Gregory Afoko
The trial of Gregory Afoko – who has been accused of murdering Adams Mahama, Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) – at an Accra high court, has been adjourned to January 23, 2018.
State attorneys were expected to present their fifth prosecution witness to give evidence in the case at Tuesday’s sitting.
But the presiding Judge, Justice L.L. Mensah, had to adjourn the case to January 23, 24, 25 and 26 because a senior state attorney, Nicholas Amponsah, the court was told, was out of the jurisdiction.
It has been close to two months when a fourth prosecution witness was discharged by the court, after giving his evidence-in-chief and the defence lawyers having concluded their cross-examinations.
The case was to resume on December 7, 2017 but the state attorney and the witness were absent because he had lost his brother and was said to have travelled to his hometown for the burial.
The judge therefore adjourned sitting to January this year because of the Christmas break.
But at Tuesday’s sitting, both defence lawyer, Osafo Buaben and the state attorney were not in court.
Mr. Buaben was engaged in another court, representing one of the five former board members of the National Communication Authority (NCA), who have been accused of wilfully causing financial loss to the state.
Justice Mensah, who had earlier indicated that he expected the case to flow quickly and targeted April 2018 to make a significant headway, had to adjourn the case.
A fourth prosecution witness, Tofic Mutala, was discharged by the court last month after the defence counsel had ended his cross-examination.
The witness had in the course of the trial been recounting the circumstances leading to the gruesome murder of the NPP regional chairman.
He narrated how he was with the deceased on the night the acid bathe took place and how he was called to rush to the hospital after the incident.
He told the court that before his death, Mr Adams Mahama had told him of his ordeal and mentioned Gregory Afoko and one Alandgi Asabke – currently on the run – as the  people who poured the acid on him.
His evidence corroborated the one given by the other three witnesses.
Afoko is being held on charges of conspiracy to commit crime to wit: murder and murder.
He has pleaded not guilty before the court, which is composed of a seven-member jury.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak