New judge to sit on Mobilla's case

April 12, 2011 (Page 3)

A new judge has been appointed to hear the case involving the three soldiers alleged to have murdered Alhaji Issa Mobilla, barely a month after the substantive judge was prohibited from hearing the case.
The new judge, Mr Justice Mustapha Habib Logo, replaces Mr Justice Senyo Dzamefe, a Court of Appeal judge who sat as an additional High Court judge.
The defence and prosecution teams were present in court in Accra yesterday.
However, the accused persons, namely, Cpl Yaw Appiah and Private Eric Modzaka, who are in custody, were not brought to court by the security forces. Appiah and Modzaka have pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy and murder.
A third accused person, Private Seth Goka, is currently on the run.
The case has been adjourned to May 13, 2011 for hearing.
The Supreme Court, on March 16, 2011, quashed the decision of Mr Justice Dzamefe to continue sitting on the case after the foreman of the seven-member jury had been replaced due to ill-health.
In a unanimous decision, the court, accordingly, prohibited the judge from further hearing the case on the grounds that he lacked the jurisdiction to hear afresh the suit against the accused persons after he was elevated to the Court of Appeal.
The court, presided over by Professor Dr Justice Date-Bah, with Mrs Justice Sophia Adinyira, Mr Justice Annin Yeboah, Mr Justice B. T. Aryeetey and Mr Justice S. Gbadegbe as panel members, held that the trial judge had the authority to hear only part-heard cases and for that reason his decision to hear the case afresh after the foreman of the jurors had been replaced as a result of ill-health was wrong in law.
It, accordingly, upheld a motion filed on behalf of the soldiers by their counsel, Mr Thaddeus Sory, who prayed the court to prohibit the trial judge because he had no mandate.
The three soldiers are alleged to have murdered Alhaji Mobilla, who was the Northern Regional Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), on December 9, 2004.
The facts of the case are that Alhaji Mobilla was arrested by the police on December 9, 2004 for allegedly supplying the youth in Tamale with guns to foment trouble.
While he was in custody, the police claimed that they received information that his followers and sympathisers were mobilising to free him. The deceased was consequently transferred from police cells to the Kamina Military Barracks and handed over to the three accused persons.
According to the prosecution, Alhaji Mobilla died in military custody three hours after he had been handed over to the accused persons who were on duty that day.
The chief pathologist’s report revealed that the deceased was sent to the hospital dead and that he died from multiple wounds.