…As Court Dismisses Application To Strike-Out Case
The Accra Commercial High Court One on Monday dismissed an application to strike-out a conspiracy case against Mr Anthony Kwaku Boahen, the Deputy Director of Communications of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the main opposition party.
The Court presided over by Justice Samuel K. Asiedu declined it with the reason that the application was similar to an earlier one which the Court ruled-on in June, this year and stated that it relied on its former ruling.
The Court also declined a motion filed by Dr Basit Aziz, the Defence Counsel for Mr Boahen, to dismiss the Alibi case against his client.
It then adjourned the case to July 23.The Court then asked the Prosecution to produce its first witness for the case to proceed, but the prosecution said the witness was indisposed.
Mr Boahen’s counsel team, including Baba Jamal, had filed the application on Friday, July 5, to be responded by the Prosecution.
However, the prosecution team made up of Chief State Attorney Mr Sampson Asiamah, Mrs Marina Appiah Opare and Mr Isaac S. Okai in their submission to the motion opposed the application.
Mr Asiamah, who led the team, said Mr Boahen has been charged with Mr Ofosu Ampofo with the offence of conspiracy to cause harm and he had pleaded not guilty to the offence.
Prosecution said that trial had not even begun for it to prove its case as it had credible evidence to the charge against Mr Boahen, citing the audio recording, adding that it would be premature for the defence counsel to state that prosecution had refused to prove the essential charge.
The Attorney General (AG) also said until the prosecution was given the opportunity to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses, to prove the offence charge, it would be too early for defence counsel to also state that his client’s fundamental human rights had been violated.
In the written submission, many things had been introduced from the documents which should not have been disclosed as they are supposed to be part of the evidence supplied by the prosecution, the Chief State Attorney noted.
He, therefore, urged the Court to disregard the written filed application on behalf of the accused person as it was frivolous and unmeritorious.
Dr Aziz said if Prosecution was not ready to produce its witnesses, then the charges should be struck-out, but the Court said it had no such application on record.
Mr Tony Lithur, who led Mr Ofosu Ampofo’s legal team with support from Madam Marrietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, told the Court there was a pending stay of application filed while the case was pending, which should be considered.
Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, National Chairman for NDC and Mr Boahen are facing conspiracy to commit crime by causing harm, inciting the communicators of the Party to molest both the EC and Peace Council Chairperson, scheming on how to brutalise their opponents and creating a general sense of insecurity in the country.
Prosecution told the Court that in January this year, a by-election was conducted at the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency as a result of the demise of its Member of Parliament.
The Prosecution said there were disturbances in the course of the elections and on February 3, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo met the Party’s Communication Directors at its Headquarters located at Adabraka, a suburb of Accra.
The prosecution said an audio recording which came out of the meeting and was circulated by a cross-section of the media contained a set-up of a road-map of criminal activities targeted at the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Chairman of the National Peace Council among others.
Prosecution said the tape was intercepted by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Police Service.
The AG said that the orchestrated electoral violence plot was going to be blamed on the New Patriotic Party, which is the ruling Party.
The Prosecution said, Mr Boahen also confirmed being at the meeting as well as confessed that the content of the tape was true on a popular radio station.
