The verbal exchange ensued when Mr. Kulendi protested against the judge’s actions, claiming he believed the judge sought to show the prosecution what to do.
This was after the trial judge opened a page in a document for the prosecuting attorney, Rexford Wiredu, to glance through.
The prosecutor asked the MP a question from the document, which the court directed the accused person to answer, even though he was yet to be given a copy of the said document.
This infuriated counsel for the accused person, who objected to this, saying his client should be asked questions based on the document he was given and not the one the judge had opened.
The judge, in an unyielding manner, told Mr. Kulendi that “in your own interest and in the interest of your client, do not cast insinuations at the bench”, adding that Mr. Kulendi sought to create the impression he was trying to teach the prosecution its work.
The judge said this thrice, prompting counsel, who did not take the statement lightly, to ask the judge that: “My Lord, is this a threat?”
By the time the judge responded that it was not a threat but a warning, Counsel for the MP had told the court that the case should be halted for “me to advise myself.” He said he was not very comfortable with the fact that the judge had threatened him and his client in such a manner. Justice Quist accordingly stopped the trial, saying he had “been very circumspect in this case and has tried to be fair to both sides”, and noted that it was his duty to make sure that no accused person tried to evade any question which might not benefit his case.
He adjourned the case to March 25, 2011.
Earlier, during cross-examination, the accused person was asked which secondary school he attended, as well as the year he completed, to which he answered that he completed Bawku Secondary School in 1982.
Mr. Wiredu also asked the MP to tell the court the year in which he traveled abroad, and why he did so. The MP answered that he traveled to the United Kingdom in the 80s because he was being sought as a result of his political affiliation.
He also asked the MP about his studies at the Institute of Professional Studies (IPS) in the 80s, and the year he completed.
When asked where the school was located at that time, the MP said he could not remember the exact year he completed IPS, and went ahead to say that it was located at its present site by then.
Mr. Wiredu put it to him that it was not located at its present site but behind the old Madina Market.
When asked which government was then in power, the MP said it was Jerry John Rawlings’s.
The accused person tendered a document on the renunciation of his British Citizenship when he opened his defence last October.
The MP, who said he renounced his British citizenship on October 14, 2008 before filing his nomination to contest the parliamentary seat, tendered the documents to the court in evidence and said he also swore an oath renouncing his citizenship before a magistrate court in England to conclude the process.
Mr. Daramani-Sakande initially faced six additional charges of illegally voting and lying to electoral officers about his nationality, but the trial judge noted that the law allowed Ghanaians to have dual citizenship and dismissed the six charges against the MP.
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