Court sets March 19 for contempt case against CSIR Governing Council members
By DL News
Published
2 min read
The court has directed all parties to submit their written arguments within two weeks and has scheduled a March 19, 2025 ruling.
An Accra High Court is set to rule on a contempt application seeking to imprison 21 members of the Governing Council of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for allegedly violating an injunction order.
Dr. Seth Awuku Manteaw, Director of the CSIR Institute for Scientific and Technological Information (INSTI), initiated legal action on March 28, 2024, requesting an injunction to prevent CSIR and its affiliates from advertising or appointing a new director until a pending lawsuit is resolved.
The court has directed all parties to submit their written arguments within two weeks and has scheduled a March 19, 2025 ruling.
Dr. Manteaw, the applicant, stated that the CSIR was duly served with the writ of summons, statement of claim, and injunction application.
Despite the ongoing legal proceedings, Dr. Manteaw claims that the CSIR Governing Council, at its 189th meeting on June 27, 2024, instructed him to step aside and proceeded to appoint Deputy Director Dr. Paul Danquah as the Acting Director.
He argues that these actions were intentional and aimed at undermining the court’s authority, interfering with justice, and rendering the outcome of the case ineffective.
"The respondents’ conduct is a direct affront to the court’s authority and should not go unpunished," he stated in his motion, urging the court to hold the members in contempt and impose a prison sentence.
In response, CSIR, through its legal counsel, filed an affidavit opposing the injunction on May 6, 2024.
The individuals named in the contempt case include Professor Paul P. Bosu, Prof. Robert Kingsford-Adaboh, Prof. Benjamin J.B. Nyarko, Prof. Paul Kingsley Buah-Bassuah, Prof. Daniel A. Ofori, Dr. Ignatius Awinibuno, Dr. M. Agyekum Addo, Prof. Rita Akosua Dickson, Mr. Wilson Attah Krofah, Kwabena Essilfie Quaison, and Dr. Solomon Gyan Ansah.
Also cited are Patrick Yaw Nimo, Dr. Winfred F.A. Nelson, Prof. Mohammed Salifu, Dr. Kofi Amponsah Benefo, Prof. Sampson K. Agodzo, Ahmed Dasana Nantogmah, Alhaji Dr. Mohammed Bin Ibrahim, Delali Nutsukpo, Prof. Ibok N. Oduro, and Andrews Adjei Yeboah.
The contempt case was initially heard virtually on August 14, 2024, before Justice Richard Appietu. However, it was postponed to October 30, 2024, as several respondents had not been served with the application.
Last year, the High Court authorized substituted service after attempts to serve the Council members were unsuccessful. In December 2024, notices were posted on the High Court Complex’s Notice Board in Accra and at CSIR’s premises for 21 days.
