…topples judge in Ya Na murder trial
…goes after Maame Dokono as well
The Attorney-General & Minister of Justice, Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, has
shifted into the fourth gear and is firing on all cylinders as she seeks justice
for Ghanaians in a couple of cases that suffered bogus ruling and judgment at
the hands of certain judges recently.
Yesterday, she succeeded in toppling a Fast Track High Court judge handling the
case of the murder of the late Ya Na, Yakubu Andani II, when the judge
voluntarily stepped aside leaving the Chief Justice no choice than to appoint
another to preside over the case.
Last week, when the case was called before Justice Anthony Oppong, the
prosecutor, Rex Owiredu, objected to the trial judge presiding over it saying
the prosecution does not trust him to be impartial during the trial. Juctice
Oppong thus advised the prosecution to file a formal application stating reasons
for their concerns.
Yesterday, before the prosecution could file a motion to state reasons why the
judge should not sit on the case, he issued a statement announcing his decision
to step aside.
The Daily Post had hitherto revealed why the Attorney-General did not want
Justice Anthony Oppong to sit on the case.
This paper gathered that the AG’s department managed to lay hands on evidence
that Justice Oppong, after gulping down a few bottles of beer at the Takoradi
Air Force Officers Mess, told friends that he would ‘throw out’ the
prosecution’s case in the Ya Na murder trial if he sits on it.
What the judge said, according to sources in the AG’s department, was recorded
by the friends he was with. The tape is said to be in the custody of the AG.
A second reason why the AG wanted Justice Oppong to step aside, according to
sources, is that he was implicated in the Auditor-General’s report which exposed
illegal payments that the police were making to some judges after fines were
paid by drivers who had flouted road traffic regulations.
The other judge mentioned in the report, Williewise Kyeremeh, subsequently
resigned from the judiciary but Justice Oppong’s case was pushed under the
carpet by the then NPP government.
But in excusing himself from the case, Justice Oppong denied ever being at a
drinking bar. Interestingly, he denied an accusation that had not been
officially made against him since the prosecution, at the time he has decided to
step aside, had not stated reasons why it believes he would not be impartial in
the case
The judge also said he did not feel safe handling the case anymore because of
the recent comments made by the National Chairman of the NDC concerning the
judiciary.
Justice Oppong, while stepping aside, heaped insults on the Deputy
Attorney-General, Hon. Barton Oduro, saying he was acting like a stooge in a
propaganda game.
Despite the insults, the stepping aside of this High Court judge is a
significant victory for the AG, Betty-Mould Iddrisu, who our investigations
revealed, has gone after Grace Omaboe as well.
Grace Omaboe, a.k.a. Maame Dokono was acquitted and discharged by an Accra
Circuit Court of four counts of neglect, operating an orphanage without a
license and exposing a child to harm.
Delivering her ruling, Justice Georgina Mensah Datsa said the state had failed
to produce evidence to back their allegations.
This paper’s sources say the AG was livid at the way the police handled the case
leading to the kind of judgment the judge gave.
The sources said the police prosecution handling the case sabotaged the AG by
deliberately doing a shoddy job.
“They even refused to send the docket to us” the sources said. The AG, they
added, has reported the police prosecutors as a result to the IGP for
disciplinary action to be taken.
Ironically, though police prosecutors prosecute cases in the AG’s name, she (he)
has no control over them. The police report to the Minister of Interior and not
the AG who doubles as the Minister of Justice.
Investigations by this paper revealed that Ms. Ellen Kwakume, a Chief State
Attorney filed the appeal against the acquittal and discharge of Maame Dokono by
the circuit court a couple of days after its judgement.
Mrs. Betty-Mould Iddrisu is said to be burning the midnight oil to ensure that
justice is not perverted in the high profile cases she is handling, from the
murders of the late Ya Na, Roko Frimpong and Alhaji Mobila through the Maame
Dokono saga to those involving former officials of state accused of stealing,
corruption or willfully causing financial loss to the state.
