Court adjourns Bawku MP's nationality case

August 10, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

THE nationality case involving the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Adamu Daramani Sakande, was yesterday adjourned to August 23, 2010 to enable a defence witness to appear before the court.
The MP was expected to open his defence and answer three charges out of nine levelled against him with respect to his nationality at the Fast Track High Court’s sitting in Accra yesterday but his lawyer, Mr Egbert Faibille Jnr, told the court that his client was not in a position to open his defence because the defence planned to call what he termed a “star witness”.
However, according to counsel, the star witness, whose evidence was very crucial in the case, was not available at the moment and for that reason the court should adjourn the case to a day in October 2010.
But the trial judge, Mr Justice Charles Quist, explained that he would be on leave during that period.
A Chief State Attorney, Mr Rexford Owiredu, opposed Mr Faibille’s plea and stated that since the MP was present in court, he could go ahead and open his defence while waiting for his witness.
Mr Faibille opposed the prosecutor’s suggestion and reminded the prosecution that it could not determine how the defence should proceed with its case.
The court had, on July 8, 2010, ordered the MP to open his defence on the following counts: False declaration of office or voting, contrary to Section 248 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29; perjury, contrary to Section 210 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29, and deceiving a public officer, contrary to Section 252 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29.
According to the court, the prosecution had been able to prove that the MP, in October 2008, made a false declaration, as well as committed perjury and deceived a public officer, when he swore an oath to the effect that he owed allegiance to no country other than Ghana, contrary to evidence that his British passport would expire in 2014.
Ruling on a "submission of no case" filed on behalf of the MP by his lawyers, Mr Justice Quist held that the defence team failed to establish that the accused person was not a Ghanaian and there was, therefore, no point in ordering the MP to answer charges relating to his entering the country in 2001, among others.
The court, after careful scrutiny of the evidence led by the prosecution, subsequently acquitted and discharged Sakande on six counts of prohibited immigrant, contrary to Section 8 (2) of the Immigration Act, 2000, Act 573, and forgery of passport or travel certificate, contrary to Section 15 of the Passports and Travel Certificates Act, 1967, NLCD 155.
Acquitting the accused person on the charge of entering the country as a prohibited immigrant, the court held that the Constitution and the Representation of the People's Amendment Act now allowed persons to hold dual citizenship titles, as well as vote on that status.
Touching on the charge of forgery of document, the court held that the prosecution failed to prove that the MP forged documents in February 2001 with the intent to contravene the immigration laws of Ghana.
Sakande has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and the court has admitted him to bail in the sum of GH¢10,000 with a surety.
The MP was, on July 31, last year, arraigned before the Accra Fast Track High Court, charged with nine counts relating to his nationality, perjury, forgery of passport, election fraud, as well as deceiving public officers to be elected as an MP.
The complainant in the case, Mr Sumaila Biebel, had, on January 19, 2010, told the court that he had met the MP in London in 1998 and it was during a chat with him that the MP had told him that he (the MP) was a native of Bawku, as well as a British national.