Defence Counsel for the convicted former Sports Minister, Mallam Yusuf Isa, has criticised an Appeal Court in Accra for refusing to hear his client's appeal against his conviction. Ambrose Dery, who defended Mallam Isa last year in a $46,000 stealing case, told The Evening News in an interview on Monday, that he first filed the appeal on 29 November 2001.
On 16 February 2002, he followed it up with the submission of his substantive appeal that set out the full argument of his client. From 22 May 2002, Dery said he has been asking for the reply to his appeal but the Court of Appeal had failed to fix a date for hearing the case and subsequently respond to his appeal.
No reasons, according to him, had also been assigned for the court's reluctance to call the case. He said the situation was unfair, since he believed that his client was innocent and needed justice done to him. "The delay means my client will serve a significant time of his jail term, giving him only empty victory if he should win on appeal," he observed.
He, therefore, appealed to the court to expedite its efforts so that the case could be heard.
Mallam Isa was found guilty on two counts of stealing and fraudulently causing financial loss of $46, 000 to state. The money, which was to be used to pay the winning bonus of the Ghana Black Stars after a match with Sudan last year, mysteriously got missing from the custody of Mallam Isa.
After a period of trial, Justice Julius Ansah, an Appeal Court Judge, who sat as an additional High Court Judge on July 2001, found Mallam Isa guilty on both charges and slammed a deterrent sentence of 4 years on him and a fine of ?10m or in default, 12 months in hard labour.
In addition, the court ordered him to refund the $46, 000 within a month or serve another two years in hard labour to run concurrently. This part of the judgement was however, quashed when the defence raised an objection to it.
Defence Counsel for the convicted former Sports Minister, Mallam Yusuf Isa, has criticised an Appeal Court in Accra for refusing to hear his client's appeal against his conviction. Ambrose Dery, who defended Mallam Isa last year in a $46,000 stealing case, told The Evening News in an interview on Monday, that he first filed the appeal on 29 November 2001.
On 16 February 2002, he followed it up with the submission of his substantive appeal that set out the full argument of his client. From 22 May 2002, Dery said he has been asking for the reply to his appeal but the Court of Appeal had failed to fix a date for hearing the case and subsequently respond to his appeal.
No reasons, according to him, had also been assigned for the court's reluctance to call the case. He said the situation was unfair, since he believed that his client was innocent and needed justice done to him. "The delay means my client will serve a significant time of his jail term, giving him only empty victory if he should win on appeal," he observed.
He, therefore, appealed to the court to expedite its efforts so that the case could be heard.
Mallam Isa was found guilty on two counts of stealing and fraudulently causing financial loss of $46, 000 to state. The money, which was to be used to pay the winning bonus of the Ghana Black Stars after a match with Sudan last year, mysteriously got missing from the custody of Mallam Isa.
After a period of trial, Justice Julius Ansah, an Appeal Court Judge, who sat as an additional High Court Judge on July 2001, found Mallam Isa guilty on both charges and slammed a deterrent sentence of 4 years on him and a fine of ?10m or in default, 12 months in hard labour.
In addition, the court ordered him to refund the $46, 000 within a month or serve another two years in hard labour to run concurrently. This part of the judgement was however, quashed when the defence raised an objection to it.
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