The late Adams Mahama
An Accra High Court is chasing the pathologist who conducted the post mortem on the late Adams Mahama, the former Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) after the doctor failed to produce the report.
Dr. Lawrence Edusei who is one of the prosecution witnesses in the trial of Gregory Afoko, the court heard, has asked the prosecution to give him two weeks to produce the report.
This did not go down well with the trial judge, Justice Lawrence L. Mensah given that the incident occurred in May 2015.
Appearing before the court yesterday, the prosecution led by Mathew Amponsah, a chief state attorney told the court that he contacted the pathologist who is now retired to produce the post mortem report on the late Mahama but the doctor gave excuses that he has travelled and should be given two weeks to produce the report.
“I got in touch with the next witness yesterday and he told me that his report was not ready and urged the court to give him two weeks”, the prosecutor said.
The judge who had on many occasions expressed great concern about the low pace the case was traveling did not take kindly to the excuse.
He said he will not sit by and allow what happened in the case of the late JB Danquah at the District Court to happen saying his court is not a District Court.
“This is not a district court and I would not allow what happened in the JB Danquah case to happen here.
JB Case
Dr. Lawrence Edusei, a retired Pathologist at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital shocked an Accra District Court when he said he could not trace the whereabouts of the autopsy report on the late New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa North in the Eastern Region, JB Danquah Adu.
According to him, his home was burgled in September last year and a sizable number of autopsy reports were stolen.
He did not say who burgled and ransacked his home but said he has reported the matter to the Korle Bu Police Station.
He said he could, however, not say with certainty whether the late JB Danquah’s post-mortem report was among those stolen.
The pathologist had over the past months been playing hide and seek with the court which ordered him to release the report to the police or come and explain reasons behind the delay in its release.
Although several summons were served on him to appear before the court, he failed to do so.
He eventually released the report to the police after he was compelled by the court to do so.
Horrifying Reactions
Justice Mensah who is well aware of the ramifications that may arise should such a thing happen with the Afoko trial noted that “there would be horrifying reactions if this case turns out like that”.
He queried why it is taking the pathologist so much time to produce the report, comparing the situation to judges who at times have to write very lengthy judgements yet do so on time.
“We judges write down 50, 60 and sometimes 100 paged judgements and it doesn’t take us two weeks. What kind of report is he writing?” Justice Mensah queried.
“We are not joking here, it is his civic responsibility as a medical officer, even if he is on retirement”, he added.
The case has been adjourned to July 10, 2018.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak & Ruth Ofori