Court Strikes Out 9-yr-old Murder Case

Ho, Jan 26, (Grpahic) -- The Ho High Court, presided over by the Supervising High Court Judge,Mr Justice Paul Gyaesayor, has struck out a case involving a man suspected of murder who has been kept in prison custody for the past nine years.

A bill of indictment was made against Emmanuel Addo Husunu in 1996, but he had been in custody since then because there were no witnesses to facilitate the trial.

"I get sad when such people appear before me. It is an abuse of the court process which should not be condoned by the court," said the presiding judge, adding, "I shall strike out the case against the accused who has been in custody for well over nine years."

The accused first appeared in court on June 29, 2000 but nine witnesses expected to attend court have not appeared since then.Mr Gyaesayor, therefore,struck out the case for want of prosecution, very much to the appreciation of the counsel for the accused, Mr Ernest Gaewu.

In another development,the court adjourned to April 15, 2005the case of Badua Vormawor, a mason who allegedly caused the death of one Godwin Segbedzi in January 2001.

But the presiding judge queried why the suspect had been kept in prison custody for quite a long time before the trial and asked what could happen if he was eventually found not guilty.

Replying,a state attorney, Mr Koku Mensah Akude, said it was a constitutional right for such people to seek relief from the state.