Eleven to stand trial for death of Presiding Member

Accra, Jan. 24, GNA-Eleven of the 17 seventeen persons arrested in connection with the mob action that led to the death of Mr Anthony Yaw Boateng, former Presiding Member of the Asunafo North District Assembly, are to stand trial at the Sunyani High Court next week. The 11 persons have been charged with conspiracy to murder, murder and causing unlawful damage, while 13 others involved in the alleged crime are still at large. The accused persons on April 8, 2007, mistook the late Mr Boateng as robber, beat him to death and set his car afire.

Mr Joe Ghartey, Attorney General and Minister of Justice said on Thursday in Parliament that the advice on the case docket had been forwarded to the Police since October last year and a Bill of Indictment is under preparation to commit the accused to stand trial at the Sunyani High Court on January 29, 2008.

The Justice Minister's information on the case was in response to a question from Mr Robert Sarfo-Mensah (NPP-Asunafo North) on what the Ministry was doing to bring the alleged murderers to book. Mr Ghartey disagreed with a suggestion to fast-track the handling of the case a deterrent, and recognized that the case had to go through the due legal process without hastily administering any mob justice against the alleged perpetrators. He said: "mob action should not lead to mob justice. I don't have anything against the speed at which the case is going."

The Attorney General in response to question by Mr Samuel Sallas-Mensah, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, on what had caused the delay in the establishment of the Financial Administration under Act 654, said the Judicial Service had been constrained in terms of additional courts to handle cases which fall under the Act. The Public Accounts Committee, which recently conducted hearings into the Auditor General's Report on some state institutions made findings of massive malfeasance and impropriety against certain officials of those institutions. The Committee recommended prosecution of alleged culprits at the Financial Administration Tribunal, under provisions in the Financial Administration Act.

According to Mr Ghartey, Government released funds under the 2007 Budget for the construction of a new eight-room Court Complex to deal with all commercial crimes. He said construction of the Courts was progressing very fast, with and expectation that the project should be completed and handed over to the Service for full operation of the courts before the end of 2008. "Meanwhile, a judge has been assigned a court room to start hearing the cases. The Case was expected to start sitting on Monday 21st January 2008 to handle all Financial Administration cases, especially, cases involving theft of public funds", the Attorney General and Minister of Justice said.