The High Court in Accra has quashed a directive by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) for a former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Adjenim Boateng Adjei, to refund GH¢5.7 million to the state.
Also quashed by the court is a directive by CHRAJ disqualifying Mr Adjenim Boateng Adjei from holding public office for 10 years, a directive for him to declare his assets and liabilities, and the entire report containing the said directives and findings that concluded that the former PPA boss allegedly had unexplained wealth in various bank accounts.
In a judgment quashing the report, the court, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, held that CHRAJ breached the rules of natural justice by failing to give Adjenim Boateng Adjei a fair hearing before coming out with the report.
It was the considered decision of the court that CHRAJ substituted part of the complaint that was filed for it to investigate Adjenim Boateng Adjei, and also failed to give the former PPA boss the opportunity to cross-examine some of the witnesses relied upon by CHRAJ, which were violations of the rules of natural justice, CHRAJ regulations and the 1992 Constitution.
“The respondent [CHRAJ] breached the fair hearing rule by substituting parts of the complaints with its own allegations and failing to give the applicant [Mr Adjei] the chance to cross -examine the witnesses called by the respondent. In the event, I quash the decision by the respondent,” Justice Kocuvie-Tay ordered.
