Ya- Na Trial: Prosecution Loses Application

An Accra Fast Track High Court has refused an application by the prosecution in the case of 15 persons standing trial for conspiracy to, and murder of the Ya Na, Yakubu Andani II, overlord of Dagbon in 2002, to adduce additional evidence in the trial.

The court, however, granted an application by Counsel for the Defence to make a submission of No Case on January 10th, 2011.

It would be recalled that on Monday, December 13th, lawyers for the 15 accused persons had, prayed the court to dismiss a request by the prosecution to have the case re-opened.

After officially closing its case on November 5, 2010, the prosecution returned to the court to say that it had received a secret audio recording of Alhassan Braimah, the sixth (A6) accused person, confessing to killing the Ya Na and therefore wants the court to re-open the case for them to adduce additional evidence.

Anthony Rexford Wiredu, a Principal State Attorney who stood in for Gertrude Aikins, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), moved the motion.

The content of the purported confession statement recorded by Yakubu Mahamadu aka Anafo and handed over to Ben Nsor, an ex-security operative which is urging the prosecution to re-open the case states: “Father you trained us…the chief came to kill us and we killed him and cut off his head,” it noted.

The prosecution cited international cases such as The Prosecutor versus Charles Taylor at the Special Court Sierra Leone, and The Prosecutor versus Slobodan Milosevic at the International Court of Justice as cases where the prosecution closed its cases but the court re-opened them for more witnesses to testify.

Mr. Wiredu said in the case involving Mr. Taylor, the former Liberian leader, the court in The Hague, re-opened the trial for supermodel Naomi Campbell, Mia Farrow and another to testify when it emerged that Mr. Taylor gave special diamonds to Ms. Campbell as gifts in 1997 at a banquet hosted by Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

“The general rule is that even after the defense has closed its case the judge can call witnesses when new matters arise…This is a clear case where judicial discretion ought to be exercised and grant this application in the interest of effective and total justice and for the purposes of determining the matter on its merit once and for all,” he reportedly said.

But Lawyer Philip Addison countered that the prosecution, among other things, had failed to fully disclose fresh evidence it intends to introduce. According to him, the state used illegal means to acquire the evidence and thus violated the rights of the 6th accused person, Alhassan Braimah who is facing a charge of conspiracy to murder.

Lawyer Addison pointed out that the accused was not under investigations when the recording took place, and further wondered why the state wanted to bring in 5 new witnesses to contradict the 12 who have already appeared before the court.

The defence also stressed that the evidence was not credible and would have no effect on the course of the case if the prosecution is allowed to bring it in.

Thus, the court set today, Friday December 17th to rule on the matter.

However, the prosecution was dented a huge blow when the court, presided over by Justice E.K Ayebi of the Court of Appeal, refused their application saying “it will change the nature of the proceedings”.