Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo
The immediate former National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, has filed an application at the Court of Appeal seeking to stay his trial at the High Court in which he is accused of plotting to assault some public officers.
He is asking the court to stay the trial pending its determination of an appeal against the trial judge’s order on him to open his defence after finding that the prosecution had made a case against him.
Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo and communication officer of the party, Kwaku Boahen, were ordered by an Accra High Court on January 26, 2023, to open their defence in the trial after the court found that the prosecution had made a prima facie case against them.
The court, presided over by Justice Samuel Asiedu, a Supreme Court judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, had dismissed an application for no case filed by the defence lawyers.
The court subsequently ordered them to file their witness statements and Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo has since complied with that order and filed the statements through his lawyer.
But his counsel, Tony Lithur, yesterday told the court that he has filed an application for stay of proceedings at the Court of Appeal and the court was yet to fix a date for the hearing.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, however, told the court she had not seen the application and had only been informed that it had been filed.
“What we have is the appeal proper and fixed for 10th May, and we have not received the records for the appeal proper. It is only this morning that he said he filed on Friday,” she told the court.
She indicated she was ready for Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo to open his defence, and the trial judge indicated he was also ready especially when the accused had already filed his witness statement.
Dr. Abdul Aziz Bamba, counsel for Kweku Boahen, also indicated that he had filed an appeal against the court’s order on the accused to open his defence.
He was however, surprised the prosecution had still not been served as it was filed before Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo filed his appeal.
The case was adjourned to June 1, 2023, for continuation.
By Gibril Abdul Razak