Cecilia Dapaah
The Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) petition to the Chief Justice for recusal of the hearing judge has caused the cancellation of the second confirmation application hearing for the morning of Thursday, October 12, 2023.
The move displeased Cecilia Dapaah’s lead counsel, Victoria Barth, who requested her reaction be recorded in the official court record after the day’s sitting was ordered by Justice Edward Twum after granting the application for the abridgment of time heard Wednesday 11th of October, 2023.
Parties were present in court same as counsel for Ms Dapaah. Legal representation for the OSP was absent.
Barth expressed surprise as the OSP had never questioned Justice Edward Twum’s competence before and called the petition a “deliberate ploy to frustrate hearing and a desperate attempt to avoid his own ill-fated application.”
Barth emphasized that the OSP head is not above the law and that she should have been placed on notice to avert the inconvenience of her presence in court.
She went on to say that “Nevertheless, the inevitable cannot be avoided and there shall be a day of reckoning.”
She also drew into her ever present arsenal on professional legal ethics as she said courtesy and proper professional conduct required that she will be placed on notice to avert the inconvenience of her presence in court.
Justice Twum adjourned the hearing to Wednesday, October 18, 2023, subject to the Chief Justice’s decision.
The same fate befell the Republic v Cecilia Dapaah & Another case, which was also adjourned.
By Vincent Kubi