Woman convicted for contempt

DRAMA unfolded at the Ashanti Regional Tribunal on Wednesday, May 21, when a 56-year-old woman, who produced a different person as the accused she bailed almost a year ago, collapsed, just after the tribunal had detected her deceit.

The woman, Madam Mariama Ali, the bailman, fell unconscious, and for almost five minutes, the courtroom was thrown into a state of pandemonium, as the staff of the court had a hectic time reviving the her. When Marima finally regained consciousness, she started sweating profusely and pleaded with the tribunal to forgive her for deliberately deceiving the court.

The tribunal, chaired by Mr K. B. Aning, however, ignored her plea and sentenced her to two months imprisonment for contempt of court. The tribunal also revoked the ?10 million bail and ordered the investigators to initiate moves to arrest the suspect, Zobila Frafra, who has failed to appear before court for almost a year.

The tribunal cautioned Amuda Mohammed whom Mariama introduced to the court as the surety and later discharged him. Zobila is facing a charge of dealing in narcotic drugs. The drama started when the court called the case and the convict, Mariama, who stood surety for Zobila about a year ago when he was granted bail in the sum of ?10 million, boldly stood up and produced one Amuda Mohammed as the suspect standing trial before the tribunal.

However, before proceedings could begin, the investigator, Detective Constable Duke Kofi Amo, drew the attention of the tribunal that the person Mariama had produced was not Zobila. When the tribunal chairman questioned Mariama about her actions, she suddenly collapsed, and her head hit a bench as she fell down. The security personnel and court clerks then rushed to her aid and it took them almost five minutes to revive her.

When Mariama was finally revived, she pleaded with the tribunal to deal leniently with her, explaining she was forced to bring Amuda to court because all efforts to trace Zobila had proved futile.

Mr Aning, however, rejected her plea, saying, her action is a clear indication of contempt of court and accordingly went ahead and sentenced her.