TAYLOR J.S.C.: Taylor J.S.C. delivered the first judgment at the invitation of Adade J.S.C. The two appellants in this case sought to invoke the original jurisdiction of the judicial committee of the National House of Chiefs in a petition in which they claimed certain declarations and an interim order of injunction against the respondents. The first appellant is the queenmother of Tafo and the second appellant is her nominee for the vacant stool of Tafo. The respondents are the kingmakers of Tafo.
The facts of the case are very simple. The first appellant nominated the second appellant for consideration by the respondents for election as Tafohene, but the respondents rejected him as a candidate for the stool and they declined to give any reasons for rejecting the second appellant. They maintained that under customary law they were not obliged to give reasons for rejecting the queenmother’s candidate where their rejection was unanimous. As the queenmother refused to present another cand…