Ayittey authored document - Witness

Superintendent Bukari Yakubu, Handwriting Expert at the Forensic Unit of the Ghana Police Service on Wednesday told an Accra Fast Track Court that the handwriting of a disputed document at the court in the Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) case was that of Sherry Ayittey, one of the four accused persons on trial.

Speaking under cross-examination by counsel for Ayittey, Treasurer of the 31st December Women's Movement (DWM), Supt Yakubu, the Sixth Prosecution Witness, said at the end of his assignment, the test revealed that Ayittey's handwriting compared with the document being contested in court.

Witness in his evidence, tendered a two-page chart of a test he conducted on the handwritings of Ayittey and two others, to ascertain which of them actually authored the document being contested in court.

The document was a note allegedly sent to Dr Albert Owusu-Barnafo, a Prosecution Witness, by Ayittey through Madam Georgina Okaitey, member of the DWM.

Dr Owusu-Barnafo had told the court in his evidence that in his dealings with the movement in connection with the privatisation of GREL, Madam Okaitey delivered the note from Ayittey, instructing him to transfer some money into her bank account in Austria.

Mr David Lamptey, Counsel for Ayittey, objected to the tendering in evidence of the document by Supt Yakubu on the grounds that since Dr Owusu-Barnafo did not receive the note directly from his client, she could not be said to have initialled it.

The three other persons standing trial with Ayittey are Emmanuel Amuzu Agbodo, former Executive Secretary of the Divestiture Implementation Committee, Ralph Casely-Hayford, Businessman and Sati Dorcas Ocran, Housewife.

All four had denied their various charges in connection with their alleged involvement in acts of corruption during the divestiture of GREL.

The court had admitted them to bail in their own recognisance. Continuing with his evidence under further cross-examination, Supt Yakubu disagreed with a suggestion by counsel that the report he produced on the test was useless and unreliable to the case.

Witness disagreed further with counsel that the conclusions he drew from the test he conducted were deeply flawed and had no scientific data to support them.

"My conclusions were absolutely genuine, based on the principles of identification used the entire world over", Supt Yakubu told the court.

Witness disagreed with a suggestion that he had a pre-briefing on his assignment from the investigator of the case telling him that Ayittey issued the note in question.

The case has been adjourned to Friday, February 14 for the Prosecution to put into the witness box its seventh witness.