Decison to start Opuni’s trial from scratch was a mistake and backward – Dame

The Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, says the High Court judge’s decision to restart Stephen Opuni’s trial was a mistake.

He was reacting to the Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn that decision.

The Attorney-General told journalists that the High Court Judge’s decision was wrong and backward.

The Court of Appeals also ordered that the proceedings and evidence presented by the previous Judge, Justice Hornyenugah, be used.

According to the Court, its unanimous decision aims to ensure that the proceedings and evidence presented in the case up to this point are not ignored, ensuring continuity in the legal process.

In March 2023, Justice Kwasi Anokye Gyimah took over the case and ordered that the trial be restarted due to allegations of unfairness.

In his ruling, he stated that a new trial would allow the court to dispel the aforementioned suspicions and restore the defendants’ and public trust in the process.

Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame, on the other hand, disagreed with the decision and filed an appeal, claiming that it amounted to a miscarriage of justice.

After hearing the appeal, the appellate court ruled that the trial judge erred by relying on irrelevant factors in making the decision to restart the trial from the beginning.

Reacting, the Attorney-General said “I think that it is actually backward with all respect for a trial which has advanced to this stage for an order to be made that we should start de novo.

"It will amount to giving the evidence twice, it will amount to giving parties of the matter a second bite of the cherry, and I think that it is improper.”