Charles Bissue
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) is set to call its first witness on July 2, in the trial of former Secretary to the erstwhile Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue, for allegedly using public office for profit, by cutting corners to renew the mining licence of a company.
This came up during case management before a High Court in Accra where the OSP is seeking to prove Mr. Bissue took bribe while serving on the now defunct committee which was set up by former President Akufo-Addo to combat illegal mining.
The OSP has completed the filing of disclosures as well as witness statements for the two witnesses it intends to call to attain a conviction.
Court documents accuse Bissue of receiving GH¢35,000 from one Benjamin Adjapong for the purpose of circumventing established requirements of the IMCIM under its Road Map for Lifting of Ban on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (The Way Forward), 2018.
He is alleged to have ignored laid down procedures in respect of verification of documents, acquisition of relevant permits, demarcation and mapping of concessions, among others, to unlawfully secure a fast-tracked renewal of an expired mining licence to ORR Resources Enterprise without valid documentation.
Thomas Andy Owusu, who was charged alongside Mr. Bissue, was convicted by the court after he entered a plea bargain with the OSP.
He was subsequently ordered to pay a fine of 500 penalty units (GH¢6,000) as well as a restitution of GH¢200,000 to the state.
The court has also struck out two other counts of corruption of a public officer and accepting bribe to influence a public officer levelled against him.
Charles Bissue has been charged with three counts of using public office for profit contrary to Section 179C (a) of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), and three counts of corruption by public officer.
The brief facts of the case, filed before a High Court in Accra, indicate that Benjamin Adjapong, in the course of a sting operation conducted by a private investigative company, Tiger Eye P.I., posed as an officer of ORR Resources Enterprise and approached Andy Thomas Owusu with the design of securing a mining licence for ORR Resources Enterprise without valid documentation and verification regarding relevant permits, demarcation and mapping of the company’s concession.
Owusu allegedly represented that he was able and willing to unduly influence Charles Bissue to circumvent the vetting and verification process in favour of ORR Resources Enterprise.
The brief facts said in furtherance of the criminal adventure, Owusu demanded from Benjamin Adjapong a fee of GH¢100,000, to be split evenly between him and Bissue.
It continues that the fee was negotiated down to GH¢40,000 apiece, and Bissue received a total of GH¢35,000 while Owusu took a total of GH¢15,000.
“As a result of the money paid by Benjamin Adjapong to the First and Second Accused under the criminal enterprise, the First Accused unlawfully secured for and issued ORR Resources Enterprise with a sticker and necessary permits signifying that ORR Resources Enterprise had complied with all lawful requirements to commence mining activities,” the brief facts added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak