Tsikata's release handkerchief circulates in court

Accra, June 23, GNA - A white handkerchief with wine inscription with the heading "Free Tsikata Now" that spells out 10 reasons why the former Chief Executive of GNPC should be freed was on Monday circulated at the Supreme Court premises.

The handkerchief spells out the reasons as:


1. The judgement of Mrs Justice Henrietta Abban on April 18th June, 2008 when she had previously determined that she would await the decision of the Supreme Court on whether the International Finance Corporation is immune from jurisdiction of the courts of Ghana was clearly premature with the Supreme Court judgement a week away.


2. Ghana National Petroleum Corporation investment in Westel has yielded over 100 million dollars. GNPC investments in ECOBANK yielded 11 million dollars. GNPC investment in TOTAL yielded over 6 million dollars. GNPC investment in Tanor/Cape three Points exploration is going to yield billions.


3. Prosecution own witness major witness in the case, the American, Jim Wilson testified at Valley Farms were doing well and the company was looking to make profit for shareholders.


4. Valley farms have assets including large land tracts and nobody has said the value of these assets cannot repay GNPC.

5. Nobody said that Tsatsu Tsikata instructed payment on the guarantee that was given to Caisse Francaise de Development International. Justice Henrietta Abban claimed that without citing any passage of evidence.


6. The Guarantee Agreement for which Tsatsu Tsikata is being condemned was signed by him in March 1991 long before the law on causing financial loss was passed in 1993. So Tsatsu is being punished by resorting to criminal legislation retroactively which the constitution forbids.


7. Mrs Justice Henrietta Abban exposed her political prejudice against Tsatsu Tsikata when talking of the law on causing financial loss having been passed by "PNDC Government, of which the accused was a member" when the law was actually passed by the NDC. Justice must be free of such political colour.


8. Mrs Justice Henrietta Abban's insistence on Tsatsu Tsikata carrying on in the absence of his counsel who had written to the court about his need to travel outside the country denied Tsatsu Tsikata his constitutional right to counsel of his own choice and thus denied him a right to a fair trial.


9. Tsatsu Tsikata has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt to have committed any crime.

10. Tsatsu Tsikata has given selfless service to his country in many capacities including a law lecturer in the law faculty of University of Ghana and as Chief Executive officer of GNPC. This is not the way to repay him.


Tsatsu Tsikata, the former Chief Executive of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), went to the Fast Track High Court on Monday to move a bail application pending an appeal before the court, presided over by Mrs Henrietta Abban, a court of Appeal Judge.


But the court adjourned that matter sine die the bail application by Tsatsu Tsikata, who was sentenced last Wednesday to five years' imprisonment for wilfully causing financial loss to the State and misapplying public property.


This is to enable Tsikata to get a copy of the judgement of the court presided over by Mrs. Justice Henrietta Abban and await the outcome of a petition he has forwarded to the Chief Justice on allegations of the judge's conduct.