Reconsider Abodakpi's sentence - Counsel

Accra, March 15, GNA - Mr Charles Hayibor, Counsel for Daniel Kwasi Abodakpi, the jailed Member of Parliament (MP) for Keta, on Thursday urged the Court of Appeal to reconsider the sentence of 10 years imposed on his client.

Counsel stated: "We are of the humble view that the Appellate Court would take a second look of the judgement, as we know that the sentence would be reduced."

Mr Hayibor was moving a motion in respect of an application for a bail pending an appeal and a supporting affidavit filed in February 12 and March 2 on behalf of Abodakpi, the appellant/applicant. The convict, who was a former Minister of Trade and Industry, was sentenced to a 10-year-jail term in hard labour after a 29-month-long trial.

He was convicted on all seven counts of conspiracy, defrauding by false pretences and wilfully causing financial loss of 400,000 dollars to the state.

Counsel told the court that the appellant is a Ghanaian and an MP who was granted self-recognizance bail during his trial and he did not flout the law.

"My client's parents are in Ghana and he has no intention of leaving the country."

Mr Hayibor noted that in pronouncing judgement, the trial judge did not consider what the defence had raised about the charges, saying: "the charges were not true".

According to him, "the thrust of the defence in all material time is that the accused asked for payment of the proposal of feasibility study," but "this was not considered in your judgement".

Counsel argued that Abodakpi was standing trial with the late Victor Selormey, former Deputy Finance Minister and there was no material time that the accused wrote to press for the payment of the feasibility studies.

Mr Hayibor stated: "This would remain in limbo, because the second accused person (Selormey) died in the course of the trial....In assessing the evidence, the trial judge did not consider all the evidence."

At this juncture, the Appeal Court judge, Mr Justice S.T. Farkye, did not take kindly to Counsel's argument that the money transferred into the account of Dr Frederick Boadu, a Consultant of Leebda Corporation in the US, was frozen.

Counsel explained further: "This meant the money was there." Mr Justice Farkye intervened and stated: "His (Abodakpi) evidence was that Dr Boadu authorized the payment of the money into his account for various companies and persons."

Mr Justice Farkye continued: "There is no money standing anywhere". The Appeal Court Judge said: "It looks like the money was there and the judge had sentenced him, as was announced on radios and all around". Mr Hayibor was with a firm conviction that the application would succeed.

When Mrs Gertrude Aikins, Acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), was asked to reply, she asked for an adjournment so as to return to respond appropriately.

Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, flagbearer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and a former Vice President, some Members of Parliament and sympathizers filled the court to capacity.

The prosecution had said between May and December 2000, Abodapki and Selormey allegedly transferred 400,000 dollars into the local bank account of Dr Fred Owusu-Boadu, a consultant, through ECOBANK (Ghana) Limited.

The money, whose transfers were authorized by Selormey, was to be used as fees for feasibility studies towards the establishment of Science and Technology Valley Park Farm Project.

The project contract was to have been witnessed by legal officers at the Ministry of Trade and Industry or the Attorney General's Department, but this was not done.

The transfers had no official correspondence between Dr Owusu-Boadu and either the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The prosecution said both Abodakpi and the consultant signed what was purported to be a contract but there was no witness and the contract document was not initialled page by page as required.

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 prosecution said.

It said there was the highly irregular use of letterheads from a Texas University, with bills amounting to 400,000 dollars when the University was not a party to the contract. The case was adjourned to Thursday, March 29.