Osei-Adjei, Gyimah appeal against ruling

Akwasi Osei-Adjei, former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ghana.
Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday March 22, 2011
Akwasi Osei-Adjei, former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Daniel Charles Gyimah, the former boss of National Investment Bank (NIB) have appealed against the decision by an Accra Fast Track High Court to ask them to open their defense on charges of conspiracy to Contravene the Public Procurement Act and Contravention of the Public Procurement Act.

On February 25, 2011 six out of the eight charges including causing financial loss to the state leveled against Messrs Osei-Adjei and Gyimah were yesterday dropped by an Accra Fast Track High Court Financial Division presided over by Justice Bright Mensah after they have filed an application for “Submission of no case”.

However, the court said the accused still have to answer for two counts of conspiracy to contravene the Public Procurement Act and contravention of the Public Procurement Act after being accused by the state of importing 300,000 bags of rice from India between April 2008 and February 2009 and indicating 2,997 of those bags of rice were diverted, leading to a financial loss of some GH¢1.5 billion to the state.

Awaiting the Court of Appeal to fix a date for the appeal application to be moved, Messrs Osei-Adjei and Gyimah again filed another application for stay of proceedings at the trial court pending the outcome of the appeal to have all the charges dropped.
They are arguing that their appeal application has a greater chance of success and should the trial court go ahead to ask them to open their defense in respect of the two counts, it might prejudice the appeal process.

In the notice of criminal appeal filed on March 18, 2011, the accused/appellants said part of the High Court’s decision complained of was “the holding that the prosecution has led sufficient evidence in respect of Counts 1 and 2 and the consequential order for the accused persons to open their defense on same.”

On the grounds of appeal, the appellants said “the trial judge erred in failing to consider what the essential ingredients of an offence under the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663)”.

They continued: “The learned judge erred in law and fact in holding that sufficient evidence has been led to prove the essential elements of the offences under Act 663 that accuse have been charged with.”

They said the judge erred in failing to give due regard to the fact that the evidence of the prosecution including that of the Director of Monitoring at the Public Procurement Authority (PW 14) was emphatic that there was no use of public funds as defined by the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act. 663) in the financing of the transaction, the subject matter of the charges leveled against the accused persons.

The learned judge erred in failing to appreciate that the NIB is known as a procurement entity as per the records of the PPA (tendered as Exhibit 7) for it to comply with Act 663 and further said the judge again erred in failing to appreciate that the evidence of the prosecution on counts 1 and 2 had been so discredited through cross examination and contained such conflicts as to cause its own destruction.

“The learned judge, with the greatest respect relied on irrelevant evidence to conclude that a case had been made out by the prosecution on counts 1 and 2”, adding “the order for the accused persons to open their defense on counts 1 and 2 was against the weight of evidence in support of those offences.”

The reliefs sought from the Court of Appeal is “a reversal or setting aside of the ruling of the High Court” which held that the accused persons had a case to answer on counts 1 and 2 and a consequential order acquitting and discharging the accused persons on those counts.

The trial court will resume on Friday March 25, 2011and Godfred Yeboah Dame, counsel for Mr. Osei Adjei is expected to notify the court about the latest development.
The six charges dropped by the trial court include conspiracy to commit a criminal offence namely, using public office to for profit and conspiracy to commit criminal offence namely, stealing.

The rest are stealing, conspiracy to willfully cause financial loss to the Republic and willfully causing financial loss to the Republic.