Dr. Stephen Opuni
Former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Stephen Opuni has once again filed an application asking Justice Clemence Honyenuga, a Supreme Court judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, to recuse himself from his ongoing trial on grounds of ‘likelihood of bias’.
The application is alleging what he claims to be ‘open hostility’ towards him by the trial judge and “his acts and conducts is such that justice cannot be said to be seen to be done.”
Dr. Opuni is arguing that the court has gone back on its previous practice of agreeing on dates with lawyers involved in the matter and now imposes hearing dates contrary to what pertained when the prosecution was calling its witnesses.
He averred that Justice Honyenuga on the first day since he opened his defence had adjourned the matter to December 6 and 9, and stated that the judge had said his diary at the Supreme Court did not allow him any other dates.
“He refused to hear my lawyer’s plea for an adjournment of the case to a different time of the day so as to enable my lawyer attend to his medical appointment,” the application averred.
Main Trial
Dr. Opuni is standing trial together with businessman, Seidu Agongo, and the businessman’s Agricult Ghana Limited, for allegedly causing over GH¢217 million financial loss to the state.
He was ordered by the trial judge on May 7, 2021, to open his defence after the prosecution had closed its case.
First Attempt
This is not the first time Dr. Opuni is making a move to get Justice Honyenuga off the case as he had earlier filed an application before the court seeking the trial judge to do so.
The application was dismissed by the court, which held that it was brought in bad faith.
He also petitioned the Chief Justice to get the trial judge to recuse himself from the case, but the petition was dismissed by the Chief Justice, who stated that the petition did not disclose any likelihood of bias on the part of the judge.
SC Move
Dr. Opuni then went to the Supreme Court, asking it to exercise its supervisory power to quash the part of the decision of Justice Honyenuga to exclude some exhibits in his ruling on a submission of no case filed by the accused persons.
He also asked the court to prohibit the trial judge from further hearing the case, which was granted by a 3:2 majority of the court.
But the decision was later reversed by a 4:3 major review panel which reinstated Justice Honyenuga to continue hearing the case.
New Move
Dr. Opuni opened his defence on December 2, 2021, and called Charles Dodoo, a former Director of Finance at COCOBOD as his first witness.
But he is once again asking the trial judge to recuse himself from the trial on two grounds of hostility in unilaterally deciding dates in which the cases would be heard, and said it constitutes bias towards him.
“I am informed by my lawyer and verily believe same to be true that they do not have any objection to the fact that the trial judge is hearing the case expeditiously, however, some of the dates are dates on which my lawyers have already fixed hearings in other cases and therefore it is impossible for them to be present at my hearing at the stated time of the day,” he pointed out.
He stated that by the provisions of Article 19 Clause 2(g) of the 1992 Constitution, he is required to be afforded the same conditions as the prosecution, but the judge ‘unilaterally’ imposing dates has “created a nightmare scenario” because some of the dates coincide with dates taken by his lawyers in other cases.
“I further state that the learned trial judge has exhibited open hostility towards me since I opened my defence and this is evident where he, in open court, apart from not hearing my counsel with respect to adjourned dates, bangs his files on his table when giving dates on his own, orders the court to rise whiles angrily screaming ‘court rise’,” the applications alleged.
He also alleged that the trial judge has shown bias towards him and claimed it was evidenced in his prejudicial comment which he made on December 9, 2021, that the evidence of his witnesses cannot exonerate him save his own evidence.
He is also alleging bias on grounds that the trial judge prohibited his lawyer from asking his witness questions regarding the judge’s findings in his ruling in dismissing his submission of no case.
“This conduct is one of bias since the questions to be asked are based on the express findings made by the judge with respect to the submission of no case in which the judge made extensive references to the evidence of various prosecution witnesses affirming the basis of his ruling,” he challenged.
Dr. Opuni concluded that unless Justice Honyenuga recuses himself from hearing the case, he would be denied a fair trial since he would be prevented from conducting the case in a way which he is entitled to by making defences to specific portions of the ruling.
The application would be heard on December 16.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak