Roland Affail Monney, the National Council and the Election Committee of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) have been sued for staying in office illegally.

The plaintiff, Ms Caroline Boateng of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), who is a paid up member of the GJA filed the writ at the Accra High Court on Friday, May 7, 2021.

She is also the Graphic Chapter Chairperson of the GJA.

According to the plaintiff, Affail Monney’s administration ended on November 17, 2020 and therefore she wants the Accra High Court to “declare that all actions of the defendants from 17th November 2020 to date are null and void.”

She also wants an order from the court to set up an Interim Management Committee (IMC), comprising of the Past Presidents of GJA excluding the immediate, Mr Roland Affail Monney, and for the court to give timeliness within which elections shall be conducted and new officers inducted into office.

The defendants are the President of the GJA, the National Council of the GJA and the Election Committee of the GJA.

The National Council is made up of all the national executive and regional chairpersons of the GJA.

Counsel for Ms Caroline Boateng who is the Features Editor of the Daily Graphic is Mr Emmanuel Maurice Ankrah.

Statement of Claim

Ms Boateng is seeking "an order against the defendants from holding themselves as officers of the the GJA."

"An order for the appointment of an Interim Management Committee" and a declaration that all actions of the defendants from the 17th day of November, 2020 to date is null and void and "Any other orders as the honourable court deems fit."

The plaintiff describes the first defendant, the President of the GJA [Roland Affail Monney] as the immediate past president whose tenure of office terminated on the 17th of November 2020.

She says the term of office of the second defendants, the National Council, which is made up of the national executives and the Regional Chairpersons also terminated on the 17th of November 2020.

The third defendant [Election Committee] is a committee set up by the first and second defendants to conduct elections before the expiration of their term in office.

According to the plaintiff, Affail Monney and the National Council failed in their duties to ensure that the Election Committee carried out its mandate "because the 1st and 2nd defendants wanted to illegally extend their mandate and influence the subsequent elections."

"Though the terms of office of the defendants expired on the 17th day of November 2020, the 3rd defendant is holding itself as a committee mandated to conduct elections."

The plaintiff added that the third defendants mandate ended on 17th November 2020 and therefore cannot purport to be holding elections in 2021.

"The actions taken so far by the 3rd defendants in the name of the GJA is therefore against the very constitution that set all the defendants up."

"The action of the defendants are therefore illegitimate and against the constitution of the GJA and therefore null and void," she stated.

The plaintiff is therefore praying the court to declare that "every action of the defendants from the 17th of November 2020 to date is null and void" and "that the defendants cannot hold themselves as officers of the GJA."

The plaintiff wants the court to set up an interim management committee (IMC) comprising of the Past Presidents of GJA excluding the immediate, Mr Affail Monney and for the court to give timeliness within which elections shall be conducted and new officers inducted into office.