Tagor, Others For fast Track Court

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, 22 September 2006
FOR the fifth time, a Circuit Court in Accra has refused bail to five people charged over the disappearance of 77 parcels of cocaine from the MV Benjamin vessel at the Tema Port.

This time, the reason assigned for the adjournment was to enable the prosecution to transfer the case to a Fast Track High Court after the legal vacation.

The five, Kwabena Amaning, also called Tagor, Issah Abbas who could not appear in court due to ill health, Kwabena Acheampong, Kwadwo Ababio and Victor Kisseh, popularly called Yaw Billah, are to appear before the court again on October 9.

They are facing provisional charges of conspiracy, engaging in prohibited business related to narcotic drugs, establishing and promoting enterprise relating to narcotic drugs.

Chief State Attorney Getrude Aikins told the packed court that "we intend to prosecute this case at the Fast Track High Court as this court is not yet automated".

She said "we want to ask for a date which will coincide with the opening and commencement of the new legal year".

Ms. Aikins told the court that the prosecution was waiting for the report of the Justice Georgina T. Wood Committee (the body set up by the Minister of the Interior to investigate the missing cocaine), "after which we will review it in the light of our charges in addition to the evidence gathered before we can move on".

Immediately the Chief State Attorney made her submission, the defence counsel made up of Nana Asante Bediatuo, Osafo Buabeng, Mohammed Sannie, Agyei Mensah and R.S. Blay took turns to denounce what Ms. Aikins said, in their bid to renew their applications for bail for the accused persons.

Nana Bediatuo argued that once the Regional Crime Officer of the Police Service had come out in a statement to say that they were after persons other than the accused for the missing cocaine, "therefore will be no need to continue to detain our clients".

He said also that on the fact sheet presented by the prosecution, the police claimed that the offence was committed in November last year, but the police statement indicated that the same offence was committed in April this year.

"This is a clear violation of the constitutional requirement and the state has consistently abused the liberties of the clients in this case".

Mr. Buabeng said, "to say that the case will be tried at a Fast Track Court on another day shows that the accused have to be discharged in this court".

For his part, Mr. Sannie said that "the submission made by the Chief State Attorney shows clearly that the charge preferred against our clients are completely fabricated".

Mr. Agyei Mensah submitted that "in this case the provision of section 96 of the Criminal Procedure Code Act 30 has been infringed upon by the prosecution".

Mr. Blay for his part, said the whole case was based on conjecture and rumour yet the accused persons were being denied bail.

Ms. Aikins then cut in to say that the nature of the case demanded a thorough investigation and added the prosecution was following the dictates of the constitution and due process to ensure a speedy and successful trial.

At the end of it all, the judge ruled that the application for bail was premature.