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The High Court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, has set Thursday, June 6, 2024, as the date to deliver its rulings on multiple applications filed by the accused persons in the case of the Republic versus Cassiel Ato Forson, Sylvester Anemana (discharged), and Richard Jakpa.
Lawyers for the two remaining accused: Richard Jakpa and Cassiel Ato Forson, filed their applications on Tuesday, May 28, and Thursday, May 30, 2024, respectively.
Richard Jakpa is asking the court to drop the charges against him, while Ato Forson is seeking an order of mistrial.
During the court session on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, confirmed that all parties had been served with the filed processes.
The court decided it would rely on these documents to determine the applications before it.
Additionally, the court will hear oral submissions on an objection raised by lawyer Thaddeus Sory, counsel for Jakpa.
Thaddeus Sory objected to the affidavit in opposition filed by the Attorney General, arguing that the state attorney, who deposed the affidavit, failed to disclose the source of his information.
Sory contended that the affidavit amounted to hearsay since the state attorney was not present during the alleged conversation between the Attorney General and Richard Jakpa.
“To this end, Thaddeus Sory argued that the affidavit deposed to by a principal state attorney amounts to hearsay. It contained matters which were not in his knowledge, Sory said, and therefore, to him, as the legal representative for the third accused, the affidavits in opposition to his application should be inadmissible because the deponent was not present when the related conversations took place,” the court heard.
Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame also countered that the objection was without merit.
According to earlier details from the court, he argued that the affidavit did disclose the source of the information, pointing to paragraph one of the affidavit in opposition.
“I refer to paragraph one on the affidavit in opposition which states that ‘I am the deponent hereto and have the authority of the Attorney General to depose to this affidavit, the facts of which have come to my knowledge in the course of my work.’ This defeats the argument of my learned friend and his claim should not be entertained by this court,” Dame stated.
He further noted that the legal authorities cited by Thaddeus Sory were irrelevant as the case at hand is a criminal matter, not a civil one.
“I submit that the notice of objection to the proceedings before this court is offensive and it ought not to be entertained,” Dame concluded.
Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe’s court, after hearing the arguments, ruled that it will deliver a reasoned ruling on all applications duly filed before it on Thursday, June 6, 2024.
The court will deliver rulings on four applications in total.
Post-Court Comments
After the court session, Attorney General Dame spoke to journalists, asserting that the accused persons were using tactics to delay the trial.
“All I can say is that the Lord does not delight in the pleasure of the wicked and that even though they have laid traps for me, I will flee from them and righteousness will always prevail over evil,” he said.
Jakpa’s and Forson’s claims
The lawyer for the first accused, Cassiel Ato Forson, Abdul Baasit Aziz Bamba, has filed an application asking the court to order an inquiry into the conduct of the Attorney General, an order of mistrial, an injunction to restrain further prosecution, or a stay of proceedings.
Thaddeus Sory, representing Richard Jakpa, is seeking to have the charges against his client struck out and the proceedings terminated or, alternatively, a stay of proceedings.
These applications are based on claims made by Jakpa that Attorney General Dame had private meetings with him to influence his cooperation against Forson.
Attorney General's responses
In his affidavits in opposition, Attorney General Dame argued that the applications lacked proper grounds and were attempts to delay the trial.
“It is totally untenable for the applicant to be let off the hook on account of fabricated allegations by the third accused person aimed at assisting the applicant to gain unwarranted advantage in this trial,” the affidavits read.
Regarding Jakpa’s claims, Dame’s affidavits stated, “The attempt by counsel for the applicant to mislead the court into thinking that they were not aware of the mischief of the third accused before the proceedings of 23 May 2024, only highlights the manipulation of facts and untruths the entire application is laced with.”
Dame emphasized his commitment to justice, stating, “The Attorney General has proven to be an honest, strong, and effective prosecutor who has refused to yield to the untold pressure the applicant himself has brought on him to subvert the ends of justice by withdrawing the charges against him.”
He concluded by labeling the applications as “frivolous, vexatious, and a complete waste of this court’s time.”
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