The sixth accused in the ongoing coup plotters case, Warrant Officer II, Esther Saan, has had her bail revoked and has been remanded into custody by the High Court in Accra.
This follows checks by the Court that revealed that claims by the accused that she was on admission at the Police Hospital, a reason for her absence from court on June 6, were untrue.
The Court on June 13 instructed the registrar of the General Jurisdiction to verify a medical certificate produced by the lawyers of the accused as proof of her admission.
The court noted that the certificate did not state whether she was on admission, a situation that prompted the demand for verification of the certificate.
In a report to the court on Wednesday, the registrar of the General Jurisdiction of the High Court indicated that his checks at the hospital revealed that the accused visited the hospital on June 6 at about 2 pm at the time the eye clinic had closed and was referred to the emergency department.
Lawyer for the Warrant Officer II did not raise any issues with the report of the registrar. The court noted that since the report did not confirm that she was indeed on admission, the representation was untrue and against her bail conditions.
The court which believed that by her actions, she will not make herself available for trial rescinded her bail conditions. She has been remanded into custody until further notice.
Prince Harry has taken the stand at the High Court, offering evidence against the publisher of the Daily Mirror.
This marks the first instance since the 19th century that a royal has testified in court.
As he appeared in court, Prince Harry’s witness statement was released, in which he stated that the decision to relocate to California was primarily driven by the “constant intrusion” he and his family faced.
He further revealed that the intense media scrutiny had a profound negative impact on their mental health and overall well-being.
Accusing Mirror Group Newspapers, the prince alleges that the publication employed illicit methods such as phone hacking to obtain stories.
He is sworn in, promising to “almighty God” to tell “the truth, the whole truth”.
The prince has a full day of evidence ahead of him.
Prince Harry’s witness statement has been provided to some media houses such as the BBC.
He starts by saying his decision to move to California with his wife Meghan Markle was “in large part… due to the constant intrusion, inciting of hatred and harassment by the tabloid press into every aspect of our private lives, which had a devastating impact on our mental health and wellbeing.
“We were also very concerned for the security and safety of our son.”
Prince Harry’s witness statement goes on: “It is no secret that I have had, and continue to have, a very difficult relationship with the tabloid press in the UK.
“In my experience as a member of the Royal Family, each of us gets cast into a specific role by the tabloid press.
“You start off as a blank canvas while they work out what kind of person you are and what kind of problems and temptations you might have.
“They then start to edge you towards playing the role or roles that suit them best and which sells as many newspapers as possible.”
Prince Harry’s witness statement goes on: “As a teenager and in my early twenties, I ended up feeling as though I was playing up to a lot of the headlines and stereotypes that they wanted to pin on me mainly because I thought that, if they are printing this rubbish about me and people were believing it, I may as well ‘do the crime’, so to speak.
“It was a downward spiral, whereby the tabloids would constantly try and coax me, a ‘damaged’ young man, into doing something stupid that would make a good story and sell lots of newspapers.
“Looking back on it now, such behaviour on their part is utterly vile.”
The lawyer representing Mirror Group Newspapers is now questioning Prince Harry.
Andrew Green KC starts by referencing the publisher’s apology to him – heard previously in court – for one instance of unlawful activity.
The court previously heard a private investigator was instructed by a Mirror Group Newspaper journalist at The People to unlawfully gather information about Prince Harry’s activities at the Chinawhite nightclub on one night in February 2004.
The article is not one of the claims being brought by the prince.
Green tells the prince he will be entitled to a “more extensive apology” if the judge finds the newspaper group were responsible for further acts of unlawful information gathering.
Bright Kojo Onipayede, a Ghanaian forex trader widely known as Kojo Forex, has taken legal action against Albert Nathaniel Hyde, also known as Bongo Ideas, for defamation.
Kojo Forex alleges that Bongo Ideas made damaging statements about him on Twitter, which have harmed his reputation.
In the lawsuit, Kojo Forex is seeking compensation of GHS1 million and a permanent injunction to prevent Bongo Ideas from making any further defamatory remarks about him.
Additionally, Kojo Forex insists on a public apology to be issued on social media, accompanied by the retraction of the defamatory tweets.
Back in April of this year, Kojo Forex had issued a stern warning to the blogger after Bongo Ideas went on a Twitter rant directed at him.
Kojo Forex has now resorted to legal recourse to address the alleged defamation, aiming to safeguard his reputation and seek appropriate redress for the harm caused.
Among other things, Bongo had alleged that “Forex trading alone did not get you these things. You do other shady business.”
Again, he claimed that “the FX thingy is just a small part of the secretive online business empire (I will explain later) he runs. His profits from FX, as he makes it seem, do not come because he is a genius in the game. There are oldgees in the game who will tell you that he is a liar.
“You will soon be disappointed that FX is not a get-rich-quick-scheme. Only the Ponzi schemers make it seem so, which he is.”
These allegations were refuted by Kojo Forex, who claimed that the blogger was attacking him because he refused to mentor him.
The social media banter between the two ended with a threat from Kojo Forex to drag Bongo to court to prove the claims made against him, hence the current lawsuit.
Meanwhile, Bongo Ideas is known to troll celebrities on Twitter with the likes of Nana Aba Anamoah, Serwaa Amihere, Asamoah Gyan, Shatta Wale, Fella Makafui, Black Sherif and others constantly getting attacked by him.
The dual identity claim against Rev Victor Kusi Boateng by North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is yet to be verified by a High Court.
High Court Judge Justice Charles Gyamfi Danquah says he is currently unable to tell if Kwabena Adu Gyamfi is Victor Kusi Boateng.
“I think what is not yet established is whether the very person who brought this application is the same person with dual identity as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi and Victor Kusi Boateng or this very person is called Kwabena Adu Gyamfi with an alias of Victor Kusi Boateng,” Justice Danquah said when he dismissed an application for contempt filed by Rev. Boateng against North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
Mr. Ablakwa has been at the forefront of what he says is a crusade to expose what he alleges to be shady transactions marring the construction of the National Cathedral.
He has on many occasions accused the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral Rev. Kusi Boateng of having dual identity. Rev. Boateng dragged the MP to court for defamation and had attempted to have him punished for contempt for kicking court documents when he was given copies. This however failed.
Justice Danquah while delivering his ruling, briefly ventured into the thorny issue of dual identity.
He noted that lawyers for Rev. Boateng had claimed the two names refer to one and the same person with one of the names as an alias.
This claim he indicated was disputed by lawyers for the legislator.
The judge pointed out that he was given documents from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) showing that the two names have different taxpayer identification numbers with different dates of birth and different mothers.
He, however, noted that the GRA had indicated it was still investigating the matter.
Despite opting not to reach any conclusions as a result, Justice Danquah nonetheless stated that what is not yet established is whether the very person who brought the contempt application is the same person with dual identity as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi and Victor Kusi Boateng or this very person is called Kwabena Adu Gyamfi with an alias of Victor Kusi Boateng.
En Huang, alias Aisha Huang, has been found guilty of an immigration crime by the High Court in Accra after originally pleading not guilty.
The troubled galamsey boss amended her not guilty plea to guilty on the charge of “Entering Ghana while prohibited from re-entry contrary to section 20(4) of the Immigration Act, 2000, Act 573.”
This occurred after she and the State (the Attorney General’s office) entered into a plea bargaining arrangement.
After she changed her plea, the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court, presided over by Her Ladyship Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, found her guilty on Wednesday, May 3. The sentencing for the three remaining charges was postponed until after the trial was finished.
Ms Huang was on September 16, 2022, charged with four counts of undertaking a mining operation without a licence, facilitating the participation of persons engaged in a mining operation, the illegal employment of foreigners and entering Ghana while she had been prohibited from re-entry.
In court on Wednesday, the Prosecution led by Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah Yeboah, closed its case after calling 11 witnesses.
The defence has been ordered to file their submission of no case to answer by May 16 while the Prosecution is to respond by May 24.
The case has been adjourned to May 25, 2023.
Evidence in chief
Superintendent Divine Ahumah Ocansey, the 11th and last prosecution witness in the trial testified that the accused forged documents to obtain a residential permit.
According to the witness, an officer of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Huang forged her marriage certificates to acquire permits.
Explaining further, Superintendent Ocansey told the Court that the accused, who is also known as En Huang, was admitted into the country on May 28, 2010, and was granted a 30 days visitor’s visa.
He noted that Aisha travelled in and out of the country on visitor’s visas until she obtained a dependent permit on November 25, 2010, as the wife of Mr Anthony Fabien, a Ghanaian.
The dependent permit, he said, restricted the accused from working in the country but was renewed on April 28, 2015, when she obtained an indefinite residence permit as the wife of Anthony Fabien.
The 11th witness added that En Huang conducted mining operations at Bepotenten where she engaged the services of Lu Qi Jun, Gao Jin Cheng, Habin Gao and Zhang Zhipeng to mine at the mining site where the four Chinese nationals were arrested by the Obuasi GIS District Command on May 5, 2017.
He was discharged after further cross-examination by the defence lawyers led by Miracle Attachey.
Brief facts
Per the brief facts of the case as narrated to the Court by Detective Chief Inspector Frederick Sarpong were that, the Complainants in the case are Security and Intelligence officers based in Accra.
He said, all the accused are Chinese nationals who have gained notoriety in engaging in series of small-scale mining activities known as ‘galamsey’ across the country.
The prosecutor said, during the year 2017, the 1st Accused (Aisha Huang) was arrested for similar offence but managed to sneak out of the country averting prosecution.
Detective Chief Inspector Sarpong said, during the early part of 2022, the 1st Accused sneaked back into the country after having changed the details on her Chinese passport.
The Prosecutor said, the 1st Accused again resumed small-scale mining activities without licence and together with 2nd, 3rd and 4th Accused persons engaged in the sale and the purchase in Accra without valid authority granted as required by the Minerals and Mining Act.
He stated that the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Accused persons are also into the sale of equipment used in illegal mining activities.
They were subsequently arrested upon Intelligence while further investigations have commenced.
On March 20, 1980, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was found guilty in a civil case by an Accra High Court, and a 45,000 [old Ghanaian cedi] fine was imposed.
This came about following a case of reckless driving in which the politician and the plaintiff, one Mr. Woledzi, spent 13 years moving through the magistrate courts before reaching the High Court.
Mr. Woledzi filed a lawsuit against Mr. Akufo-Addo seeking damages for the harm and loss he suffered as a result of an accident involving the plaintiff’s car and his own.
The plaintiff was seriously injured in the accident. He demanded to be awarded ¢100,000 for personal injuries and loss sustained by him as a result of the defendant’s negligence and breach of statutory duties.
In both his pleadings and evidence during the trial, the plaintiff maintained that his car was stationary and parked on a flower bed in the middle of a dual-carriage road when he was hit by the first defendant.
The first defendant however, denied that the plaintiff’s vehicle was stationary at the time of the accident and contended that the collision was due to the Woledzi suddenly and without due care and attention driving across his path.
Mr Woledzi was represented by Michael Atidika while Nana Akufo-Addo’s lawyer was Amoako-Glover.
The case was presided by Justice Cecilia Koranteng-Addow one of the three High Court judges who were abducted and murdered on June 30, 1982.
At the time of delivering her judgement, Justice Koranteng-Addow observed the state of the plaintiff who was 41 years at the time of the accident as “different.”
“His appearance is terrible; his mouth is twisted to one side and it droops. This was caused by the loss of sensitivity on the right [p.440] side of the face. His eyes are so pronounced with the squint and he walks gingerly without co-ordinating his limbs. He moves as if he is going to trip at any moment. He still continues to take treatment for the after effects of his injury. He was in a coma for three weeks after the accident, but he remained in hospital for six months for his treatment. The broken arm was set in P.O.P,” the judge wrote.
“He had a fracture which would not unite with P.O.P. so a plate was inserted in the left-upper arm; and this would cause pain,” she further observed
The judge also noted that the plaintiff “still carries the plate in his arm. He still complains of pain in the right blind eye.”
Among other effects, Mr Woledzi was also assessed to have suffered brain damage, total blindness in his right eye and a loss of hearing in his right eye.
In a total summation of GH¢45,000.00, the judge awarded the plaintiff damages made of up of pain and suffering, loss of amenities, disfigurement and disability as well as cost.
“The plaintiff is deformed; the squint and the twisted mouth have deformed him. He is a man who has lost his self-confidence due to his present appearance. In his present condition there is little he can enjoy; a man who is so affected and afflicted with pain can hardly be said to enjoy full amenities of life. He has also lost his pension rights.
“Lastly, his inability to make a living to support himself and family – he is 54 years old; he was only 41 at the time of the accident. Considering the heights he would have attained in his job if he had not been disabled by this accident, he should be compensated for that loss. His damages should take seriously into account his pension rights which he lost and his total incapacity. I assess his damages at ¢45,000,” the judge ruled.
Management of the University of Ghana (UG) has filed an application for an order of prohibition to restrain His Lordship Obiri Francis, a High Court Judge from hearing the substantive case on the eviction of continuing Commonwealth Hall students.
According to the applicant, His Lordship Obiri Francis is affiliated with the Commonwealth Hall, thus the likelihood that he sides with the interested parties, who per the writ, are residents of the Hall.
“The learned trial judge’s relationship with ‘Vandals’ of Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana and his conduct of the case so far suggests bias or a real likelihood of bias.”
An affidavit in support of the applicant by Gordon Akanzuwine Awandare, UG’s Pro Vice Chancellor noted that Justice Obiri, when he was a student of the school, was officially attached to Akuafo Hall but was at all material times during his studentship in the University of Ghana, resident at Commonwealth and by definition a Vandal.
He added that Justice Obiri was “the lead assistant of the then Chief Vandal, a very revered office of Vandals, by the alias Chief Korea.”
Prof Awandare said this situation has the propensity to affect the nature of the proceeding for which reason he wants the Judge restrained from the case citing an instance from the February 9 hearing.
“The decision not to consider the Application for leave to cross-examine Lawrence Edinam Egleh, the deponent of the Affidavit in Support of the Application for Injunction before considering and granting the application on the basis of the impugned affidavit,” a portion of the document read.
“Moreso, when the Applicant had prayed the Court to abridge time or even take the application orally in keeping with the decisions of this Court. The Applicant did not have any other avenue to make the Application as the Application for injunction was not formally moved so that the Applicant would have made an application to cross-examine the deponent.“
This comes after an Accra High Court order back in January 2023 for the University of Ghana management to refrain from revoking the residential status of continuing students in both Commonwealth and Mensah Sarbah halls.
This decision of the court was issued after some disgruntled students filed an interlocutory injunction on January 6, 2023.
However, this fresh motion is seeking to stay the interlocutory injunction over the new claims of potential bias.
The university’s administration issued an order intending to remove all continuing male students from the halls due to a violent altercation that had taken place between the two parties on August 15, 2022.
According to UG’s management, they chose to implement the directive as a disciplinary step after fights between certain students from the two halls destroyed John Mensah Sarbah’s statue, which was located at the Mensah Sarbah hall.
Per the administration’s announcement to the members of the university, starting from the 2022/23 academic year, “Level 100 and graduate students (Masters and PhD level) will be assigned to Mensah Sarbah and Commonwealth Halls.”
The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday publishers, Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), are being sued by Prince Harry and others.
Among those who claim improper information gathering are the duke, Sir Elton John, Sadie Frost, and Liz Hurley, among others.
The allegations have been labelled as “preposterous smears” by the publisher.
A four-day preliminary High Court hearing in London, starting on Monday, will consider legal arguments and a judge will decide whether the case will go any further. ANL is bidding to end the claims.
Prince Harry’s appearance will be seen by many as a sign of his strength of feeling over his privacy and determination regarding the legal action.
Others taking part in the legal action include Sir Elton’s husband David Furnish, and Doreen Lawrence, the mother of Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered in a racist attack in 1993.
The group launched the legal action last year after becoming aware of “compelling and highly distressing evidence that they have been the victims of abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy” by ANL, according to a statement by law firm Hamlins released in October 2022.
Court proceedings began with a bid by ANL’s lawyers to have certain reporting restrictions imposed in the case.
The Duke of Sussex sat towards the back of the courtroom, occasionally taking notes in a small black notebook as legal arguments were made by ANL’s barrister Catrin Evans KC.
Frost sat two seats away from Harry in the courtroom.
Image caption,Actress Sadie Frost also appeared on Monday, and sat two seats away from Harry in the courtroom
When the legal action was announced in October, law firm Hamlins, which is representing Prince Harry and Frost, alleged that ANL’s activity included:
“The hiring of private investigators to secretly place listening devices inside people’s cars and homes
“The commissioning of individuals to surreptitiously listen into and record people’s live, private telephone calls whilst they were taking place
“The payment of police officials, with corrupt links to private investigators, for inside, sensitive information
“The impersonation of individuals to obtain medical information from private hospitals, clinics, and treatment centres by deception
“The accessing of bank accounts, credit histories and financial transactions through illicit means and manipulation”
In a statement released at the time, the newspaper group said: “We utterly and unambiguously refute these preposterous smears which appear to be nothing more than a pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone hacking scandal concerning articles up to 30 years old.
“These unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims – based on no credible evidence – appear to be simply a fishing expedition by claimants and their lawyers, some of whom have already pursued cases elsewhere.”
The duke’s appearance on Monday is believed to be the first time he has been back in the UK since the late Queen’s funeral in September.
His surprise return comes nearly three months after he publicised his troubled relationship with his father the King and brother the Prince of Wales in his controversial autobiography Spare.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also released a Netflix documentary in December, titled Harry & Meghan.
The King was due to be away on Monday on the first official state visit of his reign, but the trip to France was cancelled due to rioting over pension reforms.
He is due to leave for a state visit to Germany on Wednesday morning. Buckingham Palace said he was not in Windsor or London on Monday.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been asked to vacate their UK home, Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate, in a move sanctioned by the King.
The duke is also taking legal action against the Home Office over security arrangements when he is in the UK, raising questions about his own security provisions during this visit.
Five Western Togoland secessionists have been given a total sentence of 25 years in prison by the Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra, which is presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh.
After sandbagging the Aveyime route from Accra and attacking the Aveyime and Mepe Police stations in the Volta Region, the five were detained by the police in September 2020.
The Banned Organizations Act of 1976 was violated by the five defendants, who were found guilty on March 17 by the High Court (Supreme Military Council Decree/SMCD20).
The first two of the four charges under SMCD20 proffered against the accused were:
Attending meetings of a prohibited organization contrary to Section 2(1)(b) of SMCD20, and Making contributions to the funds of a prohibited organisation contrary to Section 2(1)(g) of SMCD 20.
The third and fourth charges were participating in the campaign of a prohibited organization, contrary to Section 2(1)(d) of SMCD20, and being a member of a prohibited organization, contrary to Section 2(1)(i) of SMCD20.
Mitigation by defence lawyer
In his mitigation argument for the accused persons, defence lawyer Andrew K. Vortia called on the court to consider the fact that pending the completion of the trial, the accused persons were in custody for two years and six months.
Additionally, he noted that the accused persons are all below the age of 35 years and they according to the prosecution are not known quantities to the security apparatus of the state.
In view of this, he called on Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh’s court to take into consideration the issues raised before handing the accused persons their custodial sentences.
State Attorneys’ counter argument
State Attorneys, in opposition, argued that the accused persons premeditated the crimes they committed. They also shot a police officer and seized a police vehicle.
The accused persons according to State Attorneys showed no remorse throughout the trial which lasted over one year and so claims by the defence lawyer that his clients have shown remorse can simply not be accurate.
Against this background, the State Attorneys called on the court to hand the accused persons a custodial sentence that will act as a deterrent to other persons who may be contemplating similar actions in the future.
By Court
The Court after hearing the arguments of the parties sentenced, the accused persons to a total of 25 years.
The first accused, Ebenezer Gblorkpor who was found guilty and convicted on counts one, two, and four was sentenced to five years in prison in hard labour (IHL).
The second accused, Afetorgbor Kpogo, who was found guilty and convicted on the first count only was sent to five years in prison in hard labour.
The third accused (Joseph Nyamewu), fourth accused (Wisdom Kuvor), and fifth accused (Israel Bessah Kpexor) who were all found guilty and convicted on counts three and four were also handed five years in prison in hard labour.
Representation in Court
The Republic was represented in court by Adoma Osei, a senior state attorney in the Office of the Attorney General, Derrick Ackah-Nyamike, Assistant State Attorney, and Watkins Adamah, a State Attorney.
Brief facts
The Homeland Study Group (HSG) is an organization with the primary aim of seceding the Volta and Oti Regions, from the territories of Ghana.
The Western Togoland Restoration Front (WTRF), on the other hand, is an offshoot of HSG, established by Michael Koku Kwabla, also known as Togbe Yesu.
The WTRF’s main aim was to use force to make it possible for the Volta and Oti Regions to secede from Ghana and form a new state, to be called “Western Togoland”. The organisation was established by Kwabla.
Together with his right-hand man, Charles Elo, he recruited individuals who attended WTRF meetings, became members, participated in the group’s campaign and made contributions to the WTRF cause.
The WTRF hatched a plan to campaign and protest for the secession of the Volta and Oti Regions. They planned to campaign and protest by blocking roads leading from Accra to the Volta Region.
Action on Aveyime At dawn on 25 September 2020, the WTRF cadres set their plans in motion. They divided themselves into groups. One group blocked the Aveyime road from Accra with trips of sand and burning tyres.
The other WTRF groups proceeded to attack the police stations in Aveyime and Mepe, property of the Ghana Police Service. They were wielding guns and other weapons and used these to overpower the police officers on duty.
The WTRF rebels freed inmates from the cells, broke into the armoury at the stations and stole arms and ammunition, including: 13 AK-47 assault rifles, two pistols, five pump-action guns, one shotgun, two MAC-3 guns, one MAC-4 gun, three SMG rifles, 11 rubber bullets, 25 rounds of 37mm tear gas cartridges, and roughly 300 rounds of AK-47 ammunition.
They also stole a police patrol vehicle with registration number GP 195, proceeded to attack the barracks and made away with money and other items belonging to the police officer residents and their families.
Officers shot
A police team was sent from Sogakokpe to restore calm in Aveyime and Mepe.
When the team reached Aveyime, members were attacked by WTRF rebels. Three police officers were injured and their leader, Chief Superintendent Dennis Fiakpui, was shot.
A signboard for the Police Service was defaced by WTRF members who erased “Ghana” from the name “Ghana Police Service” printed on the signboard.
They hanged and displayed what they claimed to be flag of their new country, Western Togoland. Amid the road blockage action and the attacks on Aveyime and Mepe Police Stations, the WTRF members also jubilated and chanted, “Freedom, freedom.”
Investigations eventually led to the arrest of the accused persons.
The High Court’s decision in Kennedy Agyapong’s defamation case, according to former Ghana Football Association (GFA) president Kwesi Nyantakyi, has come to justify what he has been saying about Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
The investigative journalist had sued the Assin Central Member of Parliament in defamation for airing a video titled “Who watches the watchman” in response to Anas’s number 12 documentary that brought down Kwesi Nyantakyi.
The court released the verdict on Wednesday, quashing Anas’s plea for a defamation cost of GHC25m, but rather slapped him with a GHC50,000 fine.
Reacting to the judgement on Kennedy Agyapong’s Oman FM, Nyantakyi’s said: “Today’s High Court decision has brought the truth to light. Everyone has seen that Anas Aremeyaw Anas is not truthful. In the word’s of the judge, he’s a blackmailer and an extortionist.
“When my case came, he made someone to come and see me. He’s called Kwame Gyan, he’s a lecturer at Legon. It’s Kwame Gyan he sent to come and see me; I don’t know Kwame Gyan anywhere, I’ve never met him.
“He went and brought Adam Mukaila; he led him to my house and they said I should pay some huge money for them to end the case.
“The extortionist the judge talked about has come to confirm everything Anas does. If he or his friend doesn’t like you, they’ll come and do a video on you, when he’s done, they’ll bring the video to you and tell you this is what I have about you, if you don’t bring this amount of money, I’ll destroy you.
“Those that pay the money, they’ll cancel the video.
“I’m someone they’ve done that to me before, it’s because they asked me to pay money and I refused, that’s why they publish my issue to the world.
“I’ve already said it before that the tiger eye PI group is a terrorist organization.”
“The area where she had plugged the radio was where the smoke started from. She had arranged so many things around the electric socket.
Following an unsuccessful attempt to apprehend the Nayiri and the recently skinned Bawku Naba atNalerigu, security analyst Adib Sani is urging government to use diplomatic means instead.
There’s uneasy calm in the area after the youth on Sunday night fiercely resisted moves by soldiers to arrest the two chiefs acting on the warrant issued by a High Court inBolgatanga in the Upper East Region.
Adib Sani in an interview with Starr News said the military arrest was dead on arrival and advised the government to resort to diplomacy to avoid an escalation of the already fragile situation in the enclave.
“…There absolutely no way, either the Nayiri or the enskinned Bawku Naba can be accessed without the use of brute force, and the people are not willing to back down. So what it means is that lives might be lost if they are to indeed access any of these chiefs.
“We are really in disturbing times but I’m hoping that immediately government engages the two sides. Inasmuch as we sometimes have to use force, for now, the government has run out of options and the only one there is the use of diplomacy so government should use this opportunity to meet the two sides and see how we can amicably come together and address the insecurity that is brewing.”
President Akufo-Addo has sworn in 20 new High Court justices.
The 16 judges from the Circuit Court were all promoted to the third highest court of the bench following recommendations by the Judicial Council.
The newly sworn-in Justices are; Kwame Polley, William Appiah Twumasi, Baah Forson Agyapong, Marian Affoh, Nana Brew, Abena Amponsah Buansi, Ellen Lordina Serwaa Mireku, Priscilla Dapaah Mireku, Alexander Oworae,Joyce Boahen, Edward Twum and Gwendolyn Millicent Owusu.
The rest are Rosemary Baah Tosu, Frederick Kwabena Twumasi, Adelaide Abui Keddey, Harry Acheampong- Opoku, Kenneth Edem Kudjordjie, John-Mark Nuku Alifo, Kwesi Adjenim-Boateng, George Aikins Ampiah- Bonney and Marie-Louise Simmons.
President Nana Akufo-Addo while swearing them in said his government will continue to invest in infrastructure for the judiciary in order to ensure justice delivery is improved.
According to the President, the government is currently putting up 16 bungalows across the country to accommodate High Court judges in the various regions.
President Nana Akufo-Addo urged the judges to ensure that they deliver justice without fear or favour.
He said the government is committed to improving infrastructure to ensure that the judiciary is able to work properly.
For his part, Justice Kwame Polley on behalf of his colleagues thanked the President and pledged to work according to the provisions of the laws of Ghana.
Flybe has cancelled all flights to and from the United Kingdom as a result of going into administration.
The airline “ceased trading,” according to a statement on its website, and advised any passengers expecting to fly with it not to go to the airport.
It added that it would not be able to assist travellers in finding substitute flights.
The affected parties will receive guidance and information, according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The business, which was only relaunched in April of last year, has been taken over by administrators.
In March 2020, it announced it would cease trading, citing the coronavirus pandemic as a contributory factor.
The company was rescued after being bought by Thyme Opco, a firm linked to US hedge fund Cyrus Capital and subsequently renamed Flybe Limited.
The airline resumed operations in April 2022, with a plan to operate up to 530 flights per week across 23 routes.
Until the most recent collapse, Flybe operated flights on 21 routes from Belfast City, Birmingham, and Heathrow to airports across the UK as well as to Amsterdam and Geneva.
A statement published on the Flybe website early Saturday said the High Court had appointed joint administrators for Flybe Limited.
“Flybe has now ceased trading, and all flights from and to the UK operated by Flybe have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled,” it read.
“If you are due to fly with Flybe today [Saturday] or in the future, please do not travel to the airport unless you have arranged an alternative flight with another airline.”
It added that anyone who had booked a flight with the airline via an intermediary should contact that intermediary directly.
One passenger who was due to take a Flybe service this morning was Chris Donnelly, who was scheduled to fly from Belfast City to Heathrow at 07:25 GMT.
At 03:07 he received an email from Flybe which stated his flight had been cancelled and the company had gone into administration, advising passengers not to travel to the airport.
Mr Donnelly, a school principal and political commentator, was on his way to the airport when he saw the email.
Image caption,Chris Donnelly was on the way to the airport when he read an email about his cancelled Flybe flight
He was able to book an alternative flight from Belfast to Gatwick, but doing so at short notice was inconvenient.
He added that he had booked train tickets from Heathrow into central London costing £50, which were of no use to him now.
Matthew Hall, chief executive of Belfast City Airport, which has the highest number of Flybe staff in the UK, with 138 employees, said his thoughts were “with Flybe employees and passengers”.
He said anyone booked onto Flybe flights should not travel to the airport, and eight of its 10 Flybe routes were covered by other providers.
‘How are they making a profit?’
The airline also flew from Cornwall, with routes from Newquay to London Gatwick and Manchester.
Louis Gardner, economy leader for Cornwall Council, said the news had come as a “real shock” and efforts would be made to find other providers for the routes.
Seamus McCoy, who used Flybe regularly to travel between Newquay and London, told BBC Radio Cornwall: “Every time I’ve flown, I’ve always thought: ‘How are they making a profit?’ because the planes have never been more than 50% full.”
CAA consumer director Paul Smith said: “It is always sad to see an airline enter administration and we know that Flybe’s decision to stop trading will be distressing for all of its employees and customers.
“For the latest advice, Flybe customers should visit the Civil Aviation Authority’s website or our Twitter feed for more information.”
The government said its “immediate priority” would be to support anyone trying to get home and Flybe staff who have lost their jobs.
“This remains a challenging environment for airlines, both old and new, as they recover from the pandemic, and we understand the impact this will have on Flybe’s passengers and staff,” it said.
It said most destinations served by Flybe in the UK were accessible through alternative means of transportation.
Customers should “almost certainly” get their money back from their card issuer or travel agent, the Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder said.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “Of course finding alternative flights is going to be a problem, and they are going to be more expensive than the ones they originally bought with Flybe.”
He said while there had been a recent surge in demand for air travel, Flybe had “fairly thin pickings” of travel routes when it returned to operation, and had struggled with passenger loads on its flights.
The Koforidua High Court has granted an interlocutory injunction to two youths in Lower Manya Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region against the conduct of the District level election that is scheduled to take place in the municipality on January 17, 2023.
“The Electoral Commission wishes to inform the General Public that the Lower Manya Krobo District Level Elections slated for Tuesday 17th January 2023 has been adjourned,” a statement issued by the EC and signed by its Chairperson Jean Adukwei Mensa said.
Following a request for an injunction by two teenagers, the EC postponed the polls. In a statement, the commission explained, “This has become necessary due toan Application for injunction filed against the Electoral Commission at the High Court in Koforidua,”
The freshly turned 18-year-olds Angel Agyeman and Michael Tetteh claimed that the EC had breached their constitutional right to vote in district-level elections in accordance with Article 33 of the 1992 Constitution.
The adolescents claim that after they turned 18, the EC did not hold a registration drive to allow them to sign up for the elections.
In order to prevent the District Level Elections from taking place, the youngsters applied for an interlocutory injunction.
Prior to the matter’s resolution, a High Court restraining order prevented the EC and its agent from carrying out the elections that were initially scheduled for today, January 17, 2023.
On January 17, 2023, the Municipality planned to hold district-level elections and a total of 127 male candidates were running to represent their respective electoral districts, while 280 others were running in the Unit Committee elections.
Due to a disagreement between the Municipality and Dangme West District, now known as Shai-Osudoku, over 11 electoral areas created at Akuse, Lower Manya Krobo did not hold district level elections for eight years.
However, a Supreme Court decision in favor of Lower Manya Krobo ended the conflict, which commenced with the departure of several Akuse assembly members for the former Dangme West District.
In 2013 and beyond, the election of Assembly members and members of unit committees was promptly held; however, the election did not coincide with the national electoral commission calendar.
In the meantime, Nene Sakite, the Konor of Manya Krobo Traditional Area, petitioned the EC on December 12 to contemplate integrating the district level elections in Lower Manya Krobo with the regular national process.
In 2013 and beyond, the election of Assembly members and members of unit committees was promptly held; however, the election did not coincide with the national electoral commission calendar.
In the meantime, Nene Sakite, the Konor of Manya Krobo Traditional Area, petitioned the EC on December 12 to contemplate integrating the district level elections in Lower Manya Krobo with the regular national process.
Campaigners will now have another chance to argue their case after the court last month affirmed the legality of the government’s plan to deport asylum seekers back to their home country.
The government’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda was found to be legal by the High Court last month, but it has now allowed an appeal against that decision.
The contentious policy was implemented by Boris Johnson, but his successors have continued to advance it as part of their plans to address small boat crossings in the English Channel.
Campaigners have argued in court that sending people to the country is “a cruel policy that will result in significant human suffering.”
But Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the government was “proud of the ground-breaking agreement”.
In December, Care4Calais, the Public and Commercial Services Union, Detention Action, and eight asylum seekers brought their case to the High Court, along with a second case from Asylum Aid.
Their lawyers argued the plans were unlawful and that Rwanda “tortures and murders those it considers to be its opponents”.
But representatives from the Home Office argued the agreement between the UK and the country provided assurances that everyone sent there would have a “safe and effective” refugee status determination procedure.
Lord Justice Lewis ruled the first people who were set to be sent to Rwanda had not had their circumstances “properly considered” by the then-home secretary Priti Patel.
As a result, their cases would be referred back to the current minister, Ms Braverman, “for her to consider afresh”.
However, while he said the home secretary should look at people’s “particular circumstances” before deporting them, he ruled the overall scheme was “consistent with the refugee convention” and therefore lawful.
After today’s ruling by Judges Clive Lewis and Jonathan Swift, the groups and asylum seekers will be able to take their cases to the Court of Appeal.
2:16
https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.551.0_en.html#goog_2054728585Play Video – Braverman defends Rwanda policySuella Braverman has stood by the Rwanda policy, brought in by her predecessor Priti Patel and then PM Boris Johnson.
The Rwanda scheme was announced by Mr Johnson last April, with the first flight set to take off two months later.
But the deportation was blocked by a last-minute ruling from the European Court of Human Rights, which imposed an injunction preventing any further flights until the conclusion of legal action.
Ms Braverman praised the initial ruling on the policy as lawful, saying the plan was a “humane” and “practical alternative” for those who come to the UK through “dangerous, illegal and unnecessary routes”.
But opposition parties deemed it “unworkable”, “unethical”, and “extremely expensive”.
Asked if the appeal was a setback for the government’s plans, Ms Braverman told reporters: “The government is clear that we support and are proud of theground-breaking agreement and partnership that we have struck with Rwanda so that we can deliver our plans to swiftly detain and remove those people who come here illegally to our country.”
An Accra High Court has ordered the management of the University of Ghana to refrain from revoking the residential status of continuing students in both Commonwealth and Mensah Sarbah halls.
This comes after a group of disgruntled students filed an interlocutory injunction on January 6,2023.
The university’s administration issued an order intending to remove all continuing male students from the halls due to a violent altercation that had taken place between the two parties on August 15, 2022.
According to UG’s management, they chose to implement the directive as a disciplinary step after fights between certain students from the two halls resulted in the destruction of John Mensah Sarbah’s statue, which was located at the Mensah Sarbah hall.
Per the administration’s announcement to the members of the university, starting from the 2022/2023 academic year, “Level 100 and graduate students (Masters and PhD level) will be assigned to Mensah Sarbah and Commonwealth Halls.”
“All continuing students of Commonwealth hall and continuing male students of Mensah Sarbah hall will not return to these halls, or to any of the traditional halls.
They are to be randomly assigned to available rooms in any of the UGEL and private hostel,” the directive added.But in accordance with the court’s judgment from January 6, the current residential arrangement of students must be maintained as it was before UG’s directive on October 26, 2022.“It is hereby ordered that the Defendant herein is hereby restrained either by itself or its officers, assigns, privies, agents, workmen or anybody working under the Defendant’s instructions from going ahead to implement the decision of the Defendant, dated 26th October 2022 in respect of the residential policy decision affecting continuing students of Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana,” the court ruled.
A middle-aged farmer at Juaso, in the Ashanti region, is asking a High Court in Kumasi to order the Chief of Juaso and the Ghana Cocoa Board (GCB) to compensate him with Gh¢750000 for destroying his 25-acre cocoa plantation.
The farmer, Mustapha Musah, claims the chief, Nana Asafo Atta Tabi, and the Seed and Production Unit of the GCB of the Juaso division illegally invaded his plantation and destroyed it. He says some other crops including plantain, which were inter-planted, were also destroyed.
In his statement of claims, the plaintiff asserted that each acre of the 25 acres often yielded 7 bags of cocoa. He added that he would have enjoyed such return for the next 50 years if the plantation had not been destroyed.
The case, titled Mustapha versus the Juaso Stool, Nana Asafo Atta Tabi, and the Seed and Production Unit of Ghana Cocoa Board, has Juaso Stool, Nana Asafo Atta Tabi and the Seed and Production Unit of Ghana Cocoa Board as 1st defendant, 2nd defendant and 3rd defendant respectively.
The plaintiff said he was realizing an average annual income of Gh¢87,000 from his farm before the defendants destroyed it.
The plaintiff claimed he entered into an agreement on the 12th of May 2006 with the chief of the area at the time, Nana Akwasi Prempeh, to cultivate the land. The said agreement was deduced into an indenture at a Circuit Court in Juaso. The plaintiff also stated that he was always driven away and insulted whenever he sought to know why the defendants invaded his farm.
So far, the plaintiff has been crossed-examined by the defendants’ lawyers. The defendants and witnesses are scheduled to have their turns for cross-examination early in 2023.
Below is a copy of the plaintiff’s statement of claims:
The Plaintiff’s Claims against the Defendants herein as follows:
A declaration by the Court that the Plaintiff has a legal and equitable interest in all that piece of land(s) lying and situated at a place commonly known and called Pentimpa on Juaso Stool lands, across River Kome, and shares boundaries with Op. Kwasi Krah, Op. Babanatu, Op. Kwabena
Maame Mary Fosua near Morso in the Ashanti Region, measuring approximately 42 acres for forest land and 50 acres for grassland and that the 1st and 2nd Defendants cannot unilaterally grant the disputed land(s) to the 3rd Defendant without the Plaintiff’s consent.
ii.A declaration that the 3rd Defendant’s entry unto the land in dispute is/was unlawful and same amount to trespass and an order of recovery of possession of same.
iii. An order for interlocutory/perpetual injunction against the defendants herein, their agents, servants, assigns, workmen, or person(s) claiming through them from any or further cultivation(s) on the land in dispute.
Special damages for the loss of income in the next 50 years for an amount of Ghe750,000.00
General Damages.
Costs, including Legal fee.
Any further order(s) or other relief(s) that the court may seen fit to make.
GhanaWeb Business understands that the proceedings will also impact former officials of the Bank of Ghana.
The charge sheet filed at the Accra High Court on February 5, 2020, named as accused persons Dr. Johnson Asiama; a former 2nd Deputy Governor of BoG, Raymond Amanfu; a former Head of the Banking Supervision Division (BSD) of BoG, Catherine Johnson; Head of Treasury of the UT Bank.
Others are Mr. Prince Kofi Amoabeng, a former Chief Executive Officer of UT Bank, Robert Kwesi Armah; General Manager of Corporate Banking of UT Bank and UT Holdings; the parent company of UT Bank.
The trial judge is His Lordship Justice Bright Mensah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge.
Dr. Asiama and Mr. Amanfu have been charged with willfully causing financial loss to the state, while Mr. Kofi Amoabeng and the other accused persons have been charged with various offenses such as dishonest appropriation of US$7 million and other deposits of customers, fraudulent breach of trust among other charges.
Eric Nana Nipah who is the first Prosecution Witness in his testimony told the Court that various investments placed by various companies such as, SSNIT SOS Fund, Forestry Commission, ECG Staff Fund, WAICA-Re and the National Communications Authority with UT Bank were moved out to UT Holdings without proper authorization.
He also testified that UT Holdings is not licensed to engage in such investment activities. The total amounts invested with UT Bank but transferred to UT Holdings without proper authorization is said to be GH¢51,334,387.08 and USD$8,799,917.
The second Prosecution Witness, Mr. Stephen Afotey, testified that an amount of US$7 million was deposited with UT Bank on the instructions of the Court.
This amount, he explained could not be traced when UT Bank was taken over by GCB Bank.
In November 2022, the Court heard the testimony of the third Prosecution Witness, Mr. Stephen Antwi-Assimeng who was serving as Chief Executive Officer of UT Bank at the time bank’s license was revoked.
The former CEO testified that UT Bank was already on liquidity support from BoG at the time he joined the bank. He intimated that UT Bank relied heavily on borrowing from BoG to deal with its liquidity challenges.
In his testimony, Antwi-Assimeng further indicated that UT Bank established letters of credit in the total sum of GH¢141 million, for some customers of the bank and added that these letters of credit were maturing in May and July of 2016.
He further informed the Court that the customers did not provide funds for the Letters of Credit and neither did UT Bank have liquidity on maturity.
Testifying further, Mr. Antwi-Assimeng stated that they had situations where a number of international lenders were calling in their loans because UT Bank had defaulted while some of the loans had reached maturity levels.
He also told the Court that UT Bank was experiencing an average of GH¢40 million loss of customer deposits, one of the bank’s key sources of liquidity. This, according to him, resulted in an acute liquidity shortage with UT Bank forced to pay higher interest rates to attract new depositors.
Proceeding further, Mr. Antwi-Assimeng informed the Court that UT Bank, on application to BoG, received liquidity support of GH¢460 million with the instruction not to use any part of the additional liquidity support for unapproved purposes.
He also told the Court that UT bank applied to BoG for unsecured liquidity support of GH¢30 million due to a lack of adequate securities to provide collateral for this facility.
Meanwhile, the matter has been adjourned for further hearing in mid-December 2022.
Six senior members of Hong Kong’s defunct pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily pleaded guilty to colluding with foreign forces on Tuesday, and could face life in prison.
Their convictions were part of a landmark case in which the city’s broad national security law, imposed by Beijing in 2020 to crush dissent, was used for the first time against a news organisation and its staff.
For years, Apple Daily was harsh in its criticism of the Chinese government, and it supported the pro-democracy protests that shook Hong Kong in 2019.
Its funds were frozen last year, and many senior staffers, including founder Jimmy Lai, were charged with national security violations.
Four former senior editors and two ex-executives pleaded guilty at the Hong Kong High Court on Tuesday to “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security”.
The former staffers included chief executive Cheung Kim-hung, associate publisher Chan Pui-man, chief editor Law Wai-kwong, executive editor Lam Man-chung, and senior writers Fung Wai-kong and Yeung Ching-kee.
The prosecution accused them of using Apple Daily to spread content that solicited foreign sanctions against China, presenting as evidence more than 160 articles it had published since April 2019.
The national security law that criminalised foreign collusion did not come into force until June 30, 2020.
Prosecutors shelved sedition charges, in exchange for the defendants pleading guilty to collusion, which carries a maximum punishment of life in prison.
The six have been in pre-trial custody for almost a year and a half, and will not be sentenced until the conclusion of the trial of Lai and three Apple Daily companies.
A lead prosecutor told the court that some of the six would give evidence in that trial.
Lai and the firms have pleaded not guilty. Their trial is due to begin in December.
Hong Kong steadily dropped in press freedom rankings after its 1997 handover to China, but that slide accelerated dramatically after Beijing launched its crackdown against dissent after the 2019 protests.
Captain Nkrebeah Effah Dartey (retired), the lawyer for embattled illegal mining kingpin Aisha Huang, has expressed disappointment in the presiding judge of an Accra High Court for refusing his client bail once again.
The criminal trial of Aisha Huang, who is facing charges of engaging in illegal mining and the sale of minerals without a license, commenced at the Criminal Court 5 of the Accra High Court on Wednesday, September 9, 2022.
The court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, before adjourning the trial, refused a bail application by the lawyer for the accused.
According to the judge, who was rejecting the application for the third time, her reasons remain that the accused person is a flight risk as she is a foreigner with no social ties to Ghana.
Justice Marfo added that the trial is expected to conclude without delay due to the pace of the proceedings.
But reacting to the judge’s decision in an interview with the press, Mr Effah Dartey described the decision as unfortunate.
“Once again, unfortunately, my application for bail was turned down, and I feel very embarrassed. But it’s one of the nuances of the game,” he said.
Asked if he intended to repeat his application again, the lawyer for the accused said he does not see the court granting such a request looking at the demeanour of the judge.
“The law gives us the opportunity to repeat applications as often as possible except that looking at the demeanour of the judge it might not be a useful exercise,” he added.
The prosecution on Wednesday called its first witness, Supt. Ransford Aborabora of the Ghana Immigration Service.
The witness, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, told the court that he led a team of officers to raid an illegal mining site at Bepotenteng in the Ashanti Region on May 6, 2017.
The raid, which was part of an enforcement exercise by the Immigration Service, according to the witness, saw the arrest of four Chinese nationals.
One of the Chinese nationals, Gao Gin, according to the witness, informed him that they were at the mining site working on behalf of Aisha Huang, who had their passports in her custody.
The officer added that he took a video and pictures of the site, which was tendered into evidence and played in court.
During cross-examination by the defence counsel, the witness admitted that he had no direct evidence to confirm that the accused person was engaged in illegal mining.
The case has been adjourned to Monday, November 14, 2022, where the prosecution is expected to call its second witness.
Ms. Huang, in 2017 was charged for undertaking small-scale mining operations contrary to Section 99 (1) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).
She was also charged with providing mine support services without valid registration with the Minerals Commission, contrary to Sections 59 and 99 (2) of the Minerals and Mining Act, and also charged with illegal employment of foreign nationals (in breach of section 24 of the Immigration Act and regulation 18 of the Immigration Regulations).
Her case was, however, discontinued, and she was deported. Her deportation meant the state discontinued the trial against her.
She, however, found her way back into the country, leading to her recent arrest. An Accra Circuit court last week remanded Aisha Huang and three other Chinese nationals into custody to reappear on charges of illegal gold mining and trading.
Her recent arrest is on the same issue of illegal mining.
When the first prosecution witness [PW1] in the Aisha Huang trial was called before the High Court, Criminal Court 5 division, he narrated how the notorious Chinese galamsey kingpin was arrested.
According to Reuben Ransford Aboraborah, an Assistant Superintendent of Immigration, his outfit got information from some Chinese nationals that led to the arrest of Aisha Huang.
The witness stated during cross-examination that he had no personal independent information verified by him against Aisha Huang.
“On 5th May 2017, I led six junior officers of Ghana Immigration Service attached to the Enforcement Unit of the Obuasi Command to Bepotenten in the Amansie Central District in the Ashanti region.
“Our aim in going to Bepotenten was to verify information our office had received that some Chinese nationals and others were engaged in illegal mining at Bepotenten in spite of the government ban on mining activities,” Reuben Ransford Aboraborah said in his witness statement.
“…upon arresting the four Chinese nationals, I interacted with them before we set off to Obuasi. I asked them of their mission at the site and Gao Jin Cheng said that they were there to mine for one Aisha,” the statement added.
The Chinese illegal miner is facing concurrent charges including running mining operations without a license, re-entering Ghana while under prohibition and employing foreigners without a permit.
The case has been adjourned to November 14 for the second prosecution witness to appear.
The State had earlier announced that it has lined up 11 witnesses in the High Court case.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakorah Obuobisa, has also hinted at a range of audio-visual evidence to be submitted by the witnesses.
Private legal practitioner, Nkrabea Effah Dartey, has questioned the insistence of investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw to testify with his identity hidden in the criminal trial of former GFA President, Kwasi Nyantakyi.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, quashed a High Court ruling which granted the journalist the right to testify with a mask in the case of the Republic v Kwasi Nyantakyi & Another.
Reacting to the court’s ruling in an interview with Okay FM, Mr Effah Dartey questioned why the journalist wants to testify with his identity hidden saying, “If you know what you are doing and what you are saying is the truth why should you be afraid?”
“Me Nkrabea Effah Dartey, if you look me in the eyes and call me an ex-convict I won’t be happy but that is the truth. I was convicted in June 1981. I was convicted and sentenced for planning a coup, to stage a coup and become a head of state. But if you as a journalist claim Kwasi Nyantakyi has taken a bribe you should come out openly and tell us,” he added.
Cromwell Gray LLP, lawyers for the celebrated investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, has urged the public to disregard what it describes as a false reportage within a section of the media that the Supreme Court of Ghana presided over by Baffoe-Bonnie, JSC, has ordered the journalist to testify without a mask.
According to a seven-point release available to GhanaWeb, the lawyers indicated that the Supreme Court in its ruling on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, did not make such an order. They also noted that their client is not being compelled by the apex to appear in court without his mask.
Background:
Mr Nyantakyi and a former Chairman of Northern Regional Football Association (RFA), Abubakar Alhassan, were charged with conspiracy to commit crime in a football scandal following Tiger Eye PI expose.
Mr Nyantakyi is facing additional charges of corruption by a public officer and fraud by an agent.
They have, however, denied the charges and have been admitted to bail in the sum of Gh¢1m with three sureties each; one of the sureties is to be justified.
The Essikado-Ketan Parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2020 polls, Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, has pulled out of her case against the New Patriotic Party’s Joe Ghartey, MP for the same constituency, who, she insists, was fraudulently declared the winner by the Electoral Commission.
Dr Ayensu-Danquah’s decision, according to her, is because of disappointment and frustration, especially as the case, which has dragged on for close to two years, with no end in sight, continues to drain her time and commitment towards rejuvenating the party at the constituency level.
Dr Ayensu-Danquah, who is an American-trained Burn Reconstructive Surgeon, has also debunked syndicated media reports suggesting she was fined for chickening out of the case.
According to her, Counsel for the plaintiffs demanded GHC500,000 but the Judge, Justice Richmond Osei Hwere, declined the request and instead handed them (the 1st and 2nd respondents, i.e. the Electoral Commission and Joe Ghartey) the initial GHC20,000 deposited to settle administrative fees.
The 2020 Essikado-Ketan NDC candidate in her petition to the Sekondi High Court, cited several infractions during the coalition of votes which changed the figures in favour of the incumbent MP, Joe Ghartey.
She avers that illegality resulted in the EC declaring results based on the second respondent, Joe Ghartey’s own pink sheets, which gave him — 26,701 valid votes compared to the NDC candidate — 24,527, while Ghana Union Movement’s (GUM), Frank Cobbinah Parliamentary candidate polled just 629.
The petitioner however insisted that her “own collated results from the figures declared after counting at polling stations were that the first respondent obtained 26,299 valid votes while the petitioner had 26,336 valid votes, making the petitioner the obvious winner, but the second respondent declared otherwise.”
But Dr Grace Ayensu, in her termination plea before Court raised a number of concerns.
That to date she and her lawyer, Daniel Ametepe, have complied fully with all orders of the High Court and have pursued the matter with the utmost zeal and diligence but the 1st Respondent has not yet complied with pre-trail orders of the Court by the failure to file his witness statement and pre-trial checklist.
That 20 months after she first filed the action, a lot of water has gone under the bridge and upon serious reflection and consultation, “I have decided to let go and rather help my party focus on the future reorganisation as Election 2024 is not too far away,” she explained.
She has since described twists on the development and the Court’s decision to fine her as mischievous and lacks appreciation of how the case travelled and her reason to move on.
“It is left with just about two years to the next elections but because of this case, not much in terms of development is happening in Essikado-Ketan, but just confusion,” her lawyer, Mr Daniel Ametepe, explained to journalists, after the hearing.
“We filed a witness statement for three witnesses to come before the court to narrate what happened on the 7th and 8th of December 2020 because we had a case,” he continued: “Joe Ghartey’s lawyer filed a motion for the case to be dismissed but he lost that case and still went ahead to file an appeal to that ruling.”
“Even the appeal that Joe Ghartey made his lawyer file, he is not pursuing it,” Mr Ametepe noted, indicating: “This is all to create uncertainty in the High Court.”
“So, the processes that we have taken to terminate the case [are] part of the rules of the court. That is why the judge granted our case of discontinuation,” he concluded.
A now defunct consumer goods company, Hippo Limited, has refuted claims by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), that it has defaulted in the payment of taxes to the tune of GHc 1,361,546,803.56.
The position of Hippo Limited was made known in a press release dated 31 October 2022, issued by the management of Hippo Limited, a defunct member of the Hippo Group of Companies, a wholly Ghanaian owned holdings company, formed in 2008 with Hippo Limited, the parent company, originally established in 1983.
GRA advert
“The attention of Hippo Limited has been drawn to a notice by the Ghana Revenue Authority published in the Business and Financial Times on 26th October 2022, alleging amongst others that, Hippo Limited has defaulted in the payment of taxes to the tune of GHS1,361,546,803.56.
“We wish to bring to the attention of the general public that not only is the said notice false, but it is also misleading and malicious. Contrary to the notice by GRA, Hippo Limited successfully contested the assessment in 2017 in the High Court, Accra,” the Hippo Limited statement read.
High Court decision
The press release further noted, “For the avoidance of doubt, Hippo Limited hereby publishes the conclusions of the High Court judgment dated 22nd May 2020 to enable the public appreciate the truth or otherwise of the status of the matter.”
The judgement was in respect of an application invoking the Judicial Review jurisdiction of the High Court in the case of Hippo Limited and the Commissioner General, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The Court held as follows; “Consequently, the Application for Judicial Review filed by the Applicant is hereby granted in part as is the request of the Respondent as contained in the paragraph 12 of its affidavit in response to the Application, and the Court hereby enters the following orders:
“It is hereby ordered that the tax assessment carried out by the Respondent entitling the Respondent to recover the sum of One billion, three hundred and sixty-two million four hundred and eight thousand, six hundred Ghana Cedis and ninety Pesewas (GHc1,362,408,600.90) as the tax liability of the Applicant dated 27th August 2018 is accordingly set aside, as well as all the execution processes founded thereon.
“It is further ordered that the Applicant make available to the Respondent, within thirty (30) days from the date of this order, all relevant documents Applicant seeks to rely on in proof of its objection to the assessed tax liability for the Respondent to carry out another assessment of the Applicant’s tax liability.
“Upon receipt of the documentation of the Applicant, the Respondent is to complete the reassessment of the tax liability of the Applicant within two (2) weeks therefrom and serve its decision on the Applicant.
“It is further ordered that should the Applicant fail to so comply with the Order to furnish its documentation to the Respondent and in the time frame therein specified, the Respondent is at liberty to carry out the reassessment without the input of the Applicant.
“It is ordered, finally, that as the Applicant is not in active operation, its warehouse remain closed for the period of this reassessment exercise,” the judgement of the court read.
In-action of GRA
Subsequent to the orders of the Court, Hippo Limited says it has submitted all the relevant documents, audited account statements among others to GRA.
However, to date, GRA has not done anything about the situation but continue to create the erroneous impressions that Hippo Limited owes taxes.
Be that as it may, Hippo Limited’s contention is that, it is impossible for the GRA to allege that they have failed to pay taxes when it operated under the bonded warehouse scheme which is managed and controlled by officers of GRA directly.
Bad faith
Hippo Limited therefore noted that in view of the court’s decision, it “wishes to put on record that GRA has not complied with the orders of the High Court and, therefore, its notice is not only unlawful but in clear breach of the orders of the Court.
“Hippo Limited is not indebted to GRA and the said notice should be discarded as same was published in bad faith to dent the hard-earned reputation of the Company and its named directors,” the management of Hippo Limited stated in their press release.
The Assemblyman for Denkyira Obuasi, William Baah, who is standing trial together with 13 others for their respective roles in the lynching of Major Maxwell Mahama, has said he did not order the killing of the young military officer.
William Baah, who is the first accused person, also told the Court that the late Major Mahama “did not give me a chance to find out who he was.”
The Assemblyman, who is also a teacher and referred to by many as Misty, has denied the charge of abetment, with the 13 others also pleading not guilty to the charges of conspiracy and murder.
Mounting his defence to the charge of abetment, William Baah told the High Court in Accra that he tried to know major Mahama’s mission in the town, but he “pointed a gun at me.”
Being led by his lawyer George Bernard Shaw to give his Evidence-in-Chief, William Baah said his responsibility as an Assemblyman is to protect lives in the area, including “strangers.”
“I am in Assemblyman for Denkyira Obuasi. It is my responsibility to protect the lives of the people in the community and even strangers,” he told the Court.
“It is not my intention to harm anyone, and when the incident happened, I tried to go and ask the victim (Major Mahama) who he was and what his mission in the town was.
“Since he did not give me the chance to find out who he was but rather pointed a gun at me, I had no option than to go to the police station to report for the police to come for him,” the accused told the Court.
According to him, “as at the time I was going to the police station, no one had touched the victim or abused him verbally.”
No order to murder
“What I have been charged with by the police is that I have abetted the killing of the deceased. I did not order anyone to use a stick or gun to murder the deceased.
He added that “When I was going there, I was not holding any stick or cutlass or gun” and “since I was born, till I got to JHS level, I have never gotten into a fight before, and I had never seen my parents fighting.”
The accused also told the Court that “it would be very difficult for me as an assemblyman to incite people to pick up weapons to attack any person and kill that person.”
He concluded his Evidence-in-Chief, saying “I do not know anything about what I have been charged with.”
Call to Police Commander
William Baah had told the Court that, after he had made enquiries about where the gun major Mahama was holding after the incident, he called the police commander.
“I called the Police Commander, and I told him I have been trying to reach him on the phone but have not been able to get through to him, and I told him what had happened.”
The Police Commander he said confirmed to him that the person had died after he was conveyed to the hospital.
He told the Court that, after the crowd at the crime scene had cleared, he left back to school.
Fear and panic
William Baah also told the Court that a friend of his at Diaso called and informed him that he had heard that the person who died was a soldier.
This information, he said, led to some of the people in the town running away.
Explaining to the Court why the people were running away, he said, “in the beginning, they thought they had killed an armed robber, but when they heard that the victim was a soldier, they panicked and started to run away.
Commander advised me to go into hiding
“I called the police commander on phone and talked with him, and he told me now that it had been confirmed that the victim was a soldier, and they had come to his office.”
He added: “I asked him what would be done now and when the soldiers come to the town, they wouldn’t know who is who, so I should go into hiding for now.
“So, I left that town and went to a town called Ampa Abena in the Diaso District.”
He told the Court that he stayed at Ampa Abena for two days, but upon hearing his name mentioned on the radio, that he had run away and the police were looking for him for investigation, he called the Commander and disclosed his location, and they came for him.
Time with the Police
He told the Court that, after he was picked from his location, he was taken to the Cape Coast Police Station and interrogated.
He told the Court that, after interrogation, they took him to Police Headquarters handcuffed.
“They handcuffed me and made me sit at the edge of the seat with my toes suspended, and I was shaking, and anytime I try sitting properly, they scold me that we have killed a soldier.”
Statements, video
He also told the Court that he moved to another office after telling him that some people had come, and “they showed me a video of what had happened, and they asked me to show them where I was standing and the dress I was wearing.”
He said when he was brought back to the Cape Coast Police headquarters, some of the things that he said were not captured in his statement.
“After my statement was taken, it was read back to me, and I realised I said some things that were not taken down, so I told him (officer), so he slammed his hand on the table, and I panicked.”
He added that the officer told him, “I was not the one to show him how to do his work.”
The Court presided over by Justice Mariama Owusu, a Justice of the Supreme Court sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, has adjourned the sitting to October 31 for further Cross Examination.
Background
The late Major Mahama of the 5th Infantry Battalion, Burma Camp, Accra, was on duty at Denkyira-Obuasi, and on May 29, 2017, some residents allegedly mistook him for an armed robber and lynched him.
The mob had ignored his persistent plea that he was an officer of the Ghana Armed Forces.
The Assembly Member and 13 others are still in prison custody after they pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit crime, murder, abetment of crime and other charges.
They are Baah, Bernard Asamoah, alias Daddy, Kofi Nyame,a.k.a Abortion, AkwasiBoah, Kwame Tuffour, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Michael Anim and Bismarck Donkor.
Others are John Bosie, Akwasi Baah, Charles Kwaning, Emmanuel Badu, Bismarck Abanga and Kwadwo.
The Appointment Commitee of Parliament will on Tuesday, October 18, consider four persons nominated by the President for appointments as Supreme Court Judges.
A statement issued by the Public Affairs Directorate of Parliament said the Justices to be considered are Justice Barbara Frances Ackah-Yensu, Justice of the Court of Appeal; Mr Justice George Kingsley Koomson, Justice of the Court of Appeal; Mr Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu Asiedu, Justice of the Court of Appeal; and Mr Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu, Justice of the High Court.
A High Court Judge on Thursday morning ordered #FixTheCountry Movement convener, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, to “remove the Ghana flag from his neck.”
The Cambridge PhD student, who was draped in the flag of Ghana, was in Criminal Court 3 conversing with his lawyers and holding a walking stick.
This was before Justice Mary Maame Akua Yanzu, who is presiding over the case of treason felony filed against the youth activist will enter the courtroom and gavel the court to order.
When she entered the court and the case was called, Mr Barker-Vormaworwalked from the gallery into the dock still draped in the Ghana flag.
“Sir, please step back and remove the Ghana flag and fold it”, the piercing voice of Justice Mary Maame Akua Yanzu was heard through the courtroom.
The Judge made a similar order directed at two other persons who were also in court to offer solidarity to the activist.
Mr Barker-Vormawor and his supporters complied with the order before the case proceeded.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor who is standing trial for treason felony is accusing government of unnecessarily delaying his trial.
The Criminal Court division of the High Court adjourned the case involving the activist to 21st October to hear an application filed by lawyers of the accused to quash the bill of indictment.
When asked by JoyNews after court what he made of the Judge’s order to remove the Ghana flag he was draped in, Oliver Barker-Vormawor said he was surprised about the order of the Judge.
“Why? Are the courts immune to the Ghana flag?”, he quizzed.
He continued “it’s never been my understanding that the court system had a problem with the Ghana flag.
“Of course when the whole democracy is so much in shambles and everybody is ashamed to identify because the sense of patriotism is low, markers of patriotism like this obviously make people uncomfortable.”
Right after the court adjourned, Oliver draped himself again with the flag.
The High Court sitting in Kumasi has granted bail to an interdicted police officer and a final year student of KNUST, standing trial for allegedly gang-raping a first-year student.
The two have been granted bail in the sum of GH¢80,000 each with two sureties; a relative and a government worker not earning less than a net salary of GH¢1,000 a month.
They were remanded after appearing before the Asokore Mampong District Court in July.
Since the Asokore Mampong District Court lacks jurisdiction in granting bail on the matter, the lawyers for the two accused persons applied for bail at the High Court and has been granted.
The substantive matter which is being heard at the Asokore Mampong District Court has been adjourned to 19th September 2022.
President Akufo-Addo on Monday inducted into office ten new Justices of the High Court, charging them to dispense justice without fear or favour, affection or ill will.
The Justices included Ebenezer Osei-Darko, Bernard Bentil, Alexander Graham, and Mercy Adei Kotei, who were all elevated from the Circuit Courts.
The rest are Mr. George Kwame Gyan-Kontoh, Mr. Richard Apietu, Mr. Eric Ansah Ankomah, Mrs. Cynthia Martinson, Dr. Mrs. Bridget Kafui Antonio-Apedzi and Ms. Nabeela Naeema Wahab, all of whom join the bench from private practice.
At a short ceremony at the Jubilee House, Accra, President Akufo-Addo congratulated them on their well-deserved appointment and enforced the need for them to demonstrate honesty, integrity, and sound knowledge of the law to gain the confidence of the people.
He urged them to eschew all forms and temptations of corruption throughout their journey as judges of the Superior Court of Judicature because “a corrupt or incompetent judge is a danger to the public interest and judicial administration.â€
The President reminded the justices that the high court was the focal point for justice delivery in the country, adding that “much of judicial work begins and ends there.â€
“It is therefore critical for the growth of the nation that the High Courtcommands the respect of the people by the quality of its judgements as well as the comportment of its judges,†he stated.
President Akufo-Addo admonished the judges to avoid proffering judgements on the basis of decisions from lower courts and to employ the time-honoured common law tradition of precedence as the foundation for the coherent development of the law.
“You must be learned, know your case law, and ensure your decisions and judgements are properly motivated,†he said.
The President reinforced the fact that the dispensation of justice required that the application of the laws of the land must occur without fear or favour, affection or ill will, and without recourse to political, ethnic or religious affiliations.
“When a citizen falls foul of the law, that citizen, high or low, must be dealt with accordingly, and the law enforcement agencies including you our new judges must ensure this is done…that is the true meaning of the concept of equality before the lawâ€
President Akufo-Addo also encouraged the judges to leverage technology to expedite the conduct of cases that came before them and in the management of the Courts.
He emphasized that the transparent and efficient delivery of justice builds confidence in citizens, businesses and the investor community.
The Government, the President told the Judges, had taken note of the inadequate numbers of courts in various parts of the country, resulting in citizens travelling long distances to gain access to courts, and had decided to remedy this situation.
To that end, 60 district courts, 60 bungalows for judges, and three new high courts for three of the six newly created regions would be commissioned before the start of the legal year in October.
Additionally, Government, through the Administrator of the District Assembly Common Fund, is constructing 100 new courts and bungalows for Judges in all 16 Regions of the country.
Justice Mercy Adei Kotei who spoke for her colleague justices expressed gratitude to the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged that they would work to justify their elevation.
“We promise to remain true to our oaths and to discharge our duties with diligence,†she said.
As part of efforts to make justice delivery accessible to the citizenry, His Lordship the Chief Justice Kwesi Anin-Yeboah has established a High Court at Sowutuom in the Ga Central Municipality.
The Court located within the premises of the District Court commenced operations on Monday, July 4, 2022.
The siting of the Court in that jurisdiction forms part of measures to ease the burden on Court Users who travel to the Central Business District to access justice.
The general public especially those, within the environs of the Ga Central Municipality and adjoining areas are encouraged to make use of the facility.
The High Court hearing the alleged coup plotters case was on Monday, June 20, 2022, compelled to adjourn on health grounds.
Midway into the cross-examination of the 12th prosecution witness, Detective Chief Inspector Michael Nkrumah of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), one of the defense lawyers, brought to the attention of the court, the medical situation.
Warrant Officer (WO) II, Esther Saan Dekuwmine alias Mama Gee, was throwing up.
She was immediately taken down to the court clinic where she was attended to, and the courtroom sanitised.
Lawyers later informed the court that doctors at the clinic were still administering laboratory tests on the accused person, and that it did not appear she would be fit enough to immediately resume the trial.
This is notwithstanding that the Court Warrant Officer had already informed the Court that the vomiting was as a result of the accused person taking medication on an empty stomach.
The court, upon being persuaded by the Bar, adjourned to Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to allow for a conclusion of the cross-examination and for subsequent directions.
This was not without caution from the President of the three-member panel, Her Ladyship, Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe, that the court will by all means meet its July 4 timeline for submissions of no case (where any) and would thus not countenance calculated delays.
The trial courtwas initially scheduled to hear the last of the cross-examinations on Monday and to allow the prosecution to close its case on the matter.
This would have been followed with directions on submissions of no case, presumably to be made by the defense lawyers.
But this was not to be the case, as the day took an unexpected turn.
It is, however, expected that this process would be followed through with on Wednesday to allow for the next phase of the trial to begin.
The prosecution today, June 20, 2022, filed its responses to the submissions made by some of the defense lawyers in the matter.
This was after an initial delay the prosecution says was occasioned by the failure of some of the defense lawyersto file their submissions within a court-stipulated time.
The ruling of the court on the submissions of no case by the 14 accused persons in the trial will determine the future of the case.
Where submissions are upheld by court, it would mean that the 14 accused persons have no criminal charges to answer as far as the killing of Major Maxwell Adam Mahama is concerned.
On the other hand, if the submissions are dismissed, the accused persons would be moved to open their defense in the murder trial.
The accused persons are; William Baah, then-Assemblyman for Denkyira Obuasi, Bernard Asamoah alias Daddy, Kofi Nyarko alias Abortion, and Akwasi Baah. Others include; Kwame Tuffour, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Michael Anim and Bismarck Donkor.
The rest are; John Bosie, Charles Kwaning, Emmanuel Badu, Bismarck Abanga and Kwadwo Anima. They are facing the charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Prosecutors presented every evidence they had against the 14 alleged killers of the late Major Maxwell Adam Mahama of the 5th Infantry Battalion at the Burma Campin Accra today in court.
They concluded by pleading with the court to declare the accused guilty of murdering the military officer on purpose.
However, the accused’s lawyers have stated that they will file a no case submission, by requesting that the charges against their clients be dismissed by the Court.
William Baah, then-Assemblyman for Denkyira Obuasi, Bernard Asamoah alias Daddy, Kofi Nyame a.k.a. Abortion, Akwasi Boah, Kwame Tuffour, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Michael Anim, and Bismarck Donkor are among the 14 people named.
John Bosie, Akwasi Baah, Charles Kwaning, Emmanuel Badu, Bismarck Abanga, and Kwadwo Anima are the others.
Meanwhile, the lawyers for the accused have been asked to file their submissions by May 30, when the court resumes hearings.
While on duty in the Central Region, Major Mahama was lynched on May 29, 2017.
The dead was afterwards alleged to have been mistaken for a robber.
Despite the fact that over 50 people were apprehended in the aftermath of the incident, only 14 were examined for prosecution.
The trial for the officer’s death was postponed for a year due to the emergence of Covid-19 and the fact that the trial judge, Her Ladyship Mariama Owusu, had been appointed to hear the 2020 Presidential election petition case.
A Hohoe High Court would Wednesday hear a case against Mr Kofi Adams, National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP-elect for Buem Constituency and the Electoral Commission by some 13 residents from the Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi and Likpe (SALL) enclave in the Oti Region.
The Petitioners have sued Mr Adams and the EC for excluding them from the December 7 Parliamentary election, which they described as unlawful and infringement on their rights to vote.
They include Stephen Brempong, Wing Commander (rtd) Emmanuel Kusi Apietu, Johnson Addo, Titus Ayivor, Fuseini Abdul-Rahman and others.
Ghana News Agency can confirm the suit is among the line-up of cases for today with a strong team of lawyers for the petitioners and respondents waiting patiently for the start of proceedings.
They are therefore seeking an “order of perpetual injunction restraining Mr Kofi Adams from presenting himself to be sworn-in as MP-elect for Buem or holding himself as suchâ€.
The petitioners are also seeking a cancellation of the December 7, parliamentary election organised by the EC in the Constituency, and the conduct of a new one to include the 13 electoral areas which will allow them to cast their ballots.
Mr Kofi Adams was declared MP-elect for Buem Constituency by the EC after securing a total of 18,560 of the valid votes cast to beat Mr Lawrence Kwame Aziale of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who polled 6,854 votes.
An Accra High Court has ordered the elections management body in Ghana, the Electoral Commission (EC), to respond to a suit challenging the disqualification of an independent Presidential aspirant, Marricke Kofi Gane.
The court gave the EC up to Tuesday, November 24 to respond to the suit.
Mr. Gane, who is one of the five disqualified presidential aspirants, sued the EC to challenge the decision to disqualify him.
The EC disqualified him on the basis of alleged forged signatures on his nomination forms.
Dissatisfied by the decision, Mr Gane sued the EC in court.
In ordering the EC to respond, the High Court also said Mr. Gane and the lawyers of the EC must reappear at the Criminal Court 2 Division of the High Court for the case to be heard.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Wednesday swore into office, eight judges of the High Court at the Jubilee House, Accra.
They were: Justice Eva Bannerman-Williams, Justice Emmanuel Bart-Plange Brew, Justice Yaw Owoahene Acheampong, Justice Samuel Boakye-Yiadom, Justice Abdul Yusif Asibey, Mrs Elfreda Amy Dankyi, Mr Samuel Faraday Johnson and Ms. Sheila Minta.
The President congratulated them on their well-deserved appointment, and enforced the need for them to demonstrate honesty, integrity, and sound knowledge of the law to gain the confidence the people.
He reminded them that the high court was the focal point for justice delivery in the country, adding “much of judicial work begins and ends there.”
“It is therefore critical for the growth of the nation that the High Court commands the respect of the people by the quality of its judgements as well as the comportment of its judges,” he stated.
President Akufo-Addo admonished the judges to avoid proffering judgements on the basis of decisions from lower courts and to employ the time honoured common law tradition of precedence as the foundation for the coherent development of the law.
“You must be learned, know your case law, and ensure your decisions and judgements are properly motivated,” he said.
The Presidemt reinforced the fact that the dispensation of justice required that the application of the laws of the land must occur without fear or favour, affection or ill will, and without recourse to political, ethnic or religious affiliations.
“When a citizen falls foul of the law, that citizen, high or low, must be dealt with accordingly, and the law enforcement agencies including you our new judges must ensure this is done…that is the true meaning of the concept of equality before the law”
President Akufo-Addo encouraged the judges to leverage technology to expedite the conduct of cases that came before them and in the management of the Courts.
“The transparent and efficient delivery of justice builds confidence in citizens, businesses and the investor community,” he said.
The President said government had taken note of the inadequacy of court rooms across the country, which was hampering the administration of justice.
To that effect, government, through the Administrator of the District Aseemblies Common Fund, is constructing 98 courts and bungalows for judges in all 16 regions of the country, he said.
Members of Parliament eulogised former President Daniel arap Moi as a statesman who succeeded in holding the country together during a difficult time in the history of the continent, even as they called for forgiveness if the country has to move forward from its ugly past.
In emotional debates in the two chambers of Parliament, punctuated by a one-minute silence, the lawmakers showered the fallen president with praises that sought to justify what others have called an iron-fisted rule.
They declared that he had left the country a better place than he found it.
At the Senate, Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen paid tribute to Moi, saying that under his 24-year rule, the full authority of the state had been felt across the country.
He added that Moi expanded education and gave people from marginalised areas a chance to access education.
“Going through his life history and considering the way he was humble, one gets the impression that this was a man called by God into leadership,†Mr Murkomen said.
The premises of the Koforidua High Court was thrown into a state of disturbances by a convict who launched a profane tirade in courtroom after he was slapped with a total of 25 years imprisonment with hard labour on Friday, September 27.
The convict, Yaw Antwi, 31, a farmer refused to be taken away by the few police personnel on duty at the Court to begin his prison sentence creating confusion at the Courtroom. It took the intervention of about 15 armed Police Officers dispatched from the Eastern Regional Police Headquarters to forcibly move him into a waiting vehicle to the Koforidua Prison.
Yaw Antwi, an ex-convict notorious in Akyem New Tafo for death threats and causing harm was convicted by the Koforidua Circuit Court “B†presided over by Her Honour Mercy Adei Kotei on three different cases Prosecuted by Inspector Owusu Ababio.
He was found guilty on varied counts of death threats, causing harm and disturbing public peace.
The convict -Yaw Antwi was sentenced 10 years for attempting to kill his father, Boakye Boateng, at Akyem New Tafo. The convict haven threatened life of the father many times in November last year, attempted to slash the father with a cutlass. Again, he was sentenced eight (8) years for attempting to hack a Police Officer Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Yaro stationed at the Akyem New Tafo District Police Headquarters.
According to the Prosecutor, Inspector Ababio on February 3, 2019, at about 6:30pm, the convict pulled a cutlass to hack the hand of the Police officer while in taxi had the driver not sped off, sensing danger.
Lastly, the Court jailed Yaw Antwi to seven(7) years imprisonment on charges of disturbing Public Peace, threat of death and assault for storming a drinking spot with cutlass and brandishing same in fearful manner.
The convict on February 2, 2019 at about 7:00pm went on rampage In Akyem Tafo township Wielding cutlass and in the dreadful melee invaded EDIMA drinking spot in Akyem New Tafo township and forcefully demanded he was served alcohol for free but was denied.
This angered the convict who brandished cutlass amidst threats of killing the customers causing many to flee the spot.
Yaw Antwi went out of the bar and without provocation attacked complainant in this case -Oteng William a driver and resident of Mid Tafo
He hit him several times with the side of the cutlass and threatened to kill.
After committing the act, the convict went into hiding but on March 25,2019 he resurfaced at Tafo Zongo to inflict cutlass wound on fingers of one of the youth having bitten him. This infuriated the youth who overpowered and handed him over to the Police.
Before delivering the Judgement, the Prosecutor told the Judge that the suspect is notorious even after serving a five-year jail term in 2012 on the same offenses.
Therefore the sentence will serve as a deterrent and also inure to his safety from the hands of angry community members.
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