Source: newsthemegh.com
State prosecutors claim that finding witnesses to testify in the prosecution of Dr. Stephen Opuni, a former COCOBOD executive and businessman, is proving increasingly challenging.
Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, the deputy attorney general and minister of justice, stated in yesterday’s hearing of the Accra High Court before Justice Kwasi Anokye Gyimah that the prosecution has contacted some of the witnesses the state called in its prior trial but “some are not willing to come and testify” against the defendants.
There are 27 charges against the former COCOBOD Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Opuni, businessman Seidu Agongo, and Agricult Ghana Limited. These include willfully causing financial loss to the government and violating the Public Procurement Act when buying Lithovit liquid fertilizer between 2014 and 2016.
They are being held on a GH300,000 self-recognizance bond apiece after entering a not guilty plea to the allegations.
The Chief Justice, acting on a request from the Attorney General, shifted the Opuni trial case to another judge after Judge Clemence Honyenuga, who had been hearing it since 2018, retired.
Judge Kwasi Anokye Gyimah, the new trial judge, decided on April 4, 2023 that the case will be heard from scratch after analyzing the procedures under the previous judge and weighing the prosecution’s argument to accept the processes as well as the opposing reasons (afresh).
As a result, the Opuni trial judge mandated that the parties submit any statements they want to use as evidence by April 21 and set April 25 as the case management date.
But, when it came time for the trial to be heard, the state’s attorney, a deputy attorney general, accepted the court’s order but begged for more time.
Mr. Tua-Yeboah stated, “We are here for a time adjustment,” and he asked the court to give the prosecution 30 more days to file the witness statements.
Aside from noting that some witnesses are unwilling to testify in court, he informed the jury that one of the people approached indicated he was in the process of retiring.
One of them, he alleged, also claimed to have testified for nearly two years, which seemed to dissuade. The accused persons’ attorneys did not object to the request and urged the court to exercise its discretion. The judge made the following ruling: “Prosecution’s request is granted; case is continued to June 7 for case management.”
The Attorney General has filed an appeal in the interim challenging the court’s decision to conduct the trial from scratch. It is anticipated that the appeals procedure will begin on May 3, 2023.