The High Court in Accra yesterday overruled a motion seeking to stay proceedings in the ongoing trial of Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni, a former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana COCOBOD.
Dr Opuni who is standing trial together with Mr Seidu Agongo, a businessman, for allegedly causing financial loss to the state in a fetiliser deal, has filed an application at the Supreme Court on November 28, to prohibit the trial High Court judge from conducting proceedings.
His counsel, Mr Samuel Codjoe told the court presided over by Justice Aboagye Tandoh that his client filed the application at the Apex Court because of the likelihood of bias against him (accused) by Justice Tandoh.
However, the prosecutor, Mrs Evelyn Keelson, a Chief State Attorney opposed the motion to stay proceedings.
She argued that the mere filing of motion for stay of proceedings does not operate as stay.
Mrs Keelson told the court that the Supreme Court had ruled that the High Court is not barred from hearing a matter just because there is an application before the Supreme Court.
The case has been adjourned to December 5 for continuation.
The COCOBOD trial had dragged on for more than six years. Justice Clement Jackson Honyenugah, a retired Supreme Court Judge, was the first trial judge until he went on retirement.
The case docket was later assigned to Justice Gyimah Boadi, who at the outset decided to conduct fresh trial because of what he considered as “suspicions and allegations” from the parties concerned.
Justice Boadi was subsequently transferred and the case was assigned to Justice Aboagye Tandoh.
Before then, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godred Yeboah Dame, appealed the decision of Justice Boadi to
Conduct fresh trial and later in a ruling, a three-member panel of judges overturned the decision to start the trial afresh.
In March 2018, the Attorney-General charged Dr Opuni and Agongo with 27 counts for allegedly engaging in illegalities that caused financial loss of GH¢271.3 million to the state, and led to the distribution of substandard fertiliser to cocoa farmers.
Agongo is alleged to have used fraudulent means to sell sub-standard fertiliser to COCOBOD for onward distribution to cocoa farmers, while Dr Opuni is accused of facilitating the act by not allowing Agongo’s products to be tested and certified, as required by law.
The two accused persons have pleaded not guilty to all the 27 charges and are on bail.
BY MALIK SULEMANA