Tsatsu files appeal against trial judge's decision

Accra, Aug. 3, GNA - Tsatsu Tsikata, jailed former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) has filed an appeal for the Court of Appeal to set aside the decision of the trial judge not to disqualify herself from hearing his application for bail pending appeal. Tsikata stated in his appeal dated 31st July, 2008 that the trial judge, Mrs. Justice Henrietta Abban could not be a judge in her own cause by deciding that she was not disqualified by bias from hearing the application for bail.

The application stated that, the application for a trial within trial is the proper context in which a proper determination about the bias of Mrs Justice Abban can be decided. Tsikata was on June 18, 2008, found guilty on three counts of wilfully causing financial loss of GH¢230,000 to the state and another count of misapplying public property and sentenced to five years imprisonment on each count to run concurrently.

The former Chief Executive of the GNPC was charged in 2002 with three counts of wilfully causing financial loss of GH¢230,000 to the state through a loan he guaranteed for Valley Farms, a private cocoa producing company, on behalf of the GNPC and another count of misapplying GH¢2,000 of public property. Valley Farms contracted the loan from Caisse Francaise de Development in 1991 but defaulted in the payment and the GNPC, which acted as the guarantor, was compelled to pay it in 1996.