Mrs Rawlings' trial adjourned

Mrs Rawlings (Pictured) is the former First Lady of Ghana

By William Yaw Owusu

Wedneday August 22, 2007
AN Accra Fast Track High Court trying Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, former First Lady, and five others for their involvement in the divestiture of Nsawam Cannery, yesterday adjourned proceedings until October 31.

The court presided over by Justice K. Anto Ofori-Attah, a vacation judge, adjourned proceedings because the Superior Court was still on their annual legal vacation.

On July 31, the trial court, presided over by Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie of the Court of Appeal, had said although vacation was due he had not received a fiat/directive from the Office of the Chief Justice to sit during the vacation.

He had said that the court could not adjourn proceedings sine die (indefinitely) because the rules of the High Court did not allow a criminal case to be adjourned for more than three weeks and asked both the prosecution and the defence to come before it as vacation court for subsequent adjournments.

On July 12, the trial took a new turn when the prosecution, led by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, replaced the charges against the accused persons with fresh ones.

It was the second time that the prosecution had withdrawn the charges.

Mrs Rawling is being tried with Kwame Peprah, former Finance Minister and Chairman of the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) and Emmanuel Amuzu Agbodo, former Executive Secretary of the DIC.

The rest are Thomas Benson Owusu, former DIC Accountant, Hanny Sherry Aryittey, Director of Carridem Development Company Limited (CDCL) as well as the CDCL itself.

They were originally charged with Georgina Okaitey, a Director, George Mould, a Director and Larry Adjetey, a Director/Secretary; all of CDCL but the AG withdrew the charges against the three under Section 9 of Act 30 of the Criminal Code last year.

The accused persons were originally charged with 30 counts of conspiracy, causing financial loss to public property, intentionally causing loss to public property, conspiracy to obtain public property by false statement and obtaining public property by false statement.

But on the new charge sheets Mrs. Rawlings, Ms Aryittey and CDCL are facing eight counts of conspiracy, causing loss to public property dishonestly obtaining public property by false pretences, obtaining public property by false statements, conspiracy to alter forged documents and altering forged documents.

Mr Peprah on the other hand faces three counts of conspiracy to cause loss to public property, dishonesty, causing loss to public property, and conspiracy to obtain public property by false pretences.

Mr Agbodo is charged with 10 counts of conspiracy, stealing, intentionally causing loss to the property of public body, causing loss to a public body by dishonesty, causing loss to public property by dishonesty and conspiracy to obtain public property by false pretences while Mr Owusu faces six counts of conspiracy and stealing.

All the accused persons have pleaded not guilty and are on self-cognisance bail.

Before the old charge sheet was withdrawn, Mr Peprah had on July 9 filed a motion asking the court to acquit him on grounds of immunity.

The motion could however not be moved following the withdrawal of the old charge sheet.

Mrs Rawlings and Mr Owusu were not in court, but Ms Aryittey , Messrs Peprah and Agbodo were in court

Mr Tony Lithur, counsel for Mrs Rawlings, Ms Ayittey and CDCL had wanted the court to adjourn proceedings sine die but the judge said he was fixing the next adjourned date to suit the new legal year.