Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson
Minority Leader and former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, yesterday withdrew an application for recusal against the judge hearing his case of allegedly causing €2.37 million financial loss to the state in the purchase of what the prosecution describes as defective ambulances for the Ministry of Health.
His lawyers had filed the application asking Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, a Court of Appeal judge sitting an additional High Court judge, to stop hearing the case against him and two others on ground that the judge had shown bias towards him.
The application had alleged, among other things, that the judge threatened to jail the MP’s witnesses if they failed to show up in court to testify in spite of a witness summon issued against them.
This, it claims, breaches the accused person’s right to fair trial as he was unsettled by the court’s threats to have his witnesses arrested and jailed.
The court had adjourned the case to October 12, 2023, to rule on a preliminary objection raised by Dr. Aziz Bamba, lead counsel for Dr. Forson, which averred that the trial judge against whom the allegation of bias was made ought not to be the one to determine the application.
Justice Asare-Botwe had indicated that her decision which would be based on precedence would have determined whether or not to consider the substantive application.
The court as a result did not hear an application filed by Dr. Forson asking it to vary the bail conditions regarding the release of his passport to him.
But appearing before the court yesterday, Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, holding brief for Dr. Bamba, told the court he intended to withdraw the application for recusal and subsequently withdrew same and it was struck out by the court as withdrawn.
The court then asked the nature of variation being sought regarding the release of the passport, and Mr. Tameklo prayed the court to allow Dr. Forson to keep the passport till October 1, 2023.
Justice Asare-Botwe granted the request and ordered the accused to return the passport to the court’s registrar by 12 noon of October 2, 2023.
Petition
Dr. Forson’s withdrawal of his motion asking the judge to recuse herself comes just a week after the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, dismissed a petition asking her to transfer the trial to a different judge.
Richard Jakpa, a private businessman who is also standing trial for same offences as the MP, had petitioned the Chief Justice to remove the judge from the trial, alleging bias against her as a result of an incident which occurred during one of the court’s sittings.
He had alleged bias because the trial judge on June 20, 2023, issued a stern warning to the accused person that it was the last time she would tolerate any disrespect from him and let him go home.
Trial
Dr. Ato Forson, Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director at the Ministry of Health, as well as private businessman, Richard Jakpa, are standing trial for willfully causing financial loss of €2.37 million to the state, through a contract to purchase 200 ambulances for the Ministry of Health, among other charges.
The prosecution, led by the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame and Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora-Obuobisa, closed its case on February 14, 2023 after calling five witnesses, including the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu to prove its case.
The main issue raised during the prosecution’s case was whether the defective vehicles were purchased in accordance with the purchase agreement approved by Parliament.
The other was whether Dr. Forson was authorised by the substantive Finance Minister or any superior officer to write a letter to the Controller and Accountant General directing the establishment of irrevocable Letters of Credit (LCs) which led to the payments.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak