Eugene Baffoe Bonnie, William Tevie, Godfried Yeboah Dame
The Supreme Court has set June 7, 2018 to give its ruling on a case referred to it by an Accra high court to interpret Article 19 Clause 2 E and G of the 1992 Constitution.
The Article relates to adequate time and materials for accused persons; and that has been the bone of contention between the Attorney General (AG) and the immediate-past board chairman of the National Communication Authority (NCA), Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, and four other members who have been accused of causing $4 million financial loss to the state.
Whiles defence lawyers are demanding for prosecution documents three clear days before the trial pursuant to the Article, state prosecutors hold a different view, saying there is no law or provision which places a burden on them to do so.
Pursuant to Article 130, which gives exclusive powers to the Supreme Court for interpretation of the Constitution, the matter was referred to the apex court on February 1, 2018.
A seven-member panel was subsequently constituted to hear the matter and on March 20, 2018, the panel, presided over by Justice William Atuguba, ordered lawyers for the five accused persons to file their statements of case within two weeks.
The court also directed the state attorneys to file their statement after they had been served by the defence lawyers.
Other members of the panel are Justices Julius Ansah, Sophia Adinyira, Jones Dotse, Gabriel Pwamang, Sule Gbadegbe and Yao Apau.
Before the court yesterday, Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, said that the AG’s office had received the statements of case from all the accused persons.
He said the AG had subsequently filed a composite response to all the statements of case and that he would rely on them for the proceedings.
Lawyers for the accused persons also told the court that they had filed their statements of case, adding that they would also rely on them.
After listening to the state and the defence lawyers, the court adjourned the case to June 7, 2018 for the ruling.
An Accra high court, presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Barfour, on February 1, 2018, stayed its proceedings in the trial of former top officials of the NCA who have been accused of willfully causing $4 million financial loss to the state.
They are Eugene Baffoe Bonnie, former board chairman; William Mathew Tetteh Tevie, former Director General of the NCA; Nana Owusu Ensaw, former chairman of finance sub-committee of the NCA; Alhaji Salifu Mimina Osman, former National Security Coordinator on the NCA board as well as a private businessman, George Derek Oppong, Director of Infraloks Development Limited (IDL).Â
Opuni’s Trial
Meanwhile, the adjournment of the case affects the trial of the former Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni. He is before an Accra high court for causing financial loss to the state to the tune of GH¢217,370,289.22.
His lawyers had raised the same issue with regard to getting access to prosecution documents days ahead of court proceedings.
Although the court did not refer the matter to the Supreme Court, it had adjourned its hearing to April 30, 2018, hoping that the interpretation of the Article mentioned earlier would have been done.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak