Yoni Kulendi, lead counsel for Hon. Adamu Daramani Sakande, the embattled Member of Parliament for Bawku Central has indicated that his team would continue to fight the MP’s case until he gets an opportunity to tell his side of the story.
Mr. Kulendi was speaking to the media yesterday after his client suffered yet another set-back when an application for a stay of execution pending the final determination of the appeal filed by Sakande, was dismissed by an Accra Fast Track High Court Judge, Justice N.M.C. Abodakpi.
According to Kulendi, if given the opportunity, his client would prove to his accusers that the people of Bawku Central knew their own and therefore voted for Daramani, being a son of the land.
He said what his client was seeking, was an opportunity to assess the merits of his case.  ÂÂÂ
The trial Judge, giving reasons for dismissing the application, said the same application was filed by the respondent, Mr. Sakande, at another High Court after the default judgment ordered him to give up his seat as an MP and it was dismissed.
He said for the application of the MP to be granted, it should contain some fresh evidence. He observed that it did not contain anything new from the one earlier filed and noted that he could not grant the application for that reason.
Justice Abodakpi also said the proper thing for the MP to do was to go to the Court of Appeal to have his case heard, and accordingly dismissed it.
The respondent, after a default judgment which ordered him to stop representing his constituents in Parliament over allegations of multiple nationalities, engaged in legal battles in order to prove he had renounced his British Citizenship even before filing for nominations as a parliamentary candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Sumaila Bielbiel, the cattle rearer who took the MP to court over allegations that he was still a British national when he was elected MP, had judgment in default after the accused person failed to appear in court to answer to the charges, which led Sakande to file the application for a stay of judgment and an opportunity to tell his side of the story which was refused by Justice Kwame Asiedu.
Sakande, a management specialist consultant, is also facing nine criminal charges in another court over citizenship fraud and has pleaded not guilty to all the counts and insists he has documents to prove he had renounced his citizenship before filing for nomination. He also insists he should be given an opportunity to put up a defence.
Outside the courtroom, dejection and worry were written on the faces of the MP’s supporters and sympathizers who were there to show solidarity.
They were hoping that the case could at least be stayed for the management specialist to tell the court his side of the story.
Meanwhile, an appeal against the default judgment is at the Court of Appeal.
By Fidelia Achama