Tsikata turns courtroom to lecture hall

Accra, July 10 GNA - Tsatsu Tsikata, Former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), on Thursday turned an Accra Fast Track High Courtroom (FTHC) into a lecture hall and taught elementary legal procedures.

He said, "I would have been happy if I were teaching these basic procedures to law students".

The FTHC, presided over by Mr Justice K.A. Ofori Atta, was hearing an application Tsikata had filed seeking to establish that Mrs Justice Henrietta Abban was bias against him in the June 18, 2008 judgment. Tsikata said the Attorney - General (A-G), Mr Joe Ghartey had totally failed to pinpoint the difference between the applications before FTHC and the Supreme Court.

He said the application before the FTHC was a simple one that was seeking for bail after the judgment of June 18, 2008.

He said the motion before the Court was to enable the process to go on and that it had nothing to do with the one before the Supreme Court. Tsikata said the A-G only brought before the Court transcript of the ruling but failed to attach the affidavits, which he claimed was incomplete.

He said the lack of truth on the part of Mr Ghartey, who was supposed to exhibit honesty and truthful attribute before the Court, was worrying.

Mr Ghartey, who is also the Minister of Justice, was incensed by Mr Tsikata's claims and refuted his allegations and said it was not true.

Mr Ghartey said he attached the exhibit of transcript to the application for the purpose of the release from the Chief Justice.

Tsikata also rose up again and insisted that the Attorney-General erred in attaching an incomplete exhibit to a motion and said it was an elementary or basic legal procedure, adding, "I would have been happy if I were teaching these basic procedures to law students".

Tsikata said the AG could not pick and choose parts of the motion that suited his argument.

Mr Ghartey, however, objected to Tsikata's assertion that the application before the Court was incomplete and insisted that the application was complete and that Tsikata did not have a choice.

Tsikata when summing up his submission to the Court gave a quotation from Holy Bible; Luke 12, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that would not be revealed nor hidden that would not be known...".

Mr Ghartey responded by saying Amen and also quoted: Matthew 5-9 "Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called the sons of God".

Tsikata was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for wilfully causing financial loss to the State and misapplying public property. He was found guilty on three counts of causing financial loss to the State and one count of misapplying public property and jailed five years on each count. The sentences will run concurrently.

Tsikata was charged with three counts of wilfully causing financial loss of GH¢ 230,000 (2.3 billion old Ghana cedis) to the State through a loan he, on behalf of GNPC, guaranteed for Valley Farms, a private company, and another count of misapplying public property.

He is said to have intentionally misapplied GH¢ 2,000 (20 million cedis) to acquire shares in Valley Farms.

Valley Farm contracted the loan from Caisse Centrale, now Agence Fran=E7aise de D=E9veloppement (ADF), but defaulted in the payment, compelling GNPC as the guarantors, to pay the loan in 1996. Tsikata said the conduct of the trial judge was based on hatred, malice, and bias and was predetermined, which he claimed was an affront to fundamental human rights.

The FTHC would give its ruling on the application on July 15, 2008.