Give me a chamber to sleep in court – Gyakye Quayson to Attorney-General

The embattled former Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North Constituency in the Central Region, James Gyakye Quayson, says he is unshaken by the court’s decision to hear his perjury case daily.

“If they want, they can do so by giving me a bed to sleep in the court to enable me to attend the court, but the New Patriotic Party will lose the by-elections,” he said.

“They can further give me a chamber to sleep in the court, but Assin North will fall to me,'' he noted.

Mr. Quayson, who is also the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) candidate for the Assin North by-election slated for June 27, 2023, made these comments in reaction to the court's decision to hear his perjury case daily.

Speaking on Accra-based Joy FM, he said, “They can share money ahead of the by-election, but the people will vote against them.”

“I want to even disguise myself and collect some of the money and distribute it to the chiefs and people of the area,” he added.

He commented on developmental efforts, which are claimed to be the government’s move to woo the people of the constituency.

He noted that the people of the area deserve development, and if the government is bringing it because of the by-election, there is nothing wrong with it.

The perjury and forgery trial against James Gyakye Quayson will be heard on a day-to-day basis beginning Tuesday, June 20, 2023, the High Court ruled.

This comes after the court, presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh, turned down a prayer by Quayson’s lawyer, Justin Terriwajjah, seeking to have the trial continued after the Assin North by-election slated for June 27, 2023.

The counsel argued that his client was embarking on national duty in a bid to represent the people of Assin North in parliament, hence the need to continue the trial after the by-election for Quayson to have a level playing field in the campaign.

However, the Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, who described the decision by Quayson to contest the by-election as a “voluntary and selfish quest,” opposed the prayer, stressing that nobody had given Quayson a national assignment.

He argued that considering the charges levelled against Quayson, he could be convicted and jailed if found guilty, hence the need to try the case expeditiously to bring clarity on Quayson’s status.

He, therefore, prayed the court to hear the case on a day-to-day basis, beginning next week.

Mr. Terriwajjah agreed to the trial being conducted on a day-to-day basis but prayed for that to be done only after the by-election.

His prayer was dismissed subsequently by the court.

The court has since fixed June 20, 21, and 23 for the trial to continue.

Quayson, who is facing charges of forgery and perjury concerning certain alleged offences in the run-up to the 2020 Assin North parliamentary election, will have his lawyers continue the cross-examination of the first prosecution witness.

The accused, Quayson, was present in court.

State prosecutors have charged Mr. Quayson with five counts of forgery of a passport or travel certificate, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury, and false declaration for office.

Charges

It is the case of the prosecution that Mr. Quayson allegedly made a false statement to the Passport Office that he did not hold a passport to another country when he applied for a Ghanaian passport.

In addition, the prosecution has accused Mr. Quayson of making a false declaration to the Electoral Commission to the effect that he (Quayson) did not owe any allegiance to a foreign country when he filed to contest as a candidate for the Assin North seat.

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