Bissue’s application holds, OSP engaging in falsehood - Lawyer clarifies

Lawyers for the former Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue, have debunked claims that an application against the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has failed.

Lead counsel, Nana Agyei Baffour-Awuah, explained that the court has not refused any application brought before it on behalf of Charles Bissue, against the OSP.

Nana Agyei Baffour-Awuah was reacting to a publication by citinewsroom.com, headlined; “Charles Bissue’s application to stop OSP from arresting him fails.”

Baffour-Awuah explained in an interview with GhanaWeb that he felt scandalized by such a malicious publication and wondered why the OSP would engage in such a falsehood.

The publication referenced a post on the Facebook page of the OSP that claimed; “Charles Bissue’s lawyer was unsuccessful in seeking the court to rescind its decision to have him cross-examined.”

But the lawyer for Charles Bissue, Nana Agyei Baffour-Awuah, has refuted the claims, describing the statement as untrue.

"That is not true. There has not been any such application asking that Mr. Bissue should not be examined. Because there has been no such order by the court. Indeed, the OSP has made no such application to cross-examine Mr. Bissue. The OSP in its answer to Mr. Bissue's application prayed to examine the deponent to the Affidavit in Support of Mr. Bissue's Application. The court, at the last adjourned date, acceded to that prayer. However, following the filing of the AG's Affidavit in answer, I drew the the court's attention to the redundancy of that direction and the court asked me to hold on and make the prayer at the next adjourned date when the hearing comes off.

“The court, therefore, hasn't refused any such application. I don't know why the OSP will engage in such falsehood. Perhaps it is not recieving the right information from its agents after court. I was the one to be cross-examined and not Charles Bissue, I have not been well, and that is why I also asked for extra time to file my submission," Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah clarified.

Currently before the Human Rights Court is an application for the enforcement of human rights of Charles Bissue.

The court, presided over by Justice Nicholas Mensah Abodakpi, in the last adjourned date, ordered parties to the case to file their written submissions.

Trial was supposed to begin on Monday, January 15, 2024, with a screening of a video evidence tendered in by lawyers of Charles Bissue.

This process, however, couldn’t be initiated.

The counsel for Charles Bissue averted the minds of the court to its earlier directive, and prayed for its reconsideration.

The court case has been adjourned to February 1, 2024.