement to escape the liability of paying plaintiff’s outstanding per diem allowances. The Plaintiff lawyers explained that the Secretary General of the GOC Richard Akpokavie, who appeared as a subpoenaed witness in court, presented the respective 2014 Games Reports and also confirmed plaintiff’s involvement as Press Attaché on both occasions.
The Lawyers added that, the GOC Secretary General confirmed plaintiff is owed per diem allowances of $2,100 and $1,300 for his work at the two Games. Meanwhile, the Plaintiff’s lawyers averred the GOC President lied again when he claimed the GOC played no role in the media accreditation process that led to the detention and deportation of some Ghanaians at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia- as evidenced by ‘Minutes of a GOC Board meeting on 23rd April, 2018.’
Furthermore, they argued that the GOC boss breached the terms of its contract with plaintiff when he terminated the said contract without giving the mandatory notice or payment of salary in lieu as contained in the contract.
The Plaintiff summed up his case as below: “The Plaintiff has by dint of consistent testimony and unassailable evidence where applicable demonstrated to the court why the respective issues set down for trial should be resolved in his favour.
“In conclusion, we respectfully pray this Honourable Court to grant judgment in favour of the Plaintiff against the Defendant for all the reliefs endorsed on the Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim.” The case is set for hearing again on 14th April 2021 at the Accra High Court Labour 2 presided over by Justice Ananda Aikins.
