Mrs Rawlings' charge reviewed

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday May 29, 2007
The charges preferred against the former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, and four others being tried for their alleged involvement in the divestiture of the Nsawam Cannery are to be reviewed.

Ms Gertrude Aikins, Acting Director of Public Prosecution told the Accra Fast Track High Court, presided over by Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie yesterday that the current charge sheet will be substituted on June 1 with a fresh one.

Later in an interview, with the “Times, Ms. Aikins said the prosecution was substituting the charge sheet because the old one still had the names of three other people who were initially charged with the offence but were later discharged.

She also said the prosecution will reduce the number of counts on the charge sheet.

The case could not be heard on two occasions due to power outage and the absence of the trial judge who was reported ill.

Mrs Rawlings is being tried together with Emmanuel Amuzu Agbodo, former Executive Secretary of the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC), Thomas Benson Owusu, former DIC Accountant, Kwame Peprah, former Finance Minister and DIC chairman, and Hanny Sherry Ayittey, Director of Carridan Development Company Limited (CDCL).

They were originally charged with Georgina Okaitey, a Director, George Mould, a Director, and Larry Adjetey, a Director/Secretary, but the Attorney-General withdrew the charges against the three under Section 59 of Act 30 of the Criminal Code.

All the accused persons have been charged with 30 counts of conspiracy, causing financial loss to a public property, intentionally causing loss to a public property, conspiracy to obtain public property by false statement and obtaining public property by false statement.

They have pleaded not guilty and are on self cognisance bail.

Mrs Rawling and her co-accused persons, except Owusu, were present in the court which was filled by sympathisers.

Owusu’s counsel told the court that they will produce medical report of their client’s condition at the next adjourned date.

For about 40 minutes whilst the accused were in court, some NDC sympathisers, mostly women who stood outside the walls of the Fast Track Courts, sang and chanted slogans in a show of solidarity with them.