Gregory Afoko
The trial of Gregory Afoko – at an Accra high court for allegedly murdering the Upper East Regional chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Adams Mahama – has taken another long adjournment as the prosecution could not present the next witness.
The prosecution was expected to present its seventh witness but it has turned out that the next three witnesses who are all police officers, are members of the joint taskforce – Operation Vanguard – against illegal mining (galamsey).
The court, presided over by Justice Lawrence Ladzagla Mensah, was informed yesterday by Mathew Amponsah, a chief state attorney, that the three were engaged in a meeting with their superiors in connection with the fight against galamsey.
He said he had already arranged for the witnesses – who would be the seventh, eighth and ninth – to appear before the court yesterday to give their evidences.
However, he said the three police officers called him over the weekend to inform him about their inability to be at the court due to another national assignment.
He therefore, assured the court that the witnesses would be ready by the next sitting.
Justice Mensah, who was not impressed by the situation, enquired from the attorney how he gets his witnesses – whether he goes looking for new ones after others have been discharged.
Mr. Amponsah stated that his witnesses are programmed to follow a sequence, except that the three are police officers who have been engaged elsewhere.
He said the officers told him they would be available after the Easter festivities.
There were however, some challenges in deciding the next date for the proceedings as the dates suggested by the court appeared to conflict with other cases being handled by both the prosecution and defence counsels.
Osafo Buaben, lawyer for Afoko, told the court that he is among the lawyers handling the in-camera ‘trial’ of the chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei, and that some of the dates suggested would not be favourable to him and his client.
After a few minutes of deliberations, the court settled on April 24 through to 27, 2018 for the trial to continue.
Meanwhile, Justice Mensah has reiterated that he would not tolerate any further delays in the trial.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak