Court of Appeal to hear Abodakpi's case

The Court of Appeal would today, Tuesday November 19, hear a motion for an order for stay of proceedings pending an interlocutory appeal against a Fast Track Court (FTC) ruling that two former ministers should be tried summarily.

Daniel Kwasi Abodakpi MP for Keta and Victor Selormey former deputy ministers of Trade and industries and Finance respectively are being tried on seven counts of conspiracy to commit crime, defrauding by false pretences and willfully causing a total loss of 2.73 billion cedis to the State.

They have denied all the charges and are currently on self-recognisance bail in the sum of three billion cedis each. The appeal came in the wake of Mr. Kwabla Senanu's submission to the FTC to try his client by indictment.

Mr. Senanu said his clients might not have fair trial when tried summarily. The FTC, presided over by Mr. Justice Stephen T. Farkye, an Appeal Court Judge, who is sitting as an additional High Court Judge, dismissed the application and ruled that the court was not empowered to try the offenders by indictment.

On November 11, defence counsel prayed the FTC to grant stay of proceeding pending the outcome of a motion filed at the Court of Appeal on its ruling that the two deputy ministers should be tried summarily.

Earlier, Mr. Anthony Gyambiby, Principal State Attorney, who spoke for the prosecution, led by Mr. Osafo Sampong, Director of Public Prosecution, argued that defence counsel have not been able to give reasons for the stay of proceedings.

He said stay of proceedings was placed within the discretion of the court and it was only under special circumstances that it could be granted. The FTC, after hearing arguments from both sides, said the granting of counsel's application for stay of proceeding was the court's discretion, and therefore, overruled the application, and ordered the trial to go on.

At today's sitting defence announced to the court that the Court of Appeal had fixed tomorrow (Tuesday) for hearing of their appeal so prayed for adjournment but the court refused and called for the continuation of the case.

The case for the prosecution is that between May and December 2000, the accused persons allegedly transferred 4,000 dollars into the local bank account of Dr. Fred Owusu-Boadu, a consultant, through ECOBANK (Ghana) Limited.

The prosecution said the money, whose transfers were authorized by Selormey, were to be used as fees for feasibility studies towards the establishment a project.

Mr. Gyambiby told the court that the project contract was supposed to be witnessed by the Legal Officers at the Ministry of Trade and Industry or the Attorney-General's Department, but this was not done.

Mr. Gyambiby told the court that the transfers had no official correspondence whatsoever between Dr. Owusu-Boadu and neither the Ministry of Finance nor the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The Principal State Attorney said what was purported to be a contract was signed by both Abodakpi and the consultant but there was no witness. Additionally, he said, the contract document was not initialled page by page as required.

Mr. Gyambiby said the contract lacked the detailed information required in a feasibility study, such as market analysis, financial projections and analysis to determine the financial viability and risk analysis of the project.

The Principal State Attorney told the court that there was the highly irregular use of letterheads from a Texas University, with bills amounting to 300,000 US dollars when the University was not a party to the contract.