The Supreme Court in a 4-1 majority has set aside a Bench warrant for the arrest of Mr. Kelvin Taylor, a famous journalist famed for acidic language on current and political issues. The court was constituted by Tanko, Gaewu, Surrabareh Dzamefe, Bright Mensah JJSC. Justice Gaewu dissented from his brothers.

The Supreme Court upheld the arguments of Counsel for Mr. Taylor, the Learned Peter Okudzeto that the arrest order made by His Lordship Justice Kyei Baffour sitting as an additional High Court Judge on the Commercial Division of the High Court Bench was made contrary to the dictates of Natural Justice principles, with want of jurisdiction and made contrary to the procedure for summoning a contemnor before the Court.

Mr. Okudzeto argues that an arrest warrant is not the procedure to commence contempt proceedings against an alleged contemnor but rather, a summons by the Court.

The arrest warrant issued by the High Court was owing to scandalous comments made in a video on the trial of the Republic v Baffoe-Bonnie & Ors suit no. CR/907/17 tried in the High Court as per the ruling of Justice Kyei Baffour on the 16th day of January, 2020.

AG no show, no opposition filed

The Office of the Attorney-General and Justice Ministry against whom the application of Kelvin Taylor was filed against did not resist the application by the filing of an opposition to the application of Kelvin Taylor.

The 'soldiers' in the A-G's chambers also did not march to the bar to advocate against the application challenging the arrest warrant for Mr. Taylor to answer for commentary His Lordship Kyei Baffour found to be contemptuous of the Court.

Below is the application containing full arguments to quash the arrest order of Justice Kyei Baffour against Kelvin Taylor which has been upheld by a majority decision of the Supreme Court: