Mahama wants case challenging his 2024 presidential bid thrown out

Former President John Dramani Mahama has urged the Supreme Court to dismiss a case filed by legal practitioner Ken Kuranchie, which seeks to challenge his eligibility to contest the 2024 polls.

He contends the case fails to comply with basic legal processes and must therefore be thrown out. Mr. Kuranchie in June 2023 filed the case against Mr. Mahama in June 2023, former President John Agyekum Kuffuor, the Speaker of Parliament, and the Attorney-General.

He contended that a true and proper interpretation of the 1992 Constitution should lead one to the conclusion that the only person entitled to a second presidential term must be a sitting president.

He argued further that a former president needs parliamentary approval to occupy any other office other than an office of state. A former president, he explains, therefore needs such approval to occupy an office that provides emolument since he remains in the employ of the state after leaving office.

Mr. Mahama has, through his lawyers, filed documents raising what they consider to be key objections. They first point out that a search of the Supreme Court registry shows that no document spelling out the case of Mr. Kuranchie has been filed in court, even though Mr. Mahama’s office received a document titled “plaintiff’s statement of case”.

They argue further that what they found in the court records was a document titled “Affidavit in Support of Plaintiff’s Statement of Case, Facts, and Exhibits.” The lawyers admit that the rules of the court generally allow a person to file a case without a statement of case, but this must be filed within 14 days after the initiation of the process. “Therefore, about 95 days after Plaintiff filed his Writ, he has still not filed a Statement of Case up to date,” the lawyers state in court documents.

They therefore want the court to exercise its powers to dismiss the case. This is a proper case where this Honourable Court ought to exercise its discretion to strike out the plaintiff’s action.”

Mr. Mahama’s legal team, led by Tony Lithur, will, on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, urge the court to deal with this matter.