Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw
Owusu
Tuesday, July
14, 2015
The trial of Abuga Pele, NDC MP
for Chiana Paga and his co-accused Philip Akpeena Assibit in the
infamous GYEEDA scandal could not be heard yesterday due to the ongoing strike
being embarked upon by state attorneys at the Attorney General’s (AGs)
Department.
The accused, starting with Assibit who is the CEO of Goodwill
International Ghana (GIG) was supposed to open his defence after their respective
submission of no case applications were dismissed by the court but the case had
to be adjourned until July 31.
When the case was called yesterday, Raymond Bagnabu counsel for Assibit,
indicated to the court that he had filed a motion on notice for stay pending
appeal against the court’s decision to ask his client to open his defence and
as a result wanted the court to stay proceedings to enable them go to the Court
of Appeal.
Justice Afia Serwah Asare Botwe,
presiding said she did not have the jurisdiction to stay proceedings since it
was the responsibility of a higher court to make such pronouncements.
The judge then asked counsel for
the accused to return to court on July 31 for a new date, which was likely to
extend be beyond the annual legal vacation, to be fixed.
Mr. Bagnabu later said the notice of appeal had been fixed for July
29 at the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division.
Judge erred?
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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