COCOBOD trial: Procurement letter was not generated by COCOBOD Procurement Unit - Investigator

Police Detective Chief Inspector, Thomas Prempeh Mercer, the seventh prosecution witness in Dr Stephen Opuni and others trial has said it was untrue that the procurement letter was generated by the Procurement Unit.

He said per their investigations, it showed that the letter was not generated from the Procurement Unit, saying, “ We do not know who generated the letter for the procurement purposes.”

Detective Chief Inspector Prempeh, was answering questions under further cross-examination by Mr Samuel Cudjoe, Counsel for Dr Opuni, he said though they did not know who generated the letter yet it was signed Dr Opuni, the former Chief Executive of COCOBOD.

Counsel pointed to the witness, who is also the investigator in the trial that the GH¢25,000 paid to the account of Dr Opuni by Siedu Agongo, who is the second accused in the trial was his personal money, but the witness disagreed.

The witness explained that Mr Agongo wrote in his statement that the GH¢25, 000 paid to Dr Opuni’s account on October 10, 2014, was money he paid to support Dr Opuni to take care of needy children.

Mr Cudjoe said, “He never said that and the first explanation was that he cannot readily remember what the money was meant for”, but the witness again disagreed, saying immediately after that comment that he did not remember, Mr Agongo said he gave the money to Dr Opuni to take care of needy children.

Dr Opuni and Mr Agongo are facing 27 charges including defrauding by false pretences, willfully causing financial loss to the State, money laundering, corruption by a public officer and contravention of the Public Procurement Act.

They have both pleaded not guilty to the charges and are on a GH¢300,000.00 self-recognizance bail, each.

The case was adjourned to March, 15, 2021.