Court Orders Nana Ampadu To Serve Other GHAMRO Members With Writ

On Thursday, May 15, 2014, Ghana�s Highlife legend, Nana Kwame Ampadu and 100 other musicians, composers, and publishers filed a law suit at the Human Rights Division of the High Court seeking an injunction order against their own royalties� collection society, GHAMRO. According to the writ of summons, Carlos Sakyi and other GHAMRO Board members including Amandzeba, K.K. Kabobo and Mark Okraku Mantey �have deliberately refused to organize even a single Annual General Meeting (AGM) since May 2011 when they took office as interim Board Members.� The suit, filed by the musicians seek to restrain the Interim Board Members including the interim executive from continuing to act in their various official positions. Furthermore, it also seeks an order of the court directing the Interim Board to produce audited accounts of its stewardship from the time they took office in May 2011 to date. The plaintiffs (Nana Kwame Ampadu plus 100 music right owners), as well as defendants appeared before the law court on Monday, June 2, 2013 over the issue. The Human Rights Division of the High Court therefore asked Nana Kwame Ampadu and the other musicians, composers, and publishers to serve the remaining GHAMRO board members with the same writ that Carlos Sakyi, Amandzeba Nat Brew, K.K. Kabobo and Mark Okraku Mantey was served with. This action is to enable the remaining GHAMRO board members to also appear before the court of law. After listening to both counsels for the plaintiff and defendants, the court decided that, since GHAMRO board is made up of a total of 12 members, a writ could not be brought against only four of its members. The remaining 8 ought to be involved in the writ as well. The court therefore decided to adjourn the case to 19th June, 2014 to enable the other members to be served with the same writ. It is only when such action is taken before the court could administer proper justice. The remaining GHAMRO board members to be summoned before the Human Rights Division of the High Court include Jonathan Kakraba, Daniel Adjei, john Mensah Sarpong, Kojo Antwi, Mary Ghansah, Ahmed Banda, Akwasi Agyapong, Bice Osei Kuffour. The case was presided over by Justice Essien Mensah.