Detective Chief Inspector Hope Nyadi, investigator in Tsatsu Tsikata's case on Thursday admitted before an Accra Fast Track Court that there was an error in the charges preferred against the accused person.
Police Chief Inspector Nyadi who made the admission when he testified at the trial under cross-examination by defence counsel said that the error was corrected as soon as it was detected.
Tsikata, former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), is standing trial for causing financial loss to the State to the tune of more than 2.3 billion cedis.
He is accused of causing the loss in a transaction in which he committed the corporation to guarantee a loan facility to Valley Farms, a limited liability company. He has pleaded not guilty, and has been admitted to bail of 700 million cedis in his own cognisance.
Continuing with his evidence under further cross-examination by Professor Emmanuel Victor Oware Dankwa, Chief Inspector Nyadi disagreed with a suggestion that between 29 November, 2001 and February last year when four different charges were preferred against Tsikata at three different courts, the prosecution had not yet decided as to whether the accused person had committed any offence.
Counsel pointed out to witness that by changing the charges quite often the prosecution had "no basis for arraigning Tsikata before the court." In response to another question, witness denied being informed by Mrs Mary Sackey, third prosecution witness, about the 58th Board Meeting of GNPC during which issues on Valley Farms came to the fore, and told the court that he only read about the matter in the dailies after Mrs Sackey had testified in court.
Witness had earlier told the court that after taking statements from Tsikata on 29 November 2001, he had instructions to charge him with wilfully causing financial loss to the State.
The prosecution rested its case at today's proceedings after the sixth and last prosecution witness had given evidence. The court directed that Tsikata should open his defence on Wednesday, 22 January.
