The Communication Worker's Union's landmark Supreme Court challenge to Michael Ashcroft's ownership of more than 25% of BTL should have started today but there was a delay. Both Ashcroft's E-com and Prosser's ICC which have been added as respondents to the application asked the Chief Justice to delay the commencement of hearings.
E-com's Attorney Lois Young-Barrow argued that she was just retained yesterday and needed time to review the case filings. She also said she needed time to get instructions from her client who is abroad. Solicitor General Elson Kaseke's response was that if there was a delay, the injunction should be revisited because government wants to dispose of the shares but is being prevented from doing so.
The Chief Justice considered the arguments and adjourned the hearing until July 4th, until which time government is barred, by the still standing injunction from finalizing the close to US$40 million transaction.
The delay however wasn't the biggest news of the day as on the adjournment Solicitor General Kaseke told the court that government concedes that it did sell the special share to ICC. The question the Sol Gen left for the Chief
Justice to decide was whether the sale was lawful.
In a prior judgement the Chief Justice had said that the special share should have remained, at all times, in the government's control. It was sold, we might add, for $1 to Jeffrey Prosser.
