Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw
Owusu
Thursday, July
30, 2015
The appeal processes filed by NDC MP Abuga Pele and another to set
aside the decision by an Accra Financial Court asking them to open their
defence has been halted.
This is due to the unending strike action being embarked upon by some
lawyers at the Attorney General’s Department who were expected to defend the
state in the infamous GYEEDA scandal.
The Chiana/Paga MP’s co-accused Philip Akpeena Assibit who is the CEO
of Goodwill International Ghana (GIG) was due to move his motion on notice challenging
the dismissal of his application for Submission of No Case but the Court of
Appeal could not proceed due to the strike.
When the case was called, there was no state prosecutor present and Raymond
Bagnabu, representing Assibit told Court of Appeal judge Justice Barbara
Ackah-Ayensu that he could not move the motion behind the back of the
prosecution.
The judge agreed with counsel that the motion to set aside the trial
court’s decision could not be moved due to the absence of the prosecution even
though there was proof of service at the AG’s Department.
She then adjourned the proceedings sine die.
On Friday June 19, the Financial Court presided over by Justice Afia
Serwah Asare-Botwe ordered the MP and Assibit to open their defence after the
court held that the prosecution had been able to establish prima facie case
against the two.
The two had filed ‘Submission of no case to answer’ applications
separately but the court dismissed them and said they had a case to answer at
the close of the prosecution’s case in April.
In a long ruling which took about one-and-half hours to read, Justice
Afia Asare-Botwe had held that some of the matters raised by Abuga Pele and
Assibit in their applications were issues that would require testimonies on
oath to enable the court to come to a conclusion.
The judge however, conceded that the ‘standard of the law’ at that
stage of the trial was not as high compared to when the accused had been able
to complete their testimonies and the entire case had closed.
The court said the prosecution led evidence to the effect that Abuga
Pele (NYEP) through MDPI and Assibit (GIG) signed MoU to offer consultancy
services among other at the blind side of then sector Minister Akua Sena Dansoa
and needed to explain his action.
Trial Judge
erred?
However, Assibit is averring that the trial judge erred in holding
that he should proceed to open his defence because the ruling did not support
the evidence adduced at the close of the prosecution’s case.
“The trial judge erred in law when she applied wrong particulars of
fact in coming to her conclusion as regard to count seven,” he averred, adding
“the trial judge erred in law when she made certain definite findings of fact
even before I had opened my defence.”
He said the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses had been “so
discredited” in cross examination that he could not be asked to open his
defence.
Abuga Pele who is the former National
Coordinator of National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) now GYEEDA is also said to
have filed for a stay of proceedings but it was not clear if his notice of
appeal was ready.
Specific
Charges
On the charge sheet presented by the Attorney General’s Department,
the two men are facing a total of 19 counts ranging from defrauding by false
pretences to willfully causing financial loss to the state.
Assibit alone is charged with six counts of defrauding by false
pretences to the tune of $2.028,605.20 and another five counts of dishonestly
causing loss to public property to the tune of GH¢3.305,568.53.
Abuga Pele, the second accused on the other hand, is charged with
two counts of abetment, one count of intentionally misapplying public property
and five counts of willfully causing financial loss to the state all to the tune
of GH¢3.305,568.53.
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