The Abelenkpe Magistrate Court was a scene of violent verbal confrontation between relatives of caterer Evelyn Boakye and those of Abelempmke Mawarko branch Manager Jihad Chabaan after court proceedings on Wednesday.
A visibly unhappy Evelyn Boakye could be seen punching her fist in the air as she exited the court room while relatives moved to restrain and calm her.
This was after lawyers for Jihad Chabaan had told the court they will need an Arabic interpreter to assist Jihad address the court.
The twenty-six year old who is accused of thrusting the face of the caterer into blended pepper was expected to open his defence.
Lead counsel Julio De Medeiros told the court they had noticed information not provided by the branch manager in his statement taken by the police upon his arrest. This he claimed could be attributed to the inability of Jihad to fluently express himself in English. To avert the occurrence, an interpreter will be key, he stated.
“Our client cannot communicate in fluent English, this is a court of competent jurisdiction, each statement uttered will be key in the case, one of the tools he will require to make his defence is an interpreter and we have made that request. This cannot be described as attempt to delay the court”.
Lawyer De Medeiros however disagreed with the assertion that his client is deliberately delaying the court.
Magistrate Victoria Ghansah said the court will formally request from the Judicial Service an Arabic interpreter to assist Jihad open his defence.
But this did not go down well with the family of the victim.
A brother of the caterer, Kobby Ofori told Joy News they found the claim that the accused cannot speak English fluently very strange as they know him as someone who communicates in the language.
Shortly after court sitting there was a battle of insults between the two families on the matter which lasted for a while.
Hearing continues on Wednesday May 10, 2017.
