Friday, November 30, 2007

9 Express interest in oil exploration

November 30, 2007 (Back page lead)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THERE will be increased activities of oil drilling in Ghana by nine oil companies next year following the projected investment of more than $430 million by these companies.
The companies are Afren and Celtique, a French and English company; Oranto Energy, a Nigerian company; Sterling Energy, UK; Vanco Energy, USA; Hess Corporation, USA; Kosmos Energy, USA; Tullow Energy, UK; Heliconia Energy, UK, and Devon Energy, USA.
These companies are investing between $10 million and $100 million in their drilling activities next year.
The Managing Director of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Mr Moses Oduro Boateng, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said, “With the success chalked up with the finding of oil in the country, more companies have expressed interest in investing in the country’s oil sector.”
He said following the massive interest oil companies had in the country’s energy sector, “we have become more critical and cautious about the size of acreage allotted. We also take into account the financial and technical capabilities of companies desiring to invest in the exploration sector”.
Expatiating further on the activities of the companies, Mr Boateng said those companies, except Devon Energy, had six and a half years each to drill for oil in the country.
“Devon Energy, whose licence expires next year, has declared its intention to strategically pull out of Africa,” he disclosed.
“However, Devon Energy has committed to spend between $20 and $30 million in drilling a well in the Keta Basin if it is not able to sell its assets by next year,” Mr Boateng continued.
He said Afren Energy had indicated its interest in the Devon block and was currently negotiating to buy out Devon.
He said Afren and Celtique, Oranto Energy and Sterling Energy were expected to invest $50 million each in their activities in the Tano, Saltpond and West Keta blocks, respectively.
Mr Boateng stated that Vanco Energy would invest $60 million, while Hess Corporation and Kosmos Energy would inject more than $40 million and $50 million, respectively, into their activities in the Western Region.
He said Tullow Energy was expected to pump $100 million into its activities, while Heliconia Energy was expected to spend $10 million in conducting a three-dimensional seismic survey at Cape Three Points in the Western Region, after which it would evaluate and determine the next line of action to be taken.
Mr Boateng explained that most of those companies were expected to drill exploratory wells in their respective areas of operation.
He pointed out that Afren, Oranto and Sterling had applied to explore for oil and their application had since been negotiated, awaiting Cabinet approval and ratification by Parliament to enable them to explore for oil next year.
Mr Boateng gave the assurance that the GNPC was committed to promoting exploratory activities to make Ghana an oil hub in the sub-region.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

366 Days of sensational cocaine trial - IT'S OVER • Tagor, Abass jailed 15 yrs each

November 29, 2007 (Lead story)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

After one year of court proceedings, one of the most sensational cocaine trials in the country ended in Accra yesterday with the sentencing of Kwabena Amaning, alias Tagor, and Alhaji Issah Abass to 15 years imprisonment each with hard labour.
The two were found guilty by the Fast Track High Court on their self-confessed admissions of dealing in narcotic drugs at the residence of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kofi Boakye in May last year and they are to serve their sentences from Wednesday, August 2, 2006, the day of their arrest.
They were, however, acquitted and discharged on the charges of supply of narcotic drugs.
The guilty verdict comes exactly 69 weeks after their arrest on various counts of conspiracy, engaging in prohibited business related to narcotic drugs and promoting enterprise related to narcotic drugs.
The trial judge, Mr Justice Jones Dotse, criticised ACP Boakye for actively participating in the meeting as a drug dealer and expressed his displeasure at the failure of the Attorney-General to prosecute him along with the two convicts.
He also criticised the first investigator in the case, Chief Inspector Justice Oppong, and his superiors at the Greater Accra Regional Police Command for searching the residence of the convicts four days after their arrest, instead of doing so immediately.
According to the court, such unprofessional conduct on the part of the police officers gave room to the convicts to remove all traces of incriminating evidence, adding, “Inspector Oppong did nothing to merit the tag of investigator.”
The two convicts were arraigned before the court on November 27, 2006 after the Justice Georgina Wood Committee, which had been tasked to investigate the missing 76 parcels of cocaine which were on board the MV Benjamin vessel, had recommended that they should be put on trial.
Tagor, who was walking with the aid of crutches after he had sprained his leg in a football match while in custody, and Abass were immediately whisked away in a waiting vehicle by security officials, amidst the shedding of tears by their families and friends.
Passing judgement, Mr Justice Dotse, an Appeal Court judge with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, described the convicts as “criminals who lost their heads and spoke profusely with loose tongues”.
He said the two, together with ACP Boakye, Victor Kissei, alias Yaw Billah, Kwabena Acheampong and Alhaji Imoro, made self-confessed admissions in their previous cocaine transactions.
Billah, Acheampong and Imoro had earlier been discharged by the Circuit Court in Accra after the Attorney-General had filed a nolle prosequi to discontinue their trial.
The trial judge expressed his displeasure at the decision of the Attorney-General not to prosecute ACP Boakye, Billah and Imoro, whom he said were all guilty of dealing in narcotic drugs, adding, “Only time will tell.”
He said without malice to ACP Boakye, he (the trial judge) was privy to the transcripts of the recorded conversation and stated that from what transpired at the meeting, it was apparent that all those present dealt in narcotic drugs.
Mr Justice Dotse, however, said Acheampong had already been used as a prosecution witness and for that matter ACP Boakye could not have been a material witness, adding that “it is not too late to prosecute Kofi Boakye”.
The court, however, said it would leave the matter to the entire discretion of the Attorney-General, who had the powers to decide on whom to prosecute.
Turning to the conviction of Tagor and Abass, the judge held that he was “satisfied that the use of transcripts to prosecute has not breached any of our laws”.
The court further held that experts invited to testify in the trial proved that the voice attributes in the tape recording were not disputed, adding that the convicts’ defence that they talked the way they did to bait ACP Boakye was false.
It affirmed that “the meeting was held by business brothers in a cordial atmosphere and on a happy note. There were no missing links, thanks to Chief Inspector Charles Adobe, who conducted himself professionally”.
The court further held that the convicts and the others at the meeting all agreed to act together to pursue the missing 76 parcels of cocaine and share the proceeds accordingly.
It said it was not true that the convicts were baiting ACP Boakye, adding that if that was so, they would not have spoken the way they did.
It further deduced that Mr Adobe was able to prove that terms such as “keys”, “safe”, “goods” and “business” which were all used in the conversation were consistent in the world of drug dealers in the country.
The court continued that during that conversation, Abass said Sheriff Asem Dakeh, alias The Limping Man, was the owner of the 76 parcels of cocaine, while Joseph K.J. Damson was the owner of the vessel, both statements of which later turned out to be correct.
“They made confessions to previous dealings in cocaine. What happened at the meeting cannot be said to be a bait,” the court contended, adding, “I am convinced that their action was not to bait.”
It said the case of the defence collapsed when Colonel Isaac Akuoku (retd), the former Executive Secretary of the Narcotics Control Board (NABOB), denied knowledge of the recording, adding that it would not serve any useful purpose if Mr Ben Ndego, a former official, had testified on behalf of the defence.
Abass had, in his evidence-in-chief, admitted to having recorded the conversation, with the explanation that he had been instructed by Mr Ndego to do so.
He had also informed the court that Col Akuoku was privy to the recording of the conversation, which was aimed at nailing ACP Boakye, who was suspected to be dealing in narcotic drugs.
Touching on Abass’s earlier evidence that he had seized a police vehicle because the police owed him, the court said “Abass was so ‘powerful’ he could seize a police vehicle without a court order”.
Mr Justice Dotse chastised Abass for attempting to smear the reputation of Detective Inspector Adaba during the trial and stated that all evidence led in court proved that Detective Inspector Adaba had, on countless occasions, refused to dance to the tune of the convicts, thereby incurring their displeasure.
He said it was unfortunate that Ghana was now being used as a designated area for the drug trade, adding that the activities of drug traffickers were injuring the reputation of the country.
The trial judge further stated that the activities of drug dealers were causing serious harm in the society and warned drug dealers that it was no longer profitable to deal in narcotic drugs in the country.
Earlier, counsel for the convicts had prayed the court to deal leniently with the convicts because they were first offenders but the prosecution prayed the court to take into account the fact that they were drug barons.

'I signed agreement for purchase of MV Benjamin'

November 27, 2007

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE father of the owner of the MV Benjamin vessel which was allegedly used to cart 77 parcels of cocaine yesterday confirmed that he signed an agreement with the alleged cocaine fugitive, Sheriff Asem Dakeh.
Mr John Kwabena Dawson told the Accra Fast Track High Court through an interpreter that he signed the sale and charter agreement for the vessel, although he was not the Managing Director of Dashment Company Limited.
He explained that he signed the agreement because he had signed the hire purchase agreement for the vessel.
The MV Benjamin vessel was allegedly used to cart 77 parcels of cocaine, which later disappeared.
Answering questions under cross-examination, Mr Dawson further explained that his son, Joseph Kojo Dawson, who is standing trial with four others, gave him (Mr Dawson) the consent to sign the agreement on behalf of the company.
Kojo Dawson is being tried alongside Isaac Arhin and Philip Bruce Arhin, both Ghanaians, as well as Cui Xian Li and Luo Yin Xing, both Chinese, for allegedly playing various roles in the importation of the cocaine.
The accused persons have been charged with various counts of using property for narcotic offences, engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotics and possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority.
Each of them has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and has been remanded in prison custody.
Mr Dawson said he signed the charter and sale agreement with Sheriff and Mr Gill Bae, the original owner of the vessel, in Tema around 4.00 p.m. on February 6, 2006.
He said the charterer was responsible for repair works on the vessel, which had then broken down, and further stated that he did not know the cost of repair works on the vessel.
The witness, who said he had been in the shipping business for the past 30 years, said Mr Bae was to receive payment for the charter of the ship but he could not tell whether or not Mr Bae had received payment.
An accountant of Dashment Company Limited, Prince Okyere, in his evidence-in-chief, informed the court that the last time he paid crew members on board the MV Benjamin was in February 2005.
He said Isaac and Philip were among the first batch of 31 people he paid off, adding that Mr Bae paid off the second batch of workers.
According to him, the vessel developed a problem in February 2005 and for that matter a canoe was sent to deploy the first batch of crew members.
During cross-examination, Mr Okyere informed the court that he would be surprised if Dawson had already informed the court that workers were paid off in March 2005 and not February 2005.
He denied an assertion by the prosecution that a prosecution witness, James Inkoom, who was a cook on board the MV Benjamin, was not in the employment of Dashment Company in 2005.
According to the witness, Inkoom left after his (Inkoom’s) wife died some time in 2004 but returned to the company in 2005.
Hearing continues on December 6, 2007.
On Tuesday, October 16, 2007, the court ordered Dawson and the four others to open their defence and answer charges levelled against them.
Giving its ruling in a submission of ‘no case’ by counsel for the accused persons, the court held that the prosecution had succeeded in proving a prima facie case against the accused persons.
However, a sixth accused person, Pak Bok Sil, a Korean national, was acquitted and discharged by the court, which ruled that the prosecution failed to prove a case against him.

Cocaine: Court to decide fate of 3 cops

November 26, 2007 (Page 50)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE fate of the three policemen who were alleged to have aided the cocaine fugitive, Sheriff Asem Dakeh, alias The Limping Man, to abscond with 2,280 kilogrammes of cocaine will be determined by the Accra Fast Track High Court on December 21, 2007.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice Anin Yeboah, fixed December 21 to deliver its judgement after the prosecution and defence counsel had submitted their written addresses.
Sergeant David Nyarko, Detective Corporal Dwamena Yabson and General Lance Corporal Peter Bondorin, who have since closed their defence, were alleged to have received an unspecified amount in US dollars from Dakeh and allowed him to flee.
They have each been charged with two counts of engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs and corruption by a public officer and have pleaded not guilty to both counts.
On November 15, 2007, the court gave counsel for Yabson a week to file his written address to enable the court to fix a date for judgement. Counsel for Nyarko and Bondorin had filed addresses on behalf of his clients.
The court warned that if counsel did not file the written address on Yabson’s behalf by November 22, 2007, it would move to fix a date for judgement.
At the court’s sitting in Accra on Thursday, it emerged that both the defence team and the prosecution had filed their written addresses.
The prosecution called 10 witnesses, who gave evidence against the accused persons, but the accused persons, on their part, testified and claimed innocence in the charges levelled against them.

Court to decide arbitration case December 6

November 26, 2007 (Page 24)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Commercial Court in Accra will on December 6, 2007 decide whether or not to restrain Investment Consortium Holdings, SA (Investcom), the majority shareholders of MTN, from seeking arbitration in a matter brought against it and two others by a Ghanaian businessman.
Investcom is currently seeking arbitration in London on a suit filed against it by Mr Richmond Aggrey and two others, namely, Scancom Ghana Limited, operators of MTN, and Grandview Management, Texas, but counsel for Mr Aggrey filed an application for interlocutory injunction restraining Investcom from further proceeding with the arbitration processes in London.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice Henry A. Kwofie, fixed the date after counsel for the parties had argued their cases out.
Arguing his Mr Aggrey’s case at the court’s sitting in Accra on yesterday, Mr Yonny Kulendi said Investcom was a party to the suit before the Commercial Court and had even entered appearance and filed its defence and for that matter the court should allow the trial to commence.
Arguing further, he stated that his client could not be called to go on arbitration, which was normally between shareholders, because, as it stood now, Investcom was challenging his client’s claim of 20 per cent shares in Scancom Ghana Limited.
According to Mr Kulendi, the conduct of the applicant was improper because it was making all moves calculated at frustrating the court and Mr Aggrey from proceeding with the court action.
He said looking at the balance of convenience, obvious damage would be occasioned if the court did not take steps to stop the arbitration which was proceeding in earnest.
For his part, counsel for Investcom, Mr Felix Ntrakwah, said the plaintiff went to court, knowing very well that there was an arbitration clause in the shareholders’ agreement.
According to him, the application was brought when the arbitration had already commenced.
Counsel said the plaintiff had not demonstrated that the arbitration was void, adding that Investcom did not need to seek the leave of the court to arbitrate.
He said his client’s action was not an act of disrespect towards the court and explained that his client would lose substantially if the court granted the plaintiff’s application.
In November last year, Scancom Ghana Limited, operators of MTN, then Areeba, filed an appeal challenging the Commercial Court’s dismissal of its application to strike out Mr Aggrey’s suit.
The applicant had prayed the Court of Appeal to set aside the lower court’s ruling and accordingly strike out the plaintiff’s writ of summons for non-compliance with a section of the new High Court procedure rules but the Court of Appeal dismissed the application and accordingly upheld the Commercial Court’s decision.
Scancom filed another application praying the Commercial Court to stay proceedings in the substantive matter pending the outcome of the appeal but that application was also dismissed.
The Commercial Court in Accra, presided over by Mr Justice Henry A. Kwofie, on October 20, 2006 dismissed a motion filed by Scancom Ghana Limited which prayed the court to strike out a writ of summons filed by Mr Aggrey against Scancom and two others for non-compliance with the High Court rules.
The court had held that the plaintiff’s failure to apply for leave to issue the writ was an irregularity and noted that Order 81 of the new High Court rules could be used to cure such irregularity, among others.
The plaintiff sued Investcom, the majority shareholder in Scancom, and Grandview Management Limited when Scancom decided to engage in a merger deal with MTN Incorporated of South Africa.
The deal has, however, been concluded, following the transfer of all shares in Scancom to the South African company.
That was after a High Court order on July 14, 2006 restrained Scancom and other respondents from "continuing, progressing and or concluding the merger with and/or acquisition of Investment Consortium Holdings by MTN Company of South Africa without taking into account and/or providing for the plaintiff's 20 per cent shares in Scancom Limited".
The closure of the acquisition, according to Mr Aggrey, would occasion the loss of his shareholding in the company by reason of the accrual of the rights of the MTN Group as a third party.
Mr Aggrey's contention was that his name had been removed from the shareholders’ list of Scancom without any explanation, adding that the particulars of the directors and shareholders of Scancom obtained from the Registrar General's Department, dated June 2, 2006 and signed by Mr K.A. Ohene-Obeng, a Chief State Attorney, for the Registrar of Companies, showed that Mr Aggrey's name was not included in the shareholders’ list.
It said the onus was on the company to explain how Mr Aggrey ceased to be a shareholder.
In his substantive writ, Mr Aggrey was claiming against the defendants, jointly and severally, an order directed to Scancom to pay him his true dividends declared from the 2000 to 2005 financial years.
He also sought the rectification of the membership of Scancom Ltd to include his name and restore him to his position as a shareholder and director of the company.

Ministry reacts to GNAT's ultimatum - Orders district directors to submit names within one week

November 24, 2007 (Page 3)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning has given a one-week ultimatum to district directors of education to submit the names of teachers who passed out in 2005 and are currently at post to enable the ministry to pay their outstanding salary arrears.
The ministry attributed the delay in the payment of the salary arrears of teachers who passed out in 2005 to the failure of the district directors to submit the names of teachers at post and gave the directors up to November 30, 2007 to adhere to the directive.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Director of Budget at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwabena Adjei Mensah, gave the assurance that the ministry would pay the salary arrears of teachers next month.
Reacting to an ultimatum from the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) which gave the government up to next month to settle the salary arrears of teachers who passed out in 2005, Mr Mensah said it was not true that the majority of teachers who passed out in 2005 had not been paid.
He said records made available to the ministry by officials of the Ghana Education Service (GES) indicated that 501 teacher trainees passed out in 2005.
Explaining further, Mr Mensah said teacher trainees were normally posted to districts immediately they finished school and they were paid allowances until the GES confirmed that they were at post and had also passed their examinations.
He said as of the time the Controller and Accountant-General's Department was moving from the Integrated Personnel Payroll Database One (IPPD I) to IPPD II, the confirmed names of teachers at post had not been submitted by the GES.
The President of GNAT, Mr Joseph Adjei, in a letter addressed to the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, had said the 2005/06 arrears of trained teachers and teachers who were promoted during that period were still hanging.
The letter said the rank and file of teachers needed to be convinced by initiatives on the part of the employer, otherwise it would be very difficult to contain the “imminent explosion”.
It indicated that the present labour environment was veiled by an uneasy calm and advised the government to act expeditiously to forestall the preventable.

Friday, November 23, 2007

GOIL Coupon case: Court refuses bail

November 23, 2007 (Page 31)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Accra circuit court on Wednesday refused bail for four persons who allegedly stole Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) fuel coupons worth ¢9.1 billion.
Declining a bail application from counsel for the accused persons, the court held that it was important for the prosecution to be given enough time to complete investigations into the matter.
It, accordingly, remanded the accused persons into custody for two weeks to appear again on December 5, 2007.
The prosecution had, on Tuesday, November 20, 2007, informed the court that the value of stolen coupons had risen from ¢4.5 billion to ¢9.1 billion.
According to the prosecution, investigations were ongoing and it was likely that the number of coupons which was stolen between September and October this year might rise.
Four persons — Emmanuel Amegashie, Production Technician of Camelot Ghana Limited, printers of the coupons; Lawrence Avorgbedor, former employee of Camelot Ghana Limited; Joshua Kwamina Asamoah, a taxi driver, and Samuel Kofi Addo, a former fuel pump attendant at the Dansoman GOIL Filling Station — are alleged to have committed the offence.
The police have since seized two vehicles, a BMW saloon car and a Toyota Four Runner, belonging to Avorgbedor and a KIA saloon car belonging to Asamoah.
Initial investigations revealed that Amegashie, who was also in charge of Quality Control, Plant, Equipment and Electrical Maintenance, allegedly went into the hologram vault room and stole more than 30,000 leaflets of the GH¢20 and GH¢15 denominations of the fuel coupons and gave them to Avorgbedor for sale.
Avorgbedor then printed serial numbers on the coupons and gave them to Asamoah, who in turn gave them to Addo for sale.
The accused persons who were initially arraigned before the court each pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy and stealing.
At the court’s sitting in Accra on Tuesday, counsel for the accused persons prayed the court to grant their clients bail but the prosecution objected, with the reason that the accused persons might interfere with investigations if they were granted bail, since investigations were ongoing to determine the exact amount involved in the deal.
On November 9, 2007, the court remanded the accused persons based on the statement from the prosecution that investigations were ongoing.
The facts of the case are that Amegashie was caught on camera carrying the items out of the Hologram and Micro Numbering Vault rooms of Camelot Ghana Limited.
According to the prosecution, Addo began selling the stolen coupons after he had been contracted by Asamoah to do so and later resigned as a fuel station attendant to sell the coupons full-time.
The prosecution stated that the Audit Department of GOIL later detected that the serial numbers printed on the coupons were different from the genuine coupons. It then alerted the other filling stations to be on the look out and on October 30, 2007, Addo was arrested at the Dansoman GOIL Filling Station when he went there to sell the coupons.
Addo’s arrest eventually led to the arrest of the other accused persons.
Nine filling stations are suspected to be involved in the deal in Accra alone.
Investigations are going on nation-wide to determine the exact amount involved in the deal.

NIB Sues IKAM MD, 2 others

November 23, 2007 (Page 34)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE National Investment Bank (NIB) has filed a motion for contempt against the Managing Director of IKAM Company Limited, a printing company, and two others at the Accra Fast Track High Court.
According to the bank, the Managing Director, Steven Marfo, and the two, Robert Yartey, solicitor of IKAM Company Limited, and Ken Asare, General Manager in charge of operations of IKAM Company Limited, flouted court orders and forcibly evicted guards and broke court seal on the company’s doors.
Following a court judgement in April 2006 which ordered IKAM Company Limited to pay a total of ¢37.8 billion being its indebtedness, plus interest and cost to NIB, the registrar of the court gave permission for the execution of writ of possession against IKAM Company Limited.
According to an affidavit in support of the motion for an order for committal of the respondents for contempt of court, court bailiffs on October 29, 2007 went to the company’s premises and caused the factory to be sealed.
Counsel for the NIB, Mr Frederick Asamoah, filed a motion on notice for injunction against the re-opening of the company’s premises and subsequently caused the factory to be sealed.
However, upon the alleged orders of Asare and the advice of Yartey, workers of the company operated.
According to Mr Asamoah, all the respondents knew or ought to have known that their conduct amounted to a blatant disobedience of the court orders and rules.
He said the respondents intentionally disobeyed court orders and for that matter they should be committed for contempt of court.
At the court’s sitting in Accra on Wednesday, it emerged that the respondents had not been served with the motion paper prompting the court to direct the plaintiff to make efforts to serve the respondents.
The court accordingly adjourned the matter to November 30, 2007 for hearing of the contempt case.
Meanwhile, respondents have filed a motion on notice for stay of execution of the judgement as well as an order restraining auctioneers from conducting the sale of the company’s assets.
In an affidavit in support of the motion paper, the Managing Director of IKAM Company Limited stated that the company had so far paid ¢10 billion to the NIB, thereby reducing its indebtedness to ¢27.8 billion.
He said the value of his company’s assets currently stood at more than ¢150 billion.
According to the applicant, the movable assets of the company stood at more than ¢120 billion, while the immovable assets were valued at more than ¢30 billion.
The applicant said to execute the judgement, the plaintiff, through its agents, had lumped together and attached all the assets of IKAM Company Limited far in excess of the judgement debt, interest and the cost awarded.
The applicant further averred that if the sale was conducted and the balance was given to him, it would have served no useful purpose as his business would then have collapsed.
In reply to the application, NIB stated that the filing of the motion was a ploy by the applicant to frustrate the bank from enjoying the fruit of the judgement.
Counsel for the bank held that ever since the judgement was passed last year, the applicant had filed many unmeritorious motions at the Court of Appeal only to abandon them, adding that nevertheless, the applicant had succeeded in delaying the plaintiff in the process of execution.
According to the NIB, IKAM Company Limited was insolvent and could not even raise money to pay its proposed instalment, among others.
The bank, therefore, challenged Marfo to sell any part of the company’s equipment to defray the company’s debts if he was capable of doing so.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

CHRAJ Case : Supreme Court decides December 21

November 22, 2007 (Page 49)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Supreme Court will, on December 21, 2007, decide whether or not the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) can investigate matters based on media reports and not through a formal complaint.
The court fixed the date after counsel for CHRAJ and Dr Richard Anane, a former Minister of Transportation, had submitted their written addresses on what constituted complaint and at what point CHRAJ could investigate an issue.
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, also submitted a written address on the orders of the Supreme Court which had directed him to also address the court on the matter, although he was not a party to the suit between CHRAJ and Dr Anane.
At the court’s sitting in Accra yesterday, counsel for CHRAJ, Nene Amegatcher, maintained that the Constitution gave it the powers to investigate complaints formally brought before it, as well as go further to investigate informal complaints.
However, counsel for Dr Anane, Mr J.K. Agyemang, argued that CHRAJ had no authority to do that.
He further maintained that CHRAJ could not assume responsibility for what had not been given to it.
For his part, the Attorney-General said he was focusing on public policy, which literally meant that there ought to be a formal complaint before an authority could investigate a matter.
He said the Constitution gave many institutions of state and not CHRAJ alone the powers to investigate issues.
Submissions by counsel for the parties were very brief because the court had ordered them to submit written addresses, which they did.
The court, on October 30, 2007, unanimously upheld the decision of the High Court which quashed the findings of perjury and conflict of interest by CHRAJ against Dr Anane.
It, however, upheld an application filed by CHRAJ which challenged the decision of the High Court judge to interpret ‘complaint’ in Article 21 (a) of the 1992 Constitution.
According to the court, which was presided over by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, “that decision is in conflict with the exclusive jurisdiction of this court, under Article 30 of the 1992 Constitution, to interpret the Constitution”.
The court, which had Mr Justice S. A. Brobbey, Dr Justice Date Bah, Mr Justice Julius Ansah and Mr Justice R. T. Aninakwah as members, therefore, decided to interpret ‘complaint’ and give its judgement on it.
“In relation to Article 21 (a) of the 1992 Constitution, this court is exercising the powers of the trial court to refer to the Supreme Court the following issue which has arisen from the facts of this case for determination, pursuant to article 130 (2):
“For a complaint within the meaning of Article 218 (a) of the 1992 Constitution to form the basis for investigation by CHRAJ, must it be made by an identifiable individual or corporate body and lodged with the commission or are complaints made through the media and other public fora regarding violations of fundamental rights and freedoms, injustice, corruption, abuse of power and unfair treatment of any person by a public officer in the exercise of his official duties adequate bases for the institution of investigation by CHRAJ?”
The CHRAJ had filed an application praying the Supreme Court to quash the decision of the High Court which quashed findings of perjury and conflict of interest against Dr Anane.
But the Supreme Court held a different view and stated that it would give its reasons for its orders in its final judgement after the parties had made legal arguments on the matter.
It, accordingly, asked the Attorney-General, CHRAJ and Dr Anane to submit written legal arguments on the issue to the Supreme Court within 14 days.
The CHRAJ, some time last year, made adverse findings of conflict of interest, abuse of office and perjury against Dr Anane.
Dissatisfied with CHRAJ’s findings, Dr Anane contested them at the High Court where CHRAJ’s decisions were quashed.
However, CHRAJ took the matter to the Supreme Court for its decisions to be reaffirmed.

Court convicts British coke girls

November 22, 2007 (Page 20 & 45)
Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh
THE two British juveniles who were found in possession of six kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in their laptop bags were yesterday convicted by the Juvenile Court in Accra.
The court found Yasemin Vatasever and Yetunde Diya, both 16 and of Cypriot and Nigerian parentage, guilty of conspiracy and possessing narcotic drugs without lawful authority.
Sentencing of the two was, however, deferred to December 5, 2007.
The court deferred their sentences because it was awaiting a social services report on the juveniles from the British authorities.
Lawyers of the two have declared their intention to file an appeal against the convictions.
Journalists were later informed after the conviction that the girls broke down in tears after the court’s verdict.
Their trial was heard in camera because the law does not permit cases involving juveniles to be heard in open court.
The convicts who, as usual, hid their faces from the public, were whisked away by security officials after the verdict.
According to the court, the prosecution had established a prima facie case beyond reasonable doubt against the convicts.
Seven prosecution witnesses and one defence witness were called in the trial, which lasted four months.
The girls had pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy and possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority and maintained that they were lured into Ghana by two men who left them to their fate.
The two were arrested at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) by officials of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) on July 2, 2007.
Each had in her possession three kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in her laptop bag.
Meanwhile, the families of the two convicts have expressed their deep disappointment at the verdict.
In a statement issued immediately after the verdict, they said, “Yasemin and Yetunde were two extremely vulnerable young girls whose naivety was ruthlessly exploited by the men who lured them into Ghana and left them to this terrible fate.”
It said “while drugs smuggling is clearly a problem which the Ghanaian authorities wish to prevent, our daughters are not the criminal masterminds which the prosecuting authorities have attempted to portray them as being”.
The statement expressed appreciation to the British High Commission, Fair Trials International and Joe Stone from Doughty Street Chambers for their assistance and support “during this difficult time”.

Stolen GOIL coupons were worth ¢9.1 billion

November 21, 2007 (Page 3)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Accra circuit court trying four persons for allegedly stealing fuel coupons belonging to the Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) was yesterday informed that the value of stolen coupons had risen from ¢4.5 billion to ¢9.1 billion.
According to the prosecution, investigations were ongoing and it was likely that the number of coupons which were stolen between September and October this year might rise.
Four persons — Emmanuel Amegashie, Production Technician of Camelot Ghana Limited, printers of the coupons; Lawrence Avorgbedor, former employee of Camelot Ghana Limited; Joshua Kwamina Asamoah, a taxi driver, and Samuel Kofi Addo, a former fuel pump attendant at the Dansoman GOIL Filling Station — are alleged to have committed the offence.
The police have since seized two vehicles, a BMW saloon car and a Toyota Four Runner, belonging to Avorgbedor and a KIA saloon car belonging to Asamoah.
Initial investigations revealed that Amegashie, who was also in charge of Quality Control, Plant, Equipment and Electrical Maintenance, allegedly went into the hologram vault room and stole more than 30,000 leaflets of the GH¢20 and GH¢15 denominations of the fuel coupons and gave them to Avorgbedor for sale.
Avorgbedor then printed serial numbers on the coupons and gave them to Asamoah, who in turn gave them to Addo for sale.
The accused persons each pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy and stealing and were remanded to appear again on November 20, 2007.
At the court’s sitting in Accra yesterday, counsel for the accused persons prayed the court to grant their clients bail but the prosecution objected, with the reason that the accused persons might interfere with investigations if they were granted bail, since investigations were ongoing to determine the exact amount involved in the deal.
The court, after listening to arguments from both the defence team and the prosecution, decided to rule on the bail application today.
On November 9, 2007, the court remanded the accused persons based on the statement from the prosecution that investigations were ongoing.
The facts of the case are that Amegashie was caught on camera carrying the items out of the Hologram and Micro Numbering Vault rooms of Camelot Ghana Limited.
According to the prosecution, Addo began selling the stolen coupons after he had been contracted by Asamoah to do so and later resigned as a fuel station attendant to sell the coupons full-time.
The prosecution stated that the audit department of GOIL later detected that the serial numbers printed on the coupons were different from the genuine coupons. It then alerted the other filling stations to be on the look out and on October 30, 2007, Addo was arrested at the Dansoman GOIL Filling Station when he went there to sell the coupons.
Addo’s arrest eventually led to the arrest of the other accused persons.
Nine filling stations are suspected to be involved in the deal in Accra alone.
Investigations are going on nationwide to determine the exact amount involved in the deal.

Nothing fishy about granting of bail

November 21, 2007 (Page 3)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

ONE of the lawyers for the Managing Director (MD) of Trasacco Company Limited, Ian David Morris, and nine others has described as false an assertion by an Accra-based lawyer, Mr Bight Akwetey, that there was something “fishy” in the granting of bail to his clients by the Appeal Court on Monday.
Mr Morris and the nine others were granted bail by the Court of Appeal after they had been jailed for 45 days by an Accra High Court for contempt of court on Monday morning.
Mr Kofi Peasah-Boadu said it was “unfortunate and inappropriate” for Mr Akwetey to cast insinuations at the judiciary, adding that “there was nothing fishy because the due process of the law was followed. Nobody procured the panel to hear the matter. We filed our processes at the registry and our case was accordingly listed and heard on its merit”.
Reacting to an assertion by Mr Akwetey that the way in which bail was granted was suggestive of how the legal system was being manipulated by "big people" in a story on page three of yesterday’s Daily Graphic titled “Appeal Court saves Trasacco MD, Others”, counsel said nobody manipulated the judiciary.
He said the panel that sat was made up of people of great repute who applied the law in their work and it was, therefore, not right for Mr Akwetey to cast wild and unsubstantiated insinuations at the panel and the judiciary as a whole.
“If the High Court has powers to hear an application ex-parte in urgent cases, I cannot see any reason the Court of Appeal cannot hear our application for bail where the liberty of the applicants was at stake,” counsel queried.
Mr Akwetey had said that the manner in which the Appeal Court was quickly constituted to sit and grant bail to the contemnors looked “funny and fishy”, but counsel for the Trasacco MD responded that the panel was an afternoon session which had already been empanelled to hear cases for the day.
Mr Peasah-Boadu said the panel was sitting well before the application for bail was filed, adding, “Mr Akwetey argued on a wrong premise because, in the first place, he was talking about stay of execution pending appeal, while we filed for bail pending appeal.”
The MD of Trasacco Company Limited had been convicted alongside two of his directors, Cinzia Ines Taricone and Ernesto Taricone.
The contemnors, who had earlier in the day been jailed 45 days, were granted bail later in the evening by the Court of Appeal.
The other appellants were Alhaji Mohammed, the CEO of Magnum Force Security Company; Adwoa Omari, the MD of Empire Builders Limited; Winifred Kumodzie, surveyor of Empire Builders Limited and Trasacco Company Limited; George Akakpo, Head of Security, Empire Builders Limited and Trasacco Company Limited.
Trasacco Company Limited, Empire Builders Limited and Mangnum Force Security Company Limited were convicted as entities by the court which found them guilty for trespassing on the lands of residents and developers of Nmai-Dzorn, a suburb of Accra.
The 10 had, on November 5, 2007, escaped jail after they were convicted for flouting the orders of a competent court of law by trespassing on the property of Nmai Dzorn residents association when their counsel's application for bail was granted.
However, at the court’s sitting in Accra on Monday, all odds turned against them when the court refused to grant them bail pending the outcome of an appeal against their conviction.
In less than four hours after their conviction, lawyers for the appellants, namely, Messrs Ayikoi Otoo, Kofi Peasah-Boadu and David Kudzoadji, filed an application for bail pending the outcome of the appeal against their clients’ conviction.
Their case was instantly listed before a panel of judges and heard.
The court, presided over by Mrs Justice Henrietta Abban, with Mr Justice Samuel Marful-Sau and Ms Mariama Owusu as panel members, heard the ex-parte motion for bail filed on behalf of the appellants by their lawyers.
Counsel for the appellants argued that the lower court had no jurisdiction to hear the contempt case because there was no formal transfer of the case which was then at the Tema High Court to Accra by the Chief Justice, as was required by law.
Counsel had also argued that the appellants were not parties to the suit which was filed against the Nungua Stool by the Nmai Dzorn residents association, adding that the appellants bought the land from the Nungua Stool before judgement was given against the stool in 2003.
The court, after listening to the appellants’ arguments, held that counsel for the appellants had raised very salient legal issues which needed to be looked at.
It also held that the sentence against the appellants was short and if they were allowed to serve their sentences, they would have completed their sentence before the appeal would be heard, thereby constituting a substantial miscarriage of justice.
The court, accordingly, granted the appellants bail in the sum of ¢500 million each with a surety.
On November 5, 2007, the Accra High Court sentenced the MD of the estate developing company and the nine others after convicting them for contempt of court but they were not put in custody because the court granted each of them ¢500-million self-recognisance bail following a notice of appeal which was swiftly filed on behalf of the contemnors by their former counsel, Mr Kizito Beyuo.
The High Court in 2003 gave judgement in favour of the applicants against the Nungua Traditional Council which happened to have sold the land to Trasacco Company Limited and Empire Builders Limited.
In the substantive case, the Nmai Dzorn residents association said they took a writ of possession of the land in 2003 but the appellants forcibly and brutally took over the land.
They stated that the appellants were very much aware of the court's judgement which declared them as the rightful owners of the land but the appellants still went ahead to take over the land.
According to them, the appellants were currently building a wall round their clients’ property and that prompted the applicants to file a motion of contempt against the contemnors.

Appeal Court saves Trasacco MD, others

November 20, 2007 (Page 3)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Court of Appeal yesterday saved the necks of the Managing Director of Trasacco Company Limited, Mr. Ian David Morris, and nine others who were jailed for 45 days by an Accra High Court for contempt of court.
The contemnors who had earlier in the day worn distressed faces at the lower court were, within less than eight hours smiling out of the Court of Appeal.
They left the court premises around 5.30 p.m. with smiles after the court had granted an application for bail filed on their behalf by their lawyers.
Morris had been convicted alongside two of his directors, Cinzia Ines Taricone and Ernesto Taricone.
The other appellants were Alhaji Mohammed, CEO of Magnum Force Security Company, Adwoa Omari, Managing Director of Empire Builders Limited, Winifred Kumodzie, surveyor of Empire Builders Limited and Trasacco Company Limited, George Akakpo, Head of Security, Empire Builders Limited and Trasacco Company Limited.
Trasacco Company Limited, Empire Builders Limited and Mangnum Force Security Company Limited were convicted as entities by the court which found them guilty for trespassing on the lands of residents and developers of Nmai-Dzorn, a suburb of Accra.
The 10 had on November 5, 2007 escaped jail after they were convicted for flouting the orders of a competent court of law by trespassing on the property of Nmai Dzorn residents association when their counsel's application for bail was granted.
However, at the court’s sitting in Accra yesterday, all odds turned against them when the court refused to grant them bail pending the outcome of an appeal against their conviction.
In less than four hours after their conviction, lawyers for the appellants namely, Mr. Ayikoi Otoo, Mr. Kofi Peasah-Boadu and Mr. David Kudzoadji filed an application for bail pending the outcome of the appeal against their clients’ conviction.
Their case was instantly listed before a panel of judges and heard.
The court, presided over by Mrs. Justice Henrietta Abban with Mr. Justice Samuel Marful-Sau and Ms. Mariama Owusu as panel members heard the ex-parte motion for bail filed on behalf of the appellants by their lawyers.
Counsel for the appellants argued that the lower court had no jurisdiction to hear the contempt case because there was no formal transfer of the case which was then at the Tema High Court to Accra by the Chief Justice as was required by law.
Counsel had also argued that the appellants were not parties to the suit which was filed against the Nungua Stool by the Nmai Dzorn residents association adding that the appellants bought the land from the Nungua Stool before judgement was given against the Nungua Stool in 2003.
The court after listening to the arguments of the appellants held that the counsel for the appellants had raised very salient legal issues which needed to be looked at.
It also held that the sentence against the appellants was short and if the appellants were allowed to serve their sentence, they would have completed their sentence before the appeal would be heard thereby constituting a substantial miscarriage of justice.
The court accordingly granted the appellants bail in the sum of ¢500 million each with a surety.
On November 5, 2007, the Accra High Court sentenced the MD of the estate developing company and the nine others after convicting them for contempt of court but they were not put in custody because the court granted each of them ¢500-million self-recognisance bail following a notice of appeal which was swiftly filed on behalf of the contemnors by their former counsel, Mr. Kizito Beyuo.
The High Court in 2003 gave judgement in favour of the applicants against the Nungua Traditional Council which happened to have sold the land to Trasacco Company Limited and Empire Builders Limited.
In the substantive case, the Nmai Dzorn residents association said they took a writ of possession of the land in 2003 but the appellants forcibly and brutally took over the land.
They stated that the appellants were very much aware of the court's judgement which declared them as the rightful owners of the land but the appellants still went ahead to take over the land.
According to them, the appellants were currently building a wall round his clients’ property and that prompted the applicants to file a motion of contempt against the contemnors.
Meanwhile, an Accra based legal practitioner, Mr Bright Akwetey, has said the manner in which the Appeal Court was quickly constituted to sit and grant bail "looks funny and fishy".
He said even in a stay of execution, the process was for the lawyer of the defendant to serve it on the lawyer of the other party, that is, the plaintiff.
He said subsequent to that, the lawyer of the plaintiff would then file an opposition to that, and that, according to Mr. Akwetey could take a few days and not a day, for the documents to be considered before the court is constituted to take a decision on granting bail.
He said the way in which bail was granted was suggestive of how the legal system was being manipulated by "big people".
"This shows that big people are not amenable to justice," he said

Cocaine case : Court asks counsel to file written address

November 17, 2007 (Centre Spread)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Accra Fast Track High on Thursday gave counsel for Detective Corporal Dwamena Yabson, one of the policemen who is standing trial with two others for allegedly aiding Sheriff Asem Dakeh to abscond with 2,280 kilogrammes of cocaine, a week to file his written address to enable the court to fix a date for judgement.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice Annin Yeboah, an Appeal Court judge sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, warned that if counsel did not file the written address on behalf of Yabson by November 22, 2007, the court would move to fix a date for judgement.
Counsel for two of the accused persons, Sergeant David Nyarko and General Lance Corporal Peter Bondorin, have filed their written addresses.
The three, who have since closed their defence, were alleged to have received an unspecified amount in dollars from Dakeh and allowed him to flee.
They have each been charged with two counts of engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs and corruption by a public officer and have pleaded not guilty to both counts.
The prosecution called 10 witnesses who gave evidence against the accused persons, but the accused persons, on their part, testified and claimed innocence in the charges levelled against them.
On October 16, 2007, the Fast Track High Court ordered both the prosecution and the defence team to file their written addresses on or before November 14, 2007.
The prosecution is expected to verbally reply to the defence team's written addresses on November 22, the next adjourned date.

Cocaine - Vessel Owner's father signed contract

November 17, 2007 (Page 3)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

A TEMA-BASED lawyer yesterday told the Accra Fast Track High Court that he was present when the father of the owner of the MV Benjamin vessel and another person signed an agreement with Sheriff Asem Dakeh, one of the suspects in the case, now on the run.
The MV Benjamin vessel was allegedly used to cart 77 parcels of cocaine, which later disappeared.
Mr Emmanuel Francis Owuoh, the lawyer, said one Dawson, the father of Joseph Kojo Dawson, owner of the vessel, signed the charter and sale agreement with Sheriff and a Mr Bae in his office in Tema on February 6, 2006.
According to the witness, he could not influence the change of wording of the agreement, although it contained some discrepancies.
He explained that he could not influence the agreement because the parties had agreed to let go any discrepancies since Mr Bae said he was on his way to the airport to catch a flight.
For instance, although the heading of the charter and sale agreement for the vessel was stated to mean the agreement was between Dawson and the others, Dawson’s father signed instead of Dawson himself.
Another anomaly detected was that Sheriff used the name of Evans Chawetey, his brother, in signing the agreement, although the agreement was between him (Sheriff) and the others.
Kojo Dawson is being tried alongside Isaac Arhin and Philip Bruce Arhin, both Ghanaians, as well as Cui Xian Li and Luo Yin Xing, both Chinese, for allegedly playing various roles in the importation of the cocaine.
They have been charged with various counts of using property for narcotic offences, engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotics and possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority.
Each of them has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and has been remanded in prison custody.
Answering questions under cross-examination, Mr Owuoh explained that he pulled out a piece of paper to draft the charter and sale agreement when the parties arrived in his office but he was informed that the agreement had already been drafted.
According to him, he then read it and realised the anomalies and subsequently advised his clients, who happened to be Dawson and his father, to allow him to re-draft the document but he was informed that Mr Bae would be late in catching a flight if the agreement was re-drafted.
He said he then gave up and allowed the parties to use his desk to sign the agreement while he stood by.
Asked how he got to know the Dawsons, the witness said sometime in 2005, the senior Dawson approached him and said he (senior Dawson) would like him (Mr Owuoh) to be Dashment Company’s legal counsel to which he agreed.
He said he was on a retainer for a monthly fee of ¢1 million for only three months because senior Dawson later explained that the company was having financial problems that would not allow it to continue paying him ¢1 million every month.
Earlier in his evidence-in-chief, the witness informed the court that he allowed senior Dawson to sign the charter and sale agreement because Dawson explained that his father signed the hire purchase agreement for the vessel.
He also informed the court that he was made to understand that Sheriff was to use the vessel to tow a distressed vessel at Guinea.
The witness has since completed giving his evidence and has been discharged by the court.
Hearing continues on November 21, 2007.
On Tuesday, October 16, 2007, the court ordered Dawson and the four others to open their defence and answer charges levelled against them.
Giving its ruling in a submission of ‘no case’ by counsel for the accused persons, the court held that the prosecution had succeeded in proving a prima facie case against the accused persons.
However, a sixth accused person, Pak Bok Sil, a Korean national, was acquitted and discharged by the court, which ruled that the prosecution failed to prove a case against him.

Cocaine - Vessel Owner's father signed contract

November 17, 2007 (Page 3)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

A TEMA-BASED lawyer yesterday told the Accra Fast Track High Court that he was present when the father of the owner of the MV Benjamin vessel and another person signed an agreement with Sheriff Asem Dakeh, one of the suspects in the case, now on the run.
The MV Benjamin vessel was allegedly used to cart 77 parcels of cocaine, which later disappeared.
Mr Emmanuel Francis Owuoh, the lawyer, said one Dawson, the father of Joseph Kojo Dawson, owner of the vessel, signed the charter and sale agreement with Sheriff and a Mr Bae in his office in Tema on February 6, 2006.
According to the witness, he could not influence the change of wording of the agreement, although it contained some discrepancies.
He explained that he could not influence the agreement because the parties had agreed to let go any discrepancies since Mr Bae said he was on his way to the airport to catch a flight.
For instance, although the heading of the charter and sale agreement for the vessel was stated to mean the agreement was between Dawson and the others, Dawson’s father signed instead of Dawson himself.
Another anomaly detected was that Sheriff used the name of Evans Chawetey, his brother, in signing the agreement, although the agreement was between him (Sheriff) and the others.
Kojo Dawson is being tried alongside Isaac Arhin and Philip Bruce Arhin, both Ghanaians, as well as Cui Xian Li and Luo Yin Xing, both Chinese, for allegedly playing various roles in the importation of the cocaine.
They have been charged with various counts of using property for narcotic offences, engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotics and possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority.
Each of them has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and has been remanded in prison custody.
Answering questions under cross-examination, Mr Owuoh explained that he pulled out a piece of paper to draft the charter and sale agreement when the parties arrived in his office but he was informed that the agreement had already been drafted.
According to him, he then read it and realised the anomalies and subsequently advised his clients, who happened to be Dawson and his father, to allow him to re-draft the document but he was informed that Mr Bae would be late in catching a flight if the agreement was re-drafted.
He said he then gave up and allowed the parties to use his desk to sign the agreement while he stood by.
Asked how he got to know the Dawsons, the witness said sometime in 2005, the senior Dawson approached him and said he (senior Dawson) would like him (Mr Owuoh) to be Dashment Company’s legal counsel to which he agreed.
He said he was on a retainer for a monthly fee of ¢1 million for only three months because senior Dawson later explained that the company was having financial problems that would not allow it to continue paying him ¢1 million every month.
Earlier in his evidence-in-chief, the witness informed the court that he allowed senior Dawson to sign the charter and sale agreement because Dawson explained that his father signed the hire purchase agreement for the vessel.
He also informed the court that he was made to understand that Sheriff was to use the vessel to tow a distressed vessel at Guinea.
The witness has since completed giving his evidence and has been discharged by the court.
Hearing continues on November 21, 2007.
On Tuesday, October 16, 2007, the court ordered Dawson and the four others to open their defence and answer charges levelled against them.
Giving its ruling in a submission of ‘no case’ by counsel for the accused persons, the court held that the prosecution had succeeded in proving a prima facie case against the accused persons.
However, a sixth accused person, Pak Bok Sil, a Korean national, was acquitted and discharged by the court, which ruled that the prosecution failed to prove a case against him.

Accident involving President's car - court remands driver

November 17, 2007 (Front Page)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE 51-year-old man at the centre of President J. A. Kufuor’s car crash last Wednesday was yesterday remanded in custody by the Accra District Magistrate Court.
Thomas Osei, whose saloon car ran into the President’s car, was charged with four counts of dangerous driving, negligently causing harm, driving under the influence of alcohol and failing to give way to a Presidential convoy.
His plea was not taken and he was remanded by the court, popularly known as the “Motor Court”, to appear again on November 30, 2007.
Osei, who had a bandage on his left eyebrow, was whisked away in a waiting police vehicle immediately after the court hearing.
Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Dora Seiwaah prayed the court to remand the accused person because investigations were ongoing.
Osei did not have legal representation.
The facts of the case are that around 11.30 a.m. on November 14, 2007, Osei was spotted driving a Mercedes Benz SE 500 saloon car in the inner lane along the Liberation Link from the direction of Aviance towards the 37 Military Hospital.
On arriving at a spot a few metres from the Opeibea House traffic lights, the accused person ignored the siren of the Presidential convoy and drove straight into the rear side of the President’s vehicle.
The President’s car, which was in the middle lane, was by then being driven by Mr Osafo Addo from the direction of the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange towards the Castle, Osu, along the Liberation Road.
The prosecutor said the impact of the crash forced the President’s vehicle to turn around, hit a light pole and in the process fell on its right side and landed on a VW Golf saloon car
All the vehicles involved in the accident got damaged, while the drivers sustained various degrees of injury and were rushed to the 37 Military Hospital for treatment.
Mr Addo and the driver of the VW saloon car were treated and discharged, while Osei was admitted for treatment.
The President, however, escaped unhurt.
The police say initial investigations revealed that Osei was driving under the influence of alcohol.

Chief Justice meets Italian Ambassador

November 16, 2007 (Page 31)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Italian Ambassador in Ghana, Fibrizio de Agostini, has advocated the abolition of the death penalty in all countries across the world.
According to him, the death penalty was not a solution to murder, so Italy was currently spearheading a debate at the United Nations on its abolition of the death penalty.
Consequently, he said Italy was asking for a moratorium from individual countries, pending the outcome of the debate.
Mr Agostini made these remarks when he called on the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina T. Wood, at her office in Accra yesterday to seek more ideas on the subject.
He conceded that the issue of the abolition of the death penalty was controversial but it was a matter which needed to be tackled now.
Mr Agostini congratulated Mrs Justice Wood on her appointment as the first female Chief Justice of Ghana and accordingly extended an invitation to her to visit Italy to study its court system.
Mrs Justice Wood said although the death penalty was in the country's statute books, it had not been implemented for a long time now.
She called for an intensive debate on the matter, as well as the need to study the trend in the international community.
The Chief Justice urged the Italian government to assist the Judicial Service to establish a court at Tema, which is an industrial hub, to handle the increasing number of cases.
She said there was the need for the establishment of more automated courts in order to preserve evidence.

Court sets out issues for trial

November 16, 2007 (Page 31)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Accra Fast Track High Court has set aside three issues for trial in a suit brought against the 31st December Women's Movement (DWM) by a businessman for recovery of his property after it ruled on preliminary issues raised by counsel for both parties.
The businessman, Mr Wassef Sadallah Dakmak, has sued the DWM to reclaim his building at North Ridge, which was confiscated to the state under AFRC Decree 6 in 1979 and is currently being occupied by the DWM.
However, the defendant has prayed the court to dismiss the action because it acted in accordance with AFRC Decree 6, adding that there was nothing on record to prove that the confiscated property belonged to the plaintiff.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice K. A. Ofori-Atta, set out the three issues for trial after counsel for the defendant and the plaintiff had argued their cases.
Counsel for the defendant, Mr Tony Lithur, had argued that the action brought by the plaintiff was baseless because the plaintiff's property was confiscated under AFRC Decree 6 but counsel for the plaintiff, Mr Thaddeus Sory, had argued that the property had been deconfiscated under PNDC Law 325.
In its ruling on the preliminary issues raised by counsels for the parties, the court held that after looking at the AFRC Decree 6, it was evident that the property had been confiscated by the State but was quick to point out that it had taken into consideration plaintiff’s argument that the property was later deconfiscated.
It, therefore, urged the plaintiff to state how and when his property was deconfiscated.
Consequently, the court, after careful consideration of the arguments from both parties, will look at whether or not plaintiff’s property was confiscated under AFRC Decree 6, whether or not the said property was deconfiscated by PNDC Law 325 and whether or not in view of transitional provisions of the 1992 Constitution, the plaintiff can bring the action to recover his property.
The matter was adjourned to Wednesday, January 23, 2008 for hearing.
The plaintiff is praying the court to declare the defendant’s occupation of his property as unlawful.
He is also praying the court to order the immediate recovery of property from the defendant, as well as grant loss of revenue by way of rent which would have accrued to the plaintiff if he had rented the property from August 3, 1979 to the day of final judgement.
The plaintiff is also asking for interest at any sum assessed to be due him at the prevailing bank rate or as the court may deem fit from August 3, 1979 to the day of final judgement.
The defendant has, however, denied all the plaintiff’s assertions and stated that it acted in accordance with the law.

Cocaine : 3 Venezuelans jailed 70 yrs

November 14, 2007 (Front Page)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THREE Venezuelans were yesterday sentenced to a total of 70 years imprisonment with hard labour by the Accra Fast Track High Court for importing 588 kilogrammes of cocaine into the country.
Two of the convicts, Joel Meija Duarte Moises, a machine operator, and Italio Gervasio Rosero, alias Italio Cabeza Castillo, a businessman, were sentenced to 25 years and 20 years imprisonment respectively, after nine prosecution witnesses had given evidence against them.
The third convict, Vasquez Gerado Duarte David, alias Bude or Shamo, was, however, sentenced in absentia because he has been on the run ever since Moises and Castillo were arrested at East Legon in Accra on November 24, 2005.
Moises and Castillo are to serve their sentences with effect from November 24, 2005, the day of their arrest.
The court, which took into account the quantity of cocaine seized before passing judgement, said the activities of cocaine dealers were unacceptable because they were tarnishing the image of the country.
The trial judge, Mr Justice E. K. Ayebi, described the defence put up by the convicts as “contradictory and full of lies” and further held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
He, accordingly, found them guilty on the counts of conspiracy to commit crime, importing 588 kilogrammes of narcotic drugs without lawful authority and possessing narcotic drugs without lawful authority.
The court ordered that the convicts be repatriated immediately they completed serving their sentences.
It also ordered that exhibits which were used in processing cocaine and which were found in Moises’ room should be destroyed, while the cell phones of the convicts be confiscated to the state.
The court also ordered an investigation into how Castillo managed to lay hands on his passport while in custody when he (Castillo) had, from the beginning of the trial, refused to state the whereabouts of his passport.
Castillo bowed his head in shock when the sentence was read out to him by a Spanish interpreter, while Moises looked straight, trying to conceal his emotions.
Citing authorities to buttress the court’s decision, Mr Justice Ayebi held that it was not unusual for the prosecution to use circumstantial evidence to prove a charge of conspiracy against an accused person.
The court further held that the totality of the evidence adduced in court proved that Moises “jealously guarded the cocaine. I find the denial of the accused person unacceptable because the key to the room where the cocaine was kept was found in Moises’ bedside locker”.
“The accused (Moises) had physical control and access to the drug and thereby instructed the police not to mix the wet cocaine with the dry one when they went to effect his arrest,” the trial judge maintained.
Mr Justice Ayebi described Moises as “untruthful” because it later emerged that Moises was not a guest at East Legon as he (Moises) had earlier stated.
Additionally, it also emerged that “Immigration records available indicated that Moises had been in the country seven times, contrary to his claims that he had been in the country only once”.
It said Moises had also informed the police that he had come to Ghana to buy gold but told the court on oath that he had come to the country to buy diamonds.
The court further held that it was also not defensible for Moises to claim to have come to the country to purchase gold or diamonds because he (Moises) had informed the court that Vasquez had seized his $15,000 and his passport immediately he arrived in the country.
Turning to Castillo, the judge said he lacked credibility because although he had earlier claimed that he did not know Moises, he later informed the court on oath that Moises lived 10 kilometres from his (Castillo’s) house in Venezuela.
The court said it was untrue for Castillo to claim to be staying in a hotel in Achimota because he (Castillo) could not take the police to the said hotel when he was arrested upon entering the East Legon apartment where the cocaine was found.
It said it also emerged that Vasquez’s number was found on Castillo’s cellular phone, although Castillo had claimed that he did not know Vasquez.
Based on incriminating evidence led by the prosecution, the court concluded that the three had arrived in the country to deal in cocaine and convicted them accordingly.
Counsel for the convicts, Mr Kwabla Senanu, had earlier prayed the court to temper justice with mercy, as well as take into account the number of years the convicts had spent on remand.
According to him, Castillo was a father of four, whose wife had threatened to divorce him because of the cocaine trial, while Moises was also a father with young children.
Replying, the acting Director of Public Prosecutions, Ms Gertrude Aikins, prayed the court to consider the ill behaviour of the accused persons before passing judgement.

Case of alleged abuse by 57-year-old Briton - Court hears 3-year-old's evidence in camera

November 13, 2007

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE evidence of the three-year-old girl who was alleged to have been indecently assaulted by a 57-year-old British national has been taken in camera at the Accra Circuit Court.
The evidence of the girl (name withheld) was taken at the judge's chamber according to law in order to protect her identity .
Thomas Alan Tichler, a consultant, who was alleged to have inserted his fingers into the victim’s private parts, resulting in the girl bleeding, has pleaded not guilty to the charges of causing harm and indecent assault.
He was alleged to have committed the offence at the residence of the victim on October 13, 2007 barely a week after he had arrived in the country for a three-month attachment.
The evidence of other prosecution and defence witnesses would be heard in open court once the evidence of the girl had been taken.
At the court's sitting in Accra yesterday, a State Attorney, Ms Barbara Sackey, prayed the court to hear the case in camera because the victim was a minor.
However, counsel for the accused person, Mr Ellis Owusu Fordjour, said apart from the need for the victim to testify in camera, he did not see the justification for the evidence of other people being heard in camera.
He said the case had received bad publicity and it was, therefore, only fair that the public was made aware of the other side of the story.
Ms Sackey then agreed that the other witnesses in the case should be made to testify in open court.
The court, on November 2, 2007, grant bail to the accused person.
It also refused an application to order the police to hand over the passport of Tichler, which contained security features, to the British High Commission for safekeeping.
The facts of the case are that Tichler visited the victim’s father at North Legon, near Redco Flats, on October 13, 2007 and on reaching there, the victim’s father left the victim and her two siblings in the care of Tichler in order to purchase some items from town.
Tichler engaged the victim and her two siblings, aged eight and six, at the sitting room but later managed to engage the victim alone and succeeded in inserting his fingers into her private parts.
Not quiet long after the incident, the victim’s mother arrived from town and just as she entered the kitchen, Tichler followed her and requested for water to wash his hands.
Later, the victim went to her mother and said she wanted to urinate and while helping her, the mother noticed that the victim’s panties had blood stains in them.
The victim mentioned the accused person as the one who inserted his fingers into her vagina when she was questioned by her mother.
Tichler was arrested and handed over to the Legon police.
The victim was later taken to hospital where she was examined, treated and discharged.

Court declines to strike out case against VRA

November 9, 2007 (Page 3)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Fast Track High Court in Accra yesterday declined a request from counsel for the Volta River Authority (VRA) to strike out a ¢2.2 billion suit instituted against the authority by its former Chief Executive, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby.
Dr Wereko-Brobby, who is demanding payment of ¢2.2 billion being his entitlements from the VRA, was not present in court when the matter was called.
His absence prompted counsel for the VRA, Mr F.K. Yeboah to pray the court to strike out the suit because it appeared Dr Wereko-Brobby was not interested in pursuing the writ he had instituted against the VRA.
Counsel also prayed the court to grant the VRA’s counter claim, which is requesting the court to order Dr Wereko-Brobby to return the furniture he had removed from his official residence without permission, as well as the official vehicle which he was not entitled to.
The court, however, ordered that steps should be taken to serve hearing notices on Dr Wereko-Brobby.
It, however, granted ¢1 million costs against Dr Wereko-Brobby and adjourned the matter to Monday, November 26, 2007.
Apart from the ¢2.2 billion being sought for, Dr Wereko-Brobby is asking for interest from April 2004 and also an order to be issued to the VRA to transfer to him ownership of a Volvo saloon car, with registration number GW2505 T, which was officially assigned to him when he was appointed Chief Executive of the VRA.
In his statement of claim, Dr Wereko-Brobby said he got separated from the VRA on September 17, 2003 but it took the VRA a considerable time, amid demands from him, before it eventually wrote to him on April 1, 2004 to formally notify him of the separation entitlements.
He said in that letter, cash equivalent of 43 days’ earned leave up to the time of the resignation, totalling ¢61 million, six months’ salary in the sum of ¢187 million, gratuity of five years’ salary of ¢1.8 billion, being the cedi equivalent of fuel allocation from March 31, 2004, and transfer of ownership of the saloon car which was in his possession were discussed.
The VRA, he further argued, in its letter of April 1, 2004, agreed to pay 70 per cent of the entitlements by mid April 2004 and the rest when he vacated its premises on or before the end of May the same year.
Dr Wereko-Brobby contended that because the VRA could not pay the entitlements as agreed on, he could also not vacate the premises on the agreed date.
He further averred that the delay in the payment persisted into 2005, when he decided to vacate the premises but the defendant had not honoured its obligation, adding that unless compelled by the court, he would not be paid his entitlements.
Dr Wereko-Brobby was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the VRA on August 24, 2001. He officially assumed office in September that year but resigned on September 17, 2003.

"I was not aware vessel was to cart cocaine"

November 7, 2007 (Page 3)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE owner of the MV Benjamin vessel which was allegedly used to cart 77 parcels of cocaine, Joseph Kojo Dawson, yesterday said that he did not know his vessel was going to be used to cart cocaine.
He also denied giving the vessel out to the cocaine baron, Sheriff Asem Dakeh, alias The Limping Man, to cart the cocaine for a fee of $150,000 to be paid after the cocaine had been successfully carted.
Dawson further stated that Isaac Arhin was not an agent of Dashment Company, where he is the Managing Director.
Concluding his evidence under cross-examination at the Fast Track High Court in Accra yesterday, Dawson stated that Sheriff chartered the vessel but he did not know that Sheriff was going to use it to cart cocaine.
Dawson is being tried alongside Isaac Arhin and Philip Bruce Arhin, both Ghanaians, as well as Cui Xian Li and Luo Yin Xing, both Chinese, for allegedly playing various roles in the importation of the cocaine.
They have been charged with various counts of using property for narcotic offences, engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotics and possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority.
Each of them has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and has been remanded in prison custody.
Dawson also stated that he got to know Sheriff at the signing of the charter agreement and met him only twice after the signing ceremony.
He denied an assertion by the prosecution that Dawson hurriedly prepared the sale and charter agreement of the vessel after the vessel was apprehended.
The case was adjourned to Thursday, November 15, 2007.
On Tuesday, October 16, 2007, the court ordered Dawson and the four others to open their defence and answer charges levelled against them.
Giving its ruling in a submission of ‘no case’ by counsel for the accused persons, the court held that the prosecution had succeeded in proving a prima facie case against the accused persons.
However, a sixth accused person, Pak Bok Sil, a Korean national, was acquitted and discharged by the court, which ruled that the prosecution failed to prove a case against him.

Trasacco MD, 9 others escape jail sentence

November 6, 2007 (Page 3)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Court of Appeal yesterday saved the necks of the Managing Director of Trasacco Company Limited, Mr. Ian David Morris, and nine others who were jailed for 45 days by an Accra High Court for contempt of court.
The contemnors who had earlier in the day worn distressed faces at the lower court were, within less than eight hours smiling out of the Court of Appeal.
They left the court premises around 5.30 p.m. with smiles after the court had granted an application for bail filed on their behalf by their lawyers.
Morris had been convicted alongside two of his directors, Cinzia Ines Taricone and Ernesto Taricone.
The other appellants were Alhaji Mohammed, CEO of Magnum Force Security Company, Adwoa Omari, Managing Director of Empire Builders Limited, Winifred Kumodzie, surveyor of Empire Builders Limited and Trasacco Company Limited, George Akakpo, Head of Security, Empire Builders Limited and Trasacco Company Limited.
Trasacco Company Limited, Empire Builders Limited and Mangnum Force Security Company Limited were convicted as entities by the court which found them guilty for trespassing on the lands of residents and developers of Nmai-Dzorn, a suburb of Accra.
The 10 had on November 5, 2007 escaped jail after they were convicted for flouting the orders of a competent court of law by trespassing on the property of Nmai Dzorn residents association when their counsel's application for bail was granted.
However, at the court’s sitting in Accra yesterday, all odds turned against them when the court refused to grant them bail pending the outcome of an appeal against their conviction.
In less than four hours after their conviction, lawyers for the appellants namely, Mr. Ayikoi Otoo, Mr. Kofi Peasah-Boadu and Mr. David Kudzoadji filed an application for bail pending the outcome of the appeal against their clients’ conviction.
Their case was instantly listed before a panel of judges and heard.
The court, presided over by Mrs. Justice Henrietta Abban with Mr. Justice Samuel Marful-Sau and Ms. Mariama Owusu as panel members heard the ex-parte motion for bail filed on behalf of the appellants by their lawyers.
Counsel for the appellants argued that the lower court had no jurisdiction to hear the contempt case because there was no formal transfer of the case which was then at the Tema High Court to Accra by the Chief Justice as was required by law.
Counsel had also argued that the appellants were not parties to the suit which was filed against the Nungua Stool by the Nmai Dzorn residents association adding that the appellants bought the land from the Nungua Stool before judgement was given against the Nungua Stool in 2003.
The court after listening to the arguments of the appellants held that the counsel for the appellants had raised very salient legal issues which needed to be looked at.
It also held that the sentence against the appellants was short and if the appellants were allowed to serve their sentence, they would have completed their sentence before the appeal would be heard thereby constituting a substantial miscarriage of justice.
The court accordingly granted the appellants bail in the sum of ¢500 million each with a surety.
On November 5, 2007, the Accra High Court sentenced the MD of the estate developing company and the nine others after convicting them for contempt of court but they were not put in custody because the court granted each of them ¢500-million self-recognisance bail following a notice of appeal which was swiftly filed on behalf of the contemnors by their former counsel, Mr. Kizito Beyuo.
The High Court in 2003 gave judgement in favour of the applicants against the Nungua Traditional Council which happened to have sold the land to Trasacco Company Limited and Empire Builders Limited.
In the substantive case, the Nmai Dzorn residents association said they took a writ of possession of the land in 2003 but the appellants forcibly and brutally took over the land.
They stated that the appellants were very much aware of the court's judgement which declared them as the rightful owners of the land but the appellants still went ahead to take over the land.
According to them, the appellants were currently building a wall round his clients’ property and that prompted the applicants to file a motion of contempt against the contemnors.
Meanwhile, an Accra based legal practitioner, Mr Bright Akwetey, has said the manner in which the Appeal Court was quickly constituted to sit and grant bail "looks funny and fishy".
He said even in a stay of execution, the process was for the lawyer of the defendant to serve it on the lawyer of the other party, that is, the plaintiff.
He said subsequent to that, the lawyer of the plaintiff would then file an opposition to that, and that, according to Mr. Akwetey could take a few days and not a day, for the documents to be considered before the court is constituted to take a decision on granting bail.
He said the way in which bail was granted was suggestive of how the legal system was being manipulated by "big people".
"This shows that big people are not amenable to justice," he said

Trasacco MD, 9 others escape jail sentence

November 6, 2007 (Page 3)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Court of Appeal yesterday saved the necks of the Managing Director of Trasacco Company Limited, Mr. Ian David Morris, and nine others who were jailed for 45 days by an Accra High Court for contempt of court.
The contemnors who had earlier in the day worn distressed faces at the lower court were, within less than eight hours smiling out of the Court of Appeal.
They left the court premises around 5.30 p.m. with smiles after the court had granted an application for bail filed on their behalf by their lawyers.
Morris had been convicted alongside two of his directors, Cinzia Ines Taricone and Ernesto Taricone.
The other appellants were Alhaji Mohammed, CEO of Magnum Force Security Company, Adwoa Omari, Managing Director of Empire Builders Limited, Winifred Kumodzie, surveyor of Empire Builders Limited and Trasacco Company Limited, George Akakpo, Head of Security, Empire Builders Limited and Trasacco Company Limited.
Trasacco Company Limited, Empire Builders Limited and Mangnum Force Security Company Limited were convicted as entities by the court which found them guilty for trespassing on the lands of residents and developers of Nmai-Dzorn, a suburb of Accra.
The 10 had on November 5, 2007 escaped jail after they were convicted for flouting the orders of a competent court of law by trespassing on the property of Nmai Dzorn residents association when their counsel's application for bail was granted.
However, at the court’s sitting in Accra yesterday, all odds turned against them when the court refused to grant them bail pending the outcome of an appeal against their conviction.
In less than four hours after their conviction, lawyers for the appellants namely, Mr. Ayikoi Otoo, Mr. Kofi Peasah-Boadu and Mr. David Kudzoadji filed an application for bail pending the outcome of the appeal against their clients’ conviction.
Their case was instantly listed before a panel of judges and heard.
The court, presided over by Mrs. Justice Henrietta Abban with Mr. Justice Samuel Marful-Sau and Ms. Mariama Owusu as panel members heard the ex-parte motion for bail filed on behalf of the appellants by their lawyers.
Counsel for the appellants argued that the lower court had no jurisdiction to hear the contempt case because there was no formal transfer of the case which was then at the Tema High Court to Accra by the Chief Justice as was required by law.
Counsel had also argued that the appellants were not parties to the suit which was filed against the Nungua Stool by the Nmai Dzorn residents association adding that the appellants bought the land from the Nungua Stool before judgement was given against the Nungua Stool in 2003.
The court after listening to the arguments of the appellants held that the counsel for the appellants had raised very salient legal issues which needed to be looked at.
It also held that the sentence against the appellants was short and if the appellants were allowed to serve their sentence, they would have completed their sentence before the appeal would be heard thereby constituting a substantial miscarriage of justice.
The court accordingly granted the appellants bail in the sum of ¢500 million each with a surety.
On November 5, 2007, the Accra High Court sentenced the MD of the estate developing company and the nine others after convicting them for contempt of court but they were not put in custody because the court granted each of them ¢500-million self-recognisance bail following a notice of appeal which was swiftly filed on behalf of the contemnors by their former counsel, Mr. Kizito Beyuo.
The High Court in 2003 gave judgement in favour of the applicants against the Nungua Traditional Council which happened to have sold the land to Trasacco Company Limited and Empire Builders Limited.
In the substantive case, the Nmai Dzorn residents association said they took a writ of possession of the land in 2003 but the appellants forcibly and brutally took over the land.
They stated that the appellants were very much aware of the court's judgement which declared them as the rightful owners of the land but the appellants still went ahead to take over the land.
According to them, the appellants were currently building a wall round his clients’ property and that prompted the applicants to file a motion of contempt against the contemnors.
Meanwhile, an Accra based legal practitioner, Mr Bright Akwetey, has said the manner in which the Appeal Court was quickly constituted to sit and grant bail "looks funny and fishy".
He said even in a stay of execution, the process was for the lawyer of the defendant to serve it on the lawyer of the other party, that is, the plaintiff.
He said subsequent to that, the lawyer of the plaintiff would then file an opposition to that, and that, according to Mr. Akwetey could take a few days and not a day, for the documents to be considered before the court is constituted to take a decision on granting bail.
He said the way in which bail was granted was suggestive of how the legal system was being manipulated by "big people".
"This shows that big people are not amenable to justice," he said

No bail for alleged British paedophile

November 3, 2007 (Page 3)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Accra Circuit Court yesterday refused to grant bail to the 57-year-old British national who allegedly abused the hospitality accorded him by his Ghanaian host and indecently assaulted his host’s three-year-old daughter.
Thomas Alan Tichler, a consultant, who was alleged to have inserted his fingers into the victim’s private parts, resulting in the girl bleeding profusely, was accordingly remanded in custody to reappear on November 9, 2007.
The court also refused an application from his counsel, Mr Ellis Owusu Fordjour, which prayed the court to order the police to hand over the passport of Tichler, which contained security features to the British High Commission for safekeeping.
Counsel said that the case had received bad publicity and it would be in the interest of the accused person if the case was started immediately.
He denied an assertion by the prosecution that the accused person did not have a fixed place of abode.
Mr Fordjour prayed the court to order the prosecution to give a copy of the medical report on the victim to the defence for scrutiny but the court refused to grant that request.
Tichler, who was alleged to have committed the offence at the residence of the victim on October 13, 2007 barely a week after he had arrived in the country for a three-month attachment, pleaded not guilty to the charges of causing harm and indecent assault.
Prosecuting, a Senior State Attorney, Ms Barbara Sackey, said Tichler visited the victim’s father at North Legon, near Redco Flats, on October 13, 2007 and on reaching there, the victim’s father left the victim and her two siblings in the care of Tichler in order to purchase some items from town.
Tichler engaged the victim and her two siblings, aged eight and six, at the sitting room but later managed to engage the victim alone and succeeded in inserting his fingers into her vagina.
Not quiet long after the incident, the victim’s mother arrived from town and just as she entered the kitchen, Tichler followed her and requested for water to wash his hands.
Later, the victim went to her mother and said she wanted to urinate and while helping her, the mother noticed that the victim’s panties had blood stains in them.
The victim mentioned the accused person as the one who inserted his fingers into her vagina when she was questioned by her mother.
Tichler was arrested and handed over to the Legon police.
The victim was later taken to hospital where she was examined, treated and discharged.
Ms Sackey prayed the court to give the prosecution a week to start the trial.
She also implored the court to remand Tichler because he did not have a fixed place of abode.
In reply to submissions from counsel for the accused person, Ms Sackey said the prosecution did not have the final medical report.
On the request for the release of the passport, Ms Sackey said the passport was with the police and it could only be released to the British High Commission after the trial.

Installation of new Awoamefia for Anlo Traditional Area - Torgbui Sri Restrained

November 3, 2007 (Lead story)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

AFTER two days of blood letting in the Anlo chieftaincy conflict, the Accra Fast Track High Court has restrained the king makers of the Anlo Traditional Council from installing Francis Nyonyo Agboada, alias Regent Torgbui Sri III, as the Awoemefia.
The order, which remains in force until further notice from the court, was effected by substitution through the print and electronic media to the parties involved in the installation, which was expected to take place today.
This followed the granting of an ex-parte motion tabled before the court by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, to that effect.
Mr Ghartey had prayed the court to restrain parties in the preparation and installation of Torgbui Sri III because the circumstances surrounding the installation, which had already claimed the lives of six persons, could lead to more bloodbath.
He informed the court that unfolding events showed that tension was very high in the Anlo Traditional Area and it was evident there would be more confusion and bloodshed, if the installation was allowed to take place.
He said information gathered was that unless restrained by the court, the installation of Francis Nyonyo Agboada would take place.
According to the Attorney-General, the government had a responsibility of maintaining peace and order by way of seeking a court order.
He said although the police had granted permission to the Traditional Council to hold the event, it had withdrawn the permission because of the volatile nature of peace and refusal of both parties in the chieftaincy dispute to restrain themselves.
Mr Ghartey argued further that it would be too late if the court stuck to the law which expected parties to be given 48-hour notice from holding an event.
In its ruling, the court, presided over by Mr Justice Samuel Marful-Sau, an Appeal Court judge with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, said although the Public Order Act 1994 (Act 491) stipulated that persons be given 48-hour notice from holding an event, it had become important to waive that Act because people’s lives were at stake.
It held that it had carefully examined the application of the Attorney-General and further restrained all parties from holding any meeting or event concerning or connected to the installation of the said Francis Nyonyo Agboada until further notice from the court.
“It is hereby ordered that king makers, the Anlo Traditional Council and any other persons or institutions involved in the preparation and installation of the Awoemefia of Anlo be and are hereby restrained forthwith from holding any event to install the person named Francis Nyonyo Agboada, also known as Regent Torgbui Sri III, as the Awomefia scheduled for Saturday, November 3, 2007," the court directed.

No bail for Abodakpi

November 2, 2007 (Page 3)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh

THE Court of Appeal yesterday refused to grant bail to Dan Abodakpi, a former Minister of Trade and Industry, who has been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for causing financial loss of $400,000 to the state.
Abodakpi had applied for bail pending the outcome of the appeal which he filed on the grounds that his conviction was wrong and therefore amounted to miscarriage of justice.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice B. T. Aryeetey with Mr Justice Marful Sau and Ms Mariama Owusu as panel members, in a unanimous decision, said the record of proceedings at the lower courts were not available to ascertain whether or not there had been miscarriage of justice against Abodakpi.
It, however, ordered the registrar of the court to ensure that the record of proceedings were ready for listening to enable the appeal to be heard in no time.
Citing authorities to buttress its decision, the court held that it would be appropriate for it to wait for the record of proceedings at the lower courts in order to look at the issues dispassionately.
The court explained that granting of bail to a person who had been convicted was considered unusual unless there were exceptional conditions.
It cited some of the exceptional conditions as the likelihood of delay in the hearing of a case, especially when the conviction was short and there was the likelihood of the appeal succeeding.
In Abodakpi’s case, the court held that his jail term was long while the absence of record of proceedings at the lower courts had handicapped the court to ascertain whether or not the appeal had chances of succeeding.
The court held that serious legal issues had been raised by counsel for Abodakpi and could be looked at only when the record of proceedings at the lower court was available.
The packed courtroom became dead still when the bail application was refused. Abodakpi, who had been flocked by his family and well-wishers, was whisked away by prison officers after the ruling.
His counsel is considering the possibility of filing an appeal at the Supreme Court against the court’s ruling.
A new date would be fixed for the hearing of the substantive appeal after the record of proceedings are ready.
On October 11, 2007, counsel for Abodakpi, Mr Tony Lithur, prayed the court to grant his client bail because the conviction of his client was flawed and had no basis.
However, on October 17, 2007, a Chief State Attorney, Ms Gertrude Aikins, informed the court that Abodakpi’s conviction did not occasion any miscarriage of justice.
Opposing the bail application, Ms Aikins, who is also the acting Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), argued that Abodakpi was being detained by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, adding that the order holding Abodakpi was valid until set aside by a higher court.
She said unless it could be demonstrated that the judgement was indefensible, the court could not grant the accused person bail.
The acting DPP said the trial judge took into account the evidence of prosecution witnesses and that of Abodakpi before concluding that Abodakpi's version was not credible.
Mr Lithur had informed the court on the last adjourned date that the $400,000 was still in a frozen ECOBANK account and untouched by anyone.
Counsel submitted that the prosecution failed to lead evidence to the effect that Abodakpi and the late Victor Selormey, who was charged alongside Abodakpi, had benefited directly from the money.
He said the trial judge, Mr Justice S.T. Farkye, an Appeal Court judge who sat with additional responsibility as a High Court Judge, convicted Abodakpi based on charges and the mere narration of the prosecution, without taking into account the evidence led by the appellant.
He said the trial judge failed to take into account Abodakpi's credible evidence which cast doubt on the evidence led by the prosecution.
According to counsel, the trial judge was duty-bound, as part of the judicial process, to consider the evidence led by the appellant and three defence witnesses which clearly exonerated the appellant.
On August 7, 2007, the court had to adjourn sine die for the reconstitution of the panel following an accusation by Mr Lithur, who alleged that the trial judge, Mr Justice Farkye, had risen from the courtroom on the day of judgement to hold discussions with a panel member on Abodakpi’s case, Mrs Justice Abban, thereby acting in a manner that gave rise to real likelihood of bias.