Dr. Stephen Opuni
The Supreme Court has affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal to adopt proceedings in the trial of former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Stephen Opuni, instead of starting it afresh.
The court, in a unanimous decision by a panel of five, dismissed an appeal filed by the ex-COCOBOD boss against the decision of the Court of Appeal which earlier dismissed the decision of a High Court in Accra for the trial to start afresh.
The panel made up of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo (presiding) and Justices Mariama Owusu, Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Ernest Yao Gaewu and Yaw Darko Asare, dismissed the appeal in its entirety as having no merit.
It therefore, upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal against the decision of the High Court previously presided over by Justice Kwesi Anokye Gyimah.
Trial
Dr. Opuni, Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Limited are standing trial for 27 charges of causing financial loss to the state, defrauding by false pretences, conspiracy to commit crime, abetment of crime, money laundering, corruption by public officer and contravention of the PPA Act.
Together, they are accused of causing a financial loss of over GH¢217 million to the state through the sale and purchase of the controversial Lithovit Liquid Fertilizer which the prosecution says was never tested.
They have been on trial before a High Court in Accra since March 2018, charged with 27 offences.
Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal on July 3, 2023, ordered an Accra High Court to adopt the proceedings in the trial of Dr. Stephen Opuni and businessman, Seidu Agongo, previously conducted by retired Justice Clemence Honyenugah.
A three-member panel of the court, presided over by Justice Philip Bright Mensah and assisted by Justices Jennifer Dadzie and Ernest Owusu-Dapaa, yesterday upheld an appeal by the Attorney General against the decision of the trial court to restart the case.
The court, in a unanimous decision, said having regard for the perculiar situation of the case and regard to constitutional provisions, the High Court misdirected itself and thereby came to a wrong conclusion to start the case afresh.
The two are before the High Court for allegedly causing financial loss to the state to the tune of over GH¢217 million, as well as procurement breaches in the purchase of Lithovit Liquid Fertilizer.
The prosecution led by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, called seven witnesses to prove the charges against the accused persons who were extensively cross-examined by defence lawyers, some lasting about six months.
It closed its case on March 30, 2021 and Dr. Opuni has since opened his defence and called seven out of the eleven witnesses he intends to rely on to counter the prosecution’s case.
But the case had to be reassigned to another judge following the retirement of Justice Honyenuga (rtd) and the expiration of the six months extension granted him by the Chief Justice in accordance with the 1992 Constitution.
Justice Kwesi Anokye Gyimah, in a ruling on whether to adopt the old proceedings or start the trial afresh, had held that it would be unfair for the court to ignore the allegations made against the previous judge and adopt the previous proceedings as they were.
The judge also pointed out that in order for the court to have firsthand information in the trial and pay attention to the demeanour of witnesses, the court will start the trial from scratch.
Appeal
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, appealed the decision and averred that the trial judge exercised his discretion wrongly in arriving at a conclusion that he “will be saddled with the same suspicions and allegations of unfairness levelled against the current state of proceedings,” which have already been dealt with by the Supreme Court.
Again, the notice of appeal averred that the new judge “in relying on irrelevant factors already disposed of by Superior Courts, unfairly gave the accused persons a second bite at the cherry.”
“The decision of the court to start the trial de novo (afresh) has occasioned a miscarriage of justice as it will hinder an efficient trial of the accused persons in the instant case,” the AG avers.
It was the case of Mr. Dame that the judge erred, in the circumstances of the instant case, in placing undue premium on the need to assess the demeanour of the witnesses called at the trial.
The notice of appeal therefore, sought an order setting aside the ruling directing that the trial be started afresh as well as an order that the evidence led at the trial so far be adopted by the trial judge.
Ruling
The Court of Appeal in its concluding part of the judgement on the appeal said the High Court misdirected itself and subsequently granted the Attorney General’s appeal in its entirety.
The court, therefore, ordered the trial court to adopt the proceedings previously presided over by Justice (rtd) Honyenuga instead of restarting the case.
Dr. Opuni then went to the Supreme Court seeking the apex court to overturn the decision of the Court of Appeal and order instead that the case is restarted with the prosecution recalling its witness in a trial which has lasted for five years.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak