By William Yaw Owusu
Thursday, June 28, 2007
The Court of Appeal has for the second time adjourned sine die (indefinitely), the appeal application filed by Daniel Kwasi Abodakpi, former Trade and Industry Minister who was jailed 10 years by an Accra Fast Track High Court on February 5, for causing financial loss to the state.
The three member panel, presided over by Justice B.T. Aryeetey, had to adjourn proceeding on Tuesday because Mr. Abodakpi’s counsel had just notified the registry of the court that the records of proceeding at the trial court was not complete.
When the case was called Mr. Charles Hayibor, counsel for Abodakpi told the court that they had sent a letter on the record of proceedings to the registry and the appellant had filed another application for bail for the convicted MP.
Justice Aryeetey then remarked “we have no option but to adjourn proceedings sine die.”
Other panel members are Justices Henrietta Abban and Mariama Owusu.
On April 23, the same court adjourned Mr. Abodakpi’s application sine die because the panel was not properly constituted.
Justice Annin Yeboah who was a member of the first panel was said to have been part of a group of judges who heard Mr. Abodakpi’s submission of ‘no case’ application during the trial and was thus not qualified to sit on that panel.
On April 19, the Accra Fast Track Court presided over by Justice S.T. Farkye of the Court of Appeal dismissed the application for bail pending appeal filed by Abodakpi 57, who is the National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Keta,
Dismissing the application, Justice S.T. Farkye of the Court of Appeal, said Abodakpi could not show any exceptional reason to justify the granting of bail.
“He could not show any substantial circumstance that his appeal will succeed, he said and added: “Being an MP does not make his case a special one. He was convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction and the conviction was based on evidence brought before the court.”
The judge held that there will be no miscarriage of justice if the application was refused because the appeal for bail was “unmeritorious” and the court’s decision was not erroneous whether in fact or in law.
The court further said that Abodakpi’s argument that he will not jump bail because his entire family were in the country could not be true because the convict during the trial, told the court that all his children were resident abroad.
In court to witness proceedings were Dr. Kwabena Adjei, NDC Chairman, Mohammed Mumuni, former NDC running mate in the 2004 elections, Ken Dzirasah, Doe Adjahoe, all NDC MPs as well as Abodakpi’s family members and some sympathizers.
Abodakpi who was in court, was jailed 10 years with hard labour on seven counts of conspiracy causing financial loss to the state and defrauding by false pretences.
He was said to have illegally authorised the payment of 400,000 dollars to Dr Frederick Owusu Boadu, a Ghanaian consultant in Texas, United States, from the Trade and Investment Project (TIP) fund.
The eight million dollar TIP fund was set up by the NDC government to promote the non-traditional export sector.
Abodakpi was originally charged with Victor Selormey, a former Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, who died in the course of the trial.
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