Appeals Court frees Caseley-Hayford

By William Yaw Owusu .

Friday, 02 June 2006

THE Court of Appeal yesterday quashed the conviction of Ralph Casely-Hayford, a businessman who has been serving a-three-year jail term for his role in the divestiture of the Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL). He was jailed by an Accra Fast Track High Court on April 21, 2005, for allegedly accepting a bribe of ў70 million to influence a public officer in the divestiture. Two others, Hanny Sherry Ayittey, treasurer of the 31st December Women’s Movement and Emmanuel Agbodo, Executive Secretary of the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC), who were also tried in the case were freed by the Fast Track Court, presided over by Mr Justice J.C. Amonoo-Monney, for lack of evidence. In its unanimous decision, the three-member panel of the Appeal Court, presided over by Nana Justice P.K. Owusu-Ansah, upheld counsel’s view that the prosecution failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the funds from which the accused was allegedly paid ў70 million were available in June 1996, the month in which the offence was allegedly committed. “In fact, Societe Industriale Plantation Hevea (SIPH) won the bid on June 26, 1996 and the prosecution had led evidence to the extent that the alleged bribery took place in September 1996,” the court said, adding that since the SIPH had already won the bid, it could not have faced any challenge in September 1996. The trial judge, according to the court erred in holding that the evidential burden rested on the accused since the trial court had relied on “tainted evidence of the prosecution witnesses to conclude that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt, a case against the accused.” The court further shared counsel’s view that the trial judge failed to resolve doubts and contradictions in the prosecution’s case in favour of Caseley-Hayford. The evidence of an accomplice whom the prosecution used as a witness , the court said, was always taken seriously by the courts but added that it was also a fact that “sometimes, such accomplices can be economical with the truth.” The court further noted that the fact that Dr Owusu Banafo, a witness in the case, had told the court that SIPH won the bid on merit should have prompted the court to give the benefit of the doubt to Casely-Hayford. “With the above submission, all the grounds of appeal succeeds. The appellant is acquitted and discharged forthright,” the court stated. Other members of the panel were Justice Tweneboah Kodua and F. Kusi Appiah. It was all joy after the judges had retired to their chambers as family members and sympathizers took turns to hug Mr Casely-Hayford.