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A Kumasi High Court has dismissed the case brought before it by Awuni Akyireba, an accounts officer at the Biostatistical Unit who was sacked by the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, KATH, after accusing management of blowing COVID-19 cash donations.
Akyireba filed an order of Certiorari at the High Court seeking to quash the decision taken by KATH on December 20, last year, after a Disciplinary Committee found him guilty of violating the hospital’s code of conduct. He was also accused of failing to appear before the committee to substantiate his claims, despite several invitations.
But the plaintiff who had denied this claim had prayed the court to among others declare that the hospital’s action violates “the rule of natural justice.”
By Court
Delivering its verdict, the Justice Ali Baba’s Court ruled among others that an aspect of the suit that suggested that the rule of natural justice has been violated was “unmeritorious”.
“Now it is simply the case of the applicant on his allegations of a breach of the natural justice rule by the respondent. That he was not invited by the respondent for his side of the story to be heard before the decision to dismiss him from the employment of KATH was made and therefore the decision be quashed. The applicant further avers in his supplementary affidavit that was filed without leave of the court that he has not given any email address and WhatsApp number to the respondent and insisted that he was not invited by any WhatsApp, post or email or any means…
“Even though I cannot find anything on the letter inviting the applicant to appear before the Disciplinary Committee on 30 November 2021 at the A&E boardroom of KATH at 2p.m., to answer questions on various offences, including false allegations made against the management of the hospital which sought to put management of the hospital in bad light on a live radio programme on Akoma FM on 17 August, 2021, that suggest that the said letter was received and in fact sent to the applicant through postal service,” the Judge stated as he quotes provisions and laws to back his ruling.
The court also established that two individuals but not the hospital were a party to the complaint filed by the applicant at the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice and the Office of the Special Prosecutor over alleged mismanagement of COVID-19 funds.
It further upheld that an error of law had not been proven on the record.
“Consequently that allegation is dismissed”, the Judge ruled.
Reaction
Awuni who spoke to journalists expressed his disappointment with the judgement and indicated that he will file a writ for a full-blown trial to challenge his dismissal.
“I’m highly disappointed. I think this is history’s greatest infamy in the hospital’s record and even in the record of our Judicial system, that an administrative body could gloss over procedural rules of punishing an employee and have its way. It is very disappointing. The legal tussle is a strategy. So when the matter happened, I discussed it with lawyers, and they advised me on strategies to adopt. From the onset, I was told that it was difficult to succeed with it, but that we could go for wrongful dismissal. If you also listened to the judgement, he [judge] passed a comment that we could have filed a writ, full-blown trial for wrongful dismissal other than the certiorari. So we are looking at our options again. This has not ended yet. Let me send a signal to the hospital and even to the court that I’m firm on my issues and I know very well that justice has not been served on this matter and that I will fight till I get justice served.”
He added that his petition to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) is gaining momentum as the investigative body has commenced its probe into the allegations he has made against the Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director of KATH.
He, however, expressed disappointment in the office of the Special Prosecutor for not even acknowledging receipt of his petition after asking the body to probe the matter since last year.
SOURCE: DAILY MAIL GH
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