Francis Kwarteng Arthur, a private legal practitioner has sued the National Communications Authority (NCA) and three companies over the directive to telecommunication network providers to release the personal information of subscribers.
In a suit filed at the Human Rights Court in Accra, the applicant argued that the establishment of Emergency Communications System-Instrument, 2020, brought by an Executive Instrument E.I. 63 was illegal.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo signed the E.I 63 2020 paving the way for Kelni GVG, a private liability company, to request for the personal information, including subscriber database, subscriber cell reference data, uncashed subscriber mobile money transfer data, mobile money merchant codes and addresses.
But lawyer Arthur contended that his personal information, which is in possesion with MTN and Vodafone, who have been joined to the suit as respondents is protected by the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and cannot be given out to a third party by telecommunication companies without recourse to law or laid down procedure or without his express permission or consent.
It is the case of the private legal practitioner, the Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775) contains a condition precedent for the President’s invocation of his power in section 100.
“The condition precedent is that the President should have first, declared a State of Emergency under Article 31 of the 1992 Constitution, as stated in section 99 of Act 775,” the applicant argued.
According to Lawyer Kwarteng Arthur, since the condition precedent has not been triggered, the President in signing E.I. 63, acted illegally.
Kelni GVG Limited, on or about March 27, 2020, acting on behalf of the President wrote to all communication network service operators directing them, to put the applicant’s personal information and that of other subscribers at their disposal.
These information included subscribers address, time of calls and/or text messages and call content as well as personal information on address, bank details etc.
The applicant asked the court to declare the conduct by Kelni GVG Limited, NCA, or any other person to procure his personal information from MTN and Vodafone without following due process as a violation of his rights.
Further it is the argument of the applicant that there is no logical correlation between mobile money transfer data in particular or telecommunication data of a person in general and their exposure to the COVID-19 disease.
In another development, the applicant is petitioning the Chief Executive of Vodafone Group Plc in the United Kingdom to impress upon its Ghana office not to yield to the request of President of Ghana in breach of customers’ fundamental human rights and the High Court’s orders.
The case stands adjourned.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
