Private legal practitioner, Yaw Oppong has said media icon, Kwesi Kyei Darkwa (KKD) could be acquitted of the rape charge against him if the court detects that the Attorney General (AG) pursued the case based on other considerations outside the law.
“When there is any doubt at all in the mind of the judge or the court, the law is that it should be resolved in favour of the accused person,” he said.
He indicated when the state expresses its intention to pursue the case without the assistance from the plaintiff, “it should not be made on emotions, politics or anthropological considerations but the decision must be informed by legal considerations.”
Last week, the 19-year-old girl who accused KKD of rape, wrote to the court stating that she is no longer interested in continuing with the case.
She mentioned the “media frenzy” which followed KKD’s arrest and the never-ending buzz and social media posts as reasons for her decision adding that she will be unable to continue assisting the Police in prosecuting the case.
The Police subsequently forwarded the letter to the AG for advice and on Thursday, the AG said it will continue to pursue the alleged rape case against KKD.
Sharing his thoughts on the latest development on Eyewitness News, Lawyer Oppong said: “The AG and the others that she has authorized by law to assist here to perform that function may have a lot of evidence that we may not be privy to and I believe that such decisions should only be made based on law and evidence.”
He however pointed out that if the decision by the AG was made based on any other reason aside the law, “the law provides a remedy and if the necessary conditions are fulfilled, you can then go to the Supreme Court for the appropriate compensation to be paid to you.”
According to him, if there are other reasons, the state prosecutors will be unable to prove the guilt of the accused person beyond reasonable doubt.
Lawyer Oppong expressed the hope that the decision by the AG “has been made purely based on legal considerations and in view of evidence before them.”
He remarked that “it will be interesting to follow this particular case as the evidence will be presented to court and then we will see.”