{"id":642185,"date":"2019-06-21T11:55:04","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T11:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\n

Lydia Seyram Alhassan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nSupreme Court has affirmed the decision of the Attorney General, Gloria Afua\nAkuffo, to abort the trial of Gregory Afoko who is alleged to have murdered the\nUpper East Regional Chai"},"modified":"2019-06-21T11:55:04","modified_gmt":"2019-06-21T11:55:04","slug":"supreme-court-dismisses-ayawaso-west-wuogon-seat-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/06\/21\/supreme-court-dismisses-ayawaso-west-wuogon-seat-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Dismisses Ayawaso West Wuogon Seat Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Lydia Seyram Alhassan<\/strong><\/p>\n

The
\nSupreme Court has affirmed the decision of the Attorney General, Gloria Afua
\nAkuffo, to abort the trial of Gregory Afoko who is alleged to have murdered the
\nUpper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Adams Mahama.<\/p>\n

This
\nwas after it dismissed an application by Afoko\u2019s lawyers challenging the
\ndecision by the Attorney General (AG) to discontinue the trial before an Accra
\nHigh Court.<\/p>\n

The
\nlawyers had asked the apex court to determine whether the AG was fair and just
\nwhen she decided to discontinue the trial by filing a nolle prosequi following
\nthe arrest of another suspect in the matter, Asabke Alangdi.<\/p>\n

It
\nwas the argument of the lawyer, Osafo Buabeng, that entry of a nolle prosequi by
\nthe defendant on 28th January, 2019, is inconsistent with or is in
\ncontravention of Articles 23 and 296 of the 1992 Constitution and should be
\ndeclared as such.<\/p>\n

The
\nlawyer also contended that with the coming into force of the 1992 Constitution,
\nthe power of nolle prosequi is subject to constitutional provisions and any
\nexercise of the power of nolle prosequi under section 54 of the Criminal and
\nOther Offences Procedure Act, 1960 Act 30, must be consistent with the
\nConstitution.<\/p>\n

In
\nthe view of the lawyer, the nolle prosequi entered by the AG fell short of
\nthese requirements of Article 296, and was thus unfair to his client.<\/p>\n

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

Deputy
\nAttorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame in an affidavit in opposition to the writ
\naverred that the prerogative to file a nolle prosequi as a means of terminating
\ncriminal proceedings stems from the powers of the AG to control criminal
\nproceedings.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe have illustrated that Article 88(3) vests
\nthe Attorney-General completely with responsibility and authority for the institution
\nof criminal proceedings,\u201d he indicated.<\/p>\n

Mr.
\nDame added that the AG decided to end the trial by entering nolle prosequi
\nwithout any breach to the Constitution.<\/p>\n

Judgment <\/strong><\/p>\n

A
\nseven-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by Justice Julius Ansah
\nin a unanimous judgement dismissed the application saying Afoko\u2019s lawyers
\nfailed to show that the AG\u2019s decision was arbitrary and unjust.<\/p>\n

According
\nto the judges, the fact that the trial was nearing its conclusion did not
\nprevent the AG from taking the decision to discontinue it.<\/p>\n

One
\nof the judges, Justice Gabriel Pwamang, however, in a concurring opinion,
\nstated the AG must be circumspect in the exercise of its powers to discontinue
\ntrial as it may have consequences on the criminal justice system.<\/p>\n

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

Afoko
\nwas on trial before an Accra High Court charged with murder to which he pleaded
\nnot guilty.<\/p>\n

The
\nstate had closed its case after calling 14 prosecution witnesses, including the
\nwife of the late Adams Mahama to prove its case against the accused.<\/p>\n

Afoko
\nsubsequently opened his defence and vehemently denied the charges preferred
\nagainst him. <\/p>\n

The
\ncourt presided over by Justice Lawrence L. Mensah then ordered Afoko to file
\nhis statement after which the state will respond, and both parties taking turns
\nto address the court before the jury makes a decision.<\/p>\n

But
\nthe state on January 28, 2019, entered nolle prosequi to discontinue the matter
\nwhich has been before the court since 2016.<\/p>\n

This followed the arrest of Asabke Alangdi who has been hiding in Cote d\u2019Ivoire after fleeing the country.<\/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":"

Lydia Seyram Alhassan The Supreme Court has affirmed the decision of the Attorney General, Gloria Afua Akuffo, to abort the trial of Gregory Afoko who is alleged to have murdered the Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Adams Mahama. This was after it dismissed an application by Afoko\u2019s lawyers challenging the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":589097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-642185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nSupreme Court Dismisses Ayawaso West Wuogon Seat Challenge - 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\/21\/supreme-court-dismisses-ayawaso-west-wuogon-seat-challenge\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Supreme Court Dismisses Ayawaso West Wuogon Seat Challenge - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Lydia Seyram Alhassan The Supreme Court has affirmed the decision of the Attorney General, Gloria Afua Akuffo, to abort the trial of Gregory Afoko who is alleged to have murdered the Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Adams Mahama. 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