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The General Secretary of the United Front Party (UFP), Listowell Nana Kusi-Poku who sued the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) over the legality of their latest strike was today asked to pay GHC 50,000 by lawyers of the medical association in court after he withdrew the case.

Listowell who met the doctors in court today filed an application to withdraw the case with liberty to reapply.

His lawyer, Mr. Oliver Abada prayed to the court that his client has decided to withdraw the matter before her lordship with the main reasons that – “The reliefs that he [the plaintiff] was praying the court to declare have been met after the defendants called off their strike action. And that - the defendant has also been asked to go into the negotiation with government”.

Lawyer Oliver also maintained that – “His client does not want to be an obstacle for the doctors to be leaving their work and moving to and fro court.”

Representing the defendants - Lawyers Messrs Dr. Justice Yankson and Garry Nimako Marfo asked the court to slap the plaintiff with an amount of GHC 500,000 for – “wasting their time.”

Lawyer Nimako Marfo also said he finds the matter brought before her lordship as a matter between the employer and the employee and that he the plaintiff should not be an interested party.

But the High Court Justice ruled that no cost should be awarded against the plaintiff as he cited that it was a public interest issue.

Per the ruling, the plaintiff has withdrawn the matter but has the right to as it were revive it should the defendant choose to go on strike without exhausting all the avenues through negotiation.

Speaking to Peacefmonline.com after the ruling, Listowell stated that – “There was no need to pursue the matter to its conclusion because these doctors had not been right to have used human lives as bargaining chip for the negotiations for their conditions of service. I don’t want to be dragging these doctors to court for human lives to be lost as some of them will be moving to and fro court”.