The accused persons
An Accra Central Magistrate Court has set November 29, 2016 to deliver its ruling on whether or not state prosecutors must give a copy of the report of the bone test on Daniel Asiedu, who is facing trial for allegedly murdering Joseph Boakye Danquah-Adu, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa North, to the defence team.
The court set the date after the defence lawyer Augustine Obuor had moved the application for the court to compel the prosecution to release the report to them.
He told the court, presided over by Stephen Owusu, that the report was crucial to the case of Daniel Asiedu, 19, aka Sexy Don Don.
Mr Obuor told the court that his client, who is in the dock with one Vincent Booso, aka Junior Agogo is a juvenile.
He said he was seeking refuge under the Juvenile Justice Law (Act 653) which gives the judge the power to order an independent bone test on his client.
The former State Attorney argued that the bone test had already been done by the prosecution which had failed to furnish the defence with a copy of same.
He said if the report establishes that Sexy Don Don is a juvenile, the court would handle him per Section 46 (7) of the Act, adding that his client ought not be kept in prison with adults.
Mr Obuor noted that the posture of the prosecution was contrary to Article 19 (2)(e) of the 1992 Constitution, stressing that per the charges leveled against the accused, several defences were available to him.
He said the refusal by the prosecution, led by Superintendent Francis Baah, to release the report means that the age Sexy Don Don gave to the police upon his arrest goes “unchallenged.”
Supt. Baah, who opposed the application, said the case before the court ought to be tried summarily and that the prosecution was guided by law in such matters.
He stated that the prosecution conducted a lot of checks to ascertain the age of the accused person.
According to the prosecutor, the bone test did not give the specific age of the accused, adding that Sexy Don Don told the police that he was 19 years old during his arrest.
He, however, said he was ready to give a copy of the report to the court but the judge fixed the said day for ruling.
Sexy Don Don has been charged with murder while Agogo faces a charge of abetment of crime.
The prosecution disclosed that Agogo abetted Sexy Don Don to commit murder at about 1 am on February 9, this year at Shaishie at East Legon in Accra.
Agoogo reportedly assisted Daniel Asiedu to enter the house of the deceased through the iron fence wall on the blind side of the security man, who was fast asleep.
Sexy Don Don, according to the prosecution, intentionally and unlawfully caused the death of the MP on that fateful day.
By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson
jeffdegraft44@yahoo.com