$4m NCA Deal For Supreme Court

William Mathew Tetteh Tevie and Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie

An Accra High Court (Commercial Division) has stayed proceeding in the trial of former top officials of the National Communications Authority (NCA), who have been accused of wilfully causing financial loss to the state to the tune of $4 million.

The court’s decision is to allow the Supreme Court to interpret Article 19 Clause (2) E and G of the 1992 Constitution.

This followed a heated give-and-take argument between state attorneys and the defence lawyers.

Godwin Tamakloe and Osafo Buaben, lawyers for Alhaji Mimina Osman and Geroge Dereck Oppong respectively, prayed the court to compel the Attorney General to furnish their clients with documents they intended to rely on for the trial, pursuant to the Article.

According to Mr Tamakloe, Article 19 Clause 2 (E) of the Constitution provides that accused persons must be given ‘adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence,’ which is within their fundamental human rights.

Depositing an affidavit in support of an application, the defence lawyers held that adequate time and facilities meant that the state provides them with all documents, including those they do not even intend to tender in evidence.

The state, however, strongly opposed the motion.

Evelyn Keelson, a Chief State Attorney, stated that the Article was being wrongly quoted and that it is only the Supreme Court that has the power to interpret the Articles in the Constitution, if the need arises.

She said there are no rules in the country that compel the state to supply accused persons with lists of witnesses and witness statements three days before they are tendered in evidence.

Justice Eric Kyei Barfour, in his ruling on the matter, held that the court granting the prayer of the defence lawyers for the state to furnish the accused persons with documents three days before they are tendered, would be prejudicial and subsequently dismissed it for lacking merit.

Citing other related cases, he said his court does not have the power to interpret the Article and risks standing in danger of interpreting it alone.

He, therefore, stayed proceedings at the high court and referred three questions in respect of the Article to the Supreme Court for interpretation – whether the accused persons are entitled to disclosure and at what point and time, should the prosecution furnish the accused persons with documents.

The others are whether in a summary trial an accused person is entitled to list of witnesses and witness investigations statements, as well as documents in possession of the prosecution even if they will not be tendered in evidence.

Background

The immediate-past Board Members of the NCA, including the Chairman, Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie; William Mathew Tetteh Tevie, former Director General; Dr Nana Owusu Ensaw, former chairman of the finance sub-committee of the NCA board; Alhaji Salifu Mimina Osman, former deputy National Security Coordinator on the NCA Board, as well as a private businessman, George Derek Oppong, Director of Infraloks Development Limited (IDL), have been charged with wilfully causing financial loss to the state and stealing.

A first prosecution witness, Abena Asafu-Adjei – a lawyer with the NCA – was discharged after she had concluded her testimony to the court and the defence lawyers had ended their cross-examinations.

The state was expected to call its second witness yesterday but that could not happen because of the applications filed by lawyers for Alhaji Osman and Mr. Dereck Oppong.

By Gibril Abdul Razak

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