The lawyers of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, and ex-CEO of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), Hanan Abdul-Wahab, have objected to an order by the Chief Justice for their trials to continue during the legal vacation.

In petitions to the Chief Justice (CJ), Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, the lawyers asserted that the decision for the trials to continue during the legal vacation, where lawyers and judges are to take a break, was discriminatory.

They asserted that the hearing of all other cases had been halted, but that of the two men, who are both appointees of the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, was continuing.

The lawyer of Abdul-Wahab, Godfred Yaboah Dame, in the petition, argued that the right procedure for his client's trial to continue during the legal vacation was not followed.

He argued that a motion should have been filed in court for the move and parties in the trial should have been involved in the decision for the case.

“A Justice of the High Court may be permitted to sit and hear only motions in the legal vacation. In accordance with this practice, vacation courts are held throughout the country for motions only. Even in civil cases, except with the consent of both parties to a cause, a trial is not held during the vacation. The warrant for Justice Achibonga to commence the hearing of the instant criminal matter, without the consent of the parties in the matter, is thus most irregular and contrary to law,” the lawyer argued.

Dame also asserted that there was no need for the trial to continue during the legal vacation because there is nothing urgent about it.

“There is no urgency to this matter as the accused persons were arraigned before the court only on 5th May 2026, after earlier charges were withdrawn by the Republic through no fault of the accused,” he said.

Dame, a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, also said the lawyers of his firm have been working all year and there is a need for them to rest and also attend to their personal matters.

The lawyer of Wontumi, Samuel Atta Akyea, also echoed the need for them to rest and attend to their personal issues during the legal vacation by lawyers of his firm as it is supposed to be.

“Indeed, your directive will throw into disarray all the private personal engagements and travel plans of the members of our law firm. We of Zoe, Akyea & Co. have worked tirelessly throughout the legal year from October 2025 to July 2026, representing clients across the various regions of Ghana.

“The legal vacation has long been a period for both lawyers and judges to rest after an exhaustive year and to recuperate for the year ahead,” he wrote.

He also argued that the directive should be reversed because it feeds into the notion of selective justice by the courts.

“With respect, this directive to continue with the part-heard trial risks exposing Your Lordship to claims of selective justice. Numerous other cases of repute, both criminal and civil, have been placed at a standstill by the legal vacation and adjourned to October and November 2026, to afford both judges and lawyers rest during the vacation,” parts of their petition read.

BAI

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