The trial Judge, Justice Bright Mensah, in his ruling on a submission of ‘no case’ filed against the accused persons, dropped the charges of conspiracy to commit crime, to wit causing financial loss to the state; wilfully causing financial loss to the state and conspiracy to use public office for profit.
Other charges dropped were, using public office for profit, conspiracy to steal, and stealing some bags of 15,000 metric tonnes of rice from India.
The two counts for which the judge ruled they should open their defense on are: Conspiracy to Contravene the Public Procurement Act and Contravention of the Public Procurement Act.
Messrs Osei-Agyei and Gyimah were accused of importing some 300,000 bags of rice from India between April 2008 and February 2009 but indicated 2,997 of those bags of rice were diverted, leading to a financial loss of some GH¢1.5 billion to the state.
The case was one of a number of high-profile cases cited by officials of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as evidence of alleged corruption by members of the erstwhile Kufuor administration.
Giving reasons for his decision to drop some of the charges, Justice Mensah said, “Having taken into consideration the arguments canvassed for and against the accused persons, I believe a prima facie case has not been established against the accused persons except counts one and two.”
According to the judge, there were “Certain issues which call for evidence in rebuttal of the allegations levelled against the accused persons” and said the accused persons should open their defense on the charges of conspiracy to contravene the Public Procurement Act and contravention of the Public Procurement Act.
The judge said issues such as the instruction given by Mr. Osei-Adjei to then Ghana’s High Commissioner to India to facilitate the importation of the rice was not clear and noted that the court needed to know on whose behalf the High Commissioner acted as it seemed the transaction had the nature of a contract.
However, the judge said the fact that it was alleged that Mr. Gyimah did not seek the consent of the NIB board in the course of the transaction, among others reasons, required that the accused persons tell their version of the story.
Earlier, the court observed that the submission of no case application filed by Godfred Yeboah-Dame, counsel for Mr. Osei-Adjei, and Col. Alex Johnson (Rtd.), counsel for Mr. Gyimah, was to the effect that none of the 17 prosecuting witnesses brought by the state was able to link the two accused persons to the offence. Therefore, the submission of no case could not hold because the case had not reached the stage where their innocence or guilt could be proved.
He said the issue for determination would rather be whether or not a prima facie case had been established against the accused persons for whom they should be made to answer and not whether or not the guilt of the accused persons had been established.
Mr. Yeboah-Dame made known his intention to appeal against the decision of not dropping all the charges against his client and drew the court’s attention to certain utterances allegedly made by the Attorney-General, Martin Amidu, on an Accra-based radio station on the outcome of the case which counsel felt were prejudicial.
Counsel for Mr. Osei-Adjei said he wanted to file an application for contempt against the A-G but the judge said he had not listened to the said statement on the radio station and explained that he did not see the said story in newspapers such as DAILY GUIDE either.
Anthony Gyambiby, the prosecuting Chief State Attorney, who said he was holding a copy of the recording in his hand, noted that he did not find anything which warranted contempt of court proceedings to commence against the AG.
Sitting continues on March 25, 2011.
Link:
Osei Adjei Cleared