US-based Ghanaian legal practitioner, Prof Stephen Kwaku Asare, has accused the judge that sat on a landmark citizenship case of plagiarising Wikipedia in the full text of his ruling.
The judge, Justice Kwasi Boakye, in his ruling ordered for fresh elections to be conducted in the Assin North constituency, annulling the results of the polls that brought James Gyakye Quayson to power.
The court had been petitioned that Mr Quayson, at the time of filing to contest the 2020 parliamentary elections, had not renounced his Canadian citizenship and thus held dual nationality.
The petitioner, a private citizen, had stated that Mr Quayson’s status as a parliamentarian violates Article 94 (2a) thus the Court should declare his election null and void.
After a long-drawn-out legal battle, the judge annulled the results of the 2020 parliamentary elections in the Assin North.
But Prof Asare, who has long been an advocate of a constitutional review to allow Ghanaian citizens holding dual citizenship to be allowed to hold public office, posted portions of the judges ruling side-by-side an article on Wikipedia – marking out paragraphs that contain very similar texts.
“The Judge must explain page 44 of his opinion as compared to the attached Wikipedia pages,†Prof Asare, known popularly as Kwaku Azar, posted.
Meanwhile, the deposed legislator of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said the court ruling is a travesty of justice.
Opening up in a press statement since the ruling on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, Mr Quayson said he will strive to ensure that the will of people Assin North, who brought him to power through the parliamentary polls, is not overturned by the ruling of the Cape Coast High Court.
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