James Gyakye Quayson
The Supreme Court has adjourned a case filed by the restrained Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, seeking to quash the decision of an Accra High Court regarding the testimony of the prosecution’s first witness in his criminal trial.
The adjournment was occasioned by Tsatsu Tsikata, counsel for the embattled MP, who informed the court that they had received the response of the prosecution to their statement of case and intend to exercise their right to reply.
Mr. Quayson is before the Apex Court asking it to set aside, the decision of the High Court where he is standing trial for charges including deceit of a public officer, forgery of passport or travel documents, perjury and false declaration, to strike out portions of the prosecution’s witness statement on ground that the witness does not have personal knowledge of such matters.
The Supreme Court panel of five presided over by Justice Jones Dotse had indicated that the panel had read all the arguments and was going to give lawyers few minutes to add any further arguments they had, but Mr. Tsikata informed the court that he intended to reply the prosecution’s response.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, who sounded surprised, said Mr. Tsikata had indicated to the High Court that he was making efforts for the case to be heard before the end of the legal year (yesterday) in order not to delay the criminal trial.
She, however, obliged and left the decision to the court to make since it was within his right to file the reply within seven days.
The court therefore, gave Mr. Tsikata 10 days within which to file the reply. The case was adjourned to October 18, 2022 for hearing.
Mr. Quayson has been charged, among others, for deceiving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by making a false statement that he did not have a dual citizenship in order to acquire a Ghanaian passport.
He has also been charged with perjury, for making a false statement at Assin Fosu that he does not owe allegiance to any country other than Ghana, a statement he did not have a reason to believe to be true at the time of making it.
Again, the MP has been charged for making a false declaration for office when he knowingly said he does not owe allegiance to any country other than Ghana, for the purpose of obtaining a public office as a Member of Parliament, a statement he knew to be material for obtaining that office.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak