Bawku MP authenticates testimony

October 9, 2010 (Page 3)

THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Adamu Daramani Sakande, yesterday produced documents from the British Home Office to authenticate his testimony that he did not owe allegiance to any country but Ghana.
The MP, who has been accused of making a false declaration that he owed allegiance to only Ghana, told the Accra Fast Track High Court that the Home Office officially approved his application for renunciation of his British citizenship on September 20, 2008.
Sakande stated that he swore a statutory declaration that he owed allegiance to only Ghana in October 2008 before contesting the parliamentary seat in December 2008.
He stated that he could, therefore, not be accused of committing perjury or deceiving a public officer.
Subsequently, the MP tendered in evidence documents which bordered on correspondence between his United Kingdom lawyers and the British Home Office, which led to the eventual approval of his renunciation of his citizenship in September 2008.
The court had, on July 8, 2010, ordered the MP to open his defence on charges of 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.
Led by his counsel, Mr Yonny Kulendi, to give his evidence-in-chief, the MP further stated that he had never been a Burkinabe citizen to have warranted his renunciation of that citizenship.
He produced documents to prove his claim that he had only been issued a travel certificate by the Burkinabe authorities to enable him to travel to Europe after he had left Ghana for fear of his life during the 31st December, 1981 Revolution.
The MP informed the court that his solemn declaration that he was a Ghanaian was, therefore, the truth.
The documents tendered in evidence as exhibits included: Declaration of renunciation of British citizenship dated September 20, 2008; a letter to that effect from the British Home Office to lawyers of the accused person dated October 1, 2008; correspondence from lawyers of the MP on the requirements of renunciation of British citizenship dated August 17, 2007; a travel certificate from the Burkinabe authorities, correspondence between the UK and Ghana lawyers of the MP, among others.
According to the MP, in 2007, he directed his lawyers in the UK to hold on to the submission of his application for renunciation of his British citizenship until he had contested the parliamentary primary in his constituency and won, as well as done the ground work to ascertain whether or not he would win, before renouncing his citizenship and leaving his job and family for Ghana.
The court had, in the course of the MP’s testimony, overruled a series of objections raised by a Chief State Attorney, Mr Rexford Owiredu, to the tendering of the documents.
Mr Owiredu had argued that the documents were photocopies, while there was the need for him to cross-check with the British High Commission whether or not the letter from the Home Office was genuine.
In response, Mr Kulendi said his client’s lawyers in the UK had the original documents and would have tendered them in evidence if the court had not compelled the MP to open his defence on October 4, 2010.
The MP also explained that he had misplaced most of the original documents and for that reason he had to approach his lawyers in the UK to make copies of the documents for him.
Overruling the prosecution’s objection, the court held that the Evidence Decree allowed photocopies to be tendered in evidence so long as they had bearing on cases. It held the view that the prosecution could go ahead and check the authenticity or otherwise of the documents from the British High Commission after they had been tendered in evidence as exhibits.
The MP was, on July 31, 2009, arraigned before the Accra Fast Track High Court, charged with nine counts relating to his nationality, perjury, forgery of passport, election fraud and deceiving public officers to be elected as an MP.
The accused person has since ended his evidence-in-chief and Mr Owiredu is, therefore, expected to cross-examine the MP on October 15, 2010.