{"id":639436,"date":"2019-06-18T12:27:31","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T12:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\n

Mahama Ayariga<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An\nAccra High Court has given the Special Prosecutor, Martin ABA Amidu, the\npermission to prosecute the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama\nAyariga, for allegedly using public offic"},"modified":"2019-06-18T12:27:31","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T12:27:31","slug":"ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh%c2%a2200k-bail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/06\/18\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh%c2%a2200k-bail\/","title":{"rendered":"Ayariga Thrown Out; Gets GH\u00a2200k Bail"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Mahama Ayariga<\/strong><\/p>\n

An
\nAccra High Court has given the Special Prosecutor, Martin ABA Amidu, the
\npermission to prosecute the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama
\nAyariga, for allegedly using public office for private gain. <\/p>\n

According
\nto the court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, Mr. Amidu was
\nduly sworn in by the President as the Special Prosecutor and he would continue
\nto remain at post until the Supreme Court decides otherwise. <\/p>\n

This
\nwas contained in the judge\u2019s ruling in which she dismissed an application by
\nlawyers for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP challenging the capacity
\nand qualification of Mr. Amidu as the Special Prosecutor. <\/p>\n

Plea taken<\/strong><\/p>\n

After
\nrejecting the NDC MP\u2019s separate applications, the case was back on track as the
\nplea of Mr. Ayariga and his co-accused were taken by the court and they all
\npleaded not guilty to their respective charges.<\/p>\n

Mr.
\nAyariga was granted a self-recognizance bail of GH\u00a2100,000 in each of the cases,
\nwhile the other six accused persons got GH\u00a250,000 bail each with two sureties. <\/p>\n

The
\ncourt said one of the sureties for each person must be a person resident in
\nAccra. <\/p>\n

The
\naccused persons were also ordered to deposit their passports at the court\u2019s registry.
\nKendrick Akwesi Marfo, who was charged alongside Mr. Ayariga in connection with
\nthe V8 cars, was discharged since the charge against him was struck out by the
\ncourt.<\/p>\n

Mr.
\nAmidu was not in court and was represented by one of the lawyers at the Office
\nof the Special Prosecutor namely Michael Baafi.<\/p>\n

Original Trial <\/strong><\/p>\n

The
\nNDC MP was dragged to court by Mr. Amidu together with Mr. Marfo over
\nallegations of fraudulently evading tax by using parliamentary privileges to
\nimport three Toyota V8 vehicles into the country.<\/p>\n

In
\nanother case, the NDC MP is also before the court together with six others over
\ncharges relating to the purchase of an ambulance for the Bawku Municipal
\nAssembly.<\/p>\n

The
\nother suspects in the ambulance case include Hajia Hawa Ninchema, Sumaila Ewuntomah
\nAbudu, Alex Vadze, Alhaji Abdul-Mumuni Jesewunde, Mary Stellla Adapesa and
\nMumuni Yakubu Nambe.<\/p>\n

Parliamentary Immunity<\/strong><\/p>\n

The
\nNDC MP had tried to use parliamentary privileges (Article 118) which according
\nto him does not allow him to be dragged to court while on parliamentary duty.<\/p>\n

But
\nthe presiding judge made an order which in effect meant that Mr. Ayariga must
\nmake himself available before the court for trial any time the case is called.<\/p>\n

Main Ruling<\/strong><\/p>\n

The
\njudge in her ruling on an application filed by his lawyer to that effect
\nindicated that Mr. Ayariga is appearing before the court as an accused person
\nand not as a witness hence Article 118 could not be applied.<\/p>\n

Initial Application<\/strong><\/p>\n

In
\nhis application, Mr. Ayariga averred that the decision by Mr. Amidu to sign the
\ncharge sheets before the court made them \u201ca nullity and of no legal effect\u201d as according
\nto him, the former Attorney General is not qualified to occupy the Office of
\nthe Special Prosecutor.<\/p>\n

He
\nalso averred that three out of the five charges -fraudulent evasion of customs
\nduties and taxes, dealing in foreign exchange without licence and transfer of
\nforeign exchange from Ghana through an unauthorized dealer \u2013 do not fall within
\nthe powers of the Special Prosecutor and cannot be prosecuted by him.<\/p>\n

He
\nwas also challenging the powers of Mr. Amidu to investigate and prosecute
\nissues concerning public procurement. He was urged the court to strike out the
\ncharge sheet for these \u2018defects\u2019.<\/p>\n

Opposition<\/strong><\/p>\n

In
\nan affidavit in opposition, Mr. Amidu described moves by the MP to have the
\ncase thrown out as vexatious and an abuse of the court processes aimed at
\nfrustrating the process of the MP standing trial.<\/p>\n

According
\nto him, the issue of his qualification to occupy the Office of the Special
\nProsecutor is before the Supreme Court and the court pursuant to an application
\nstruck out his name as a party to the suit.<\/p>\n

He
\nsaid the plaintiff in that suit did not pray the court for an order restraining
\nhim from performing his duties and hence nothing stops him from going ahead to
\ncarry out his functions as conferred on him.<\/p>\n

Mr.
\nAmidu, among other arguments, concluded that the charges being challenged by
\nMr. Ayariga are well within the remit of his office.<\/p>\n

Ruling<\/strong><\/p>\n

In
\nher ruling, Justice Asare Botwe dismissed all the preliminary objections raised
\nin respect of the charges relating to the purchase of the ambulances. <\/p>\n

According
\nto her, the particulars of the charges as contained in the charge sheet fall
\nwithin the mandate of the Special Prosecutor. <\/p>\n

On
\nthe issue of Mr. Amidu\u2019s qualification, she held that he would remain the
\nSpecial Prosecutor until the Supreme Court takes a contrary view in the pending
\nsuit before it. <\/p>\n

She
\ntherefore dismissed the application to strike out the charge sheet. <\/p>\n

Dismissed Charges<\/strong><\/p>\n

The
\njudge in her ruling on the other application relating to
\nthe purchase of the three Toyota land cruisers, dismissed charges relating to
\nevasion of taxes saying they did not state any specific act of corruption or
\ncorruption-related issues hence do not fall within the mandate of the Special
\nProsecutor. <\/p>\n

She,
\nhowever, retained the charge of using public office for private gain. <\/p>\n

The case was adjourned to July 8, 2019.<\/p>\n

BY Gibril Abdul Razak<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628 \u0648\u0631\u062f\u067e\u0631\u0633<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mahama Ayariga An Accra High Court has given the Special Prosecutor, Martin ABA Amidu, the permission to prosecute the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, for allegedly using public office for private gain. According to the court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, Mr. Amidu was duly sworn in by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":639438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-639436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nAyariga Thrown Out; Gets GH\u00a2200k Bail - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/06\/18\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh\u00a2200k-bail\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Ayariga Thrown Out; Gets GH\u00a2200k Bail - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Mahama Ayariga An Accra High Court has given the Special Prosecutor, Martin ABA Amidu, the permission to prosecute the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, for allegedly using public office for private gain. According to the court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, Mr. Amidu was duly sworn in by […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ghana News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/18\\\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh%c2%a2200k-bail\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/18\\\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh%c2%a2200k-bail\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\"},\"headline\":\"Ayariga Thrown Out; Gets GH\u00a2200k Bail\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-18T12:27:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/18\\\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh%c2%a2200k-bail\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":887,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/18\\\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh%c2%a2200k-bail\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/18\\\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh%c2%a2200k-bail\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/18\\\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh%c2%a2200k-bail\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/18\\\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh%c2%a2200k-bail\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ayariga Thrown Out; Gets GH\u00a2200k Bail - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/18\\\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh%c2%a2200k-bail\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/18\\\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh%c2%a2200k-bail\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-18T12:27:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/18\\\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh%c2%a2200k-bail\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/18\\\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh%c2%a2200k-bail\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\",\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ghana News\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ayariga Thrown Out; Gets GH\u00a2200k Bail - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/06\/18\/ayariga-thrown-out-gets-gh\u00a2200k-bail\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Ayariga Thrown Out; Gets GH\u00a2200k Bail - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"Mahama Ayariga An Accra High Court has given the Special Prosecutor, Martin ABA Amidu, the permission to prosecute the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, for allegedly using public office for private gain. 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