GRi in Court Ghana 31 - 01 - 2001
Supreme Court to rule on order by Regional
Tribunal
Cape Coast (Central Region) 31 January 2001
Mr Isaac Ofori who was last Friday placed in custody pending the verification of his identity in connection with a murder case on Tuesday regained his freedom.
This was after the Central Regional Crime Officer, Mr Bartholomew Agbenyegah, had in a statement to the Cape Coast circuit court where the case is being tried for committal at the high court had cleared the air.
He explained that investigations into the identities of the two men at the centre of the drama indicated that "the man is indeed called Isaac Ofori as he had told the court on Friday and that the junior brother of the man known as Anthony Prah, was rather the accused person.
According to Mr Agbenyegah, the brother of the deceased, Kweku Owusu, who has also been charged with the crime, has denied knowing Mr Ofori and failed to identify him as one of his alleged accomplices.
Last Friday, drama unfolded at the court when Mr Ofori suddenly found himself in police grip when the mother of an 18-year-old boy who had been allegedly murdered spotted him in the crowd and identified him as Anthony Prah, one of the accused persons in the case.
Although the man vehemently denied this and said he was called Isaac Ofori, the court, which was unable to get the true identities of the two men at the centre of the drama, ordered him to be placed in custody pending the verification of his identity.
Mr Agbenyegah deplored the behaviour of the boy's mother who he said had "played hide and seek" with the police in their earlier attempts to have her "clear some doubts" and had rather come to court to make that allegation, which he described as unfounded, and asked the court to disregard it.
When asked by the court, Owusu confirmed the statement by the crime officer and said Mr Ofori was not at the scene when the alleged murder was committed.
Owusu, along with Anthony Prah, alias Nana Prah, Kwabena Amoah and Yaw Adjei, are standing trial for allegedly murdering Kojo Abass, for ritual purposes at Nkutumso, near Dunkwa-on-Offin in July last year.
In his comments regarding the behaviour of the boy's mother at the court, the presiding judge, Mr Justice Tom Bentil, noted that it was right for the woman to have raised the issue in order to set things straight.
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Supreme Court to rule on order by Regional
Tribunal
Accra (Greater Accra) 31 January 2001
The Supreme Court will on Tuesday, February 13, determine whether an order given by an Accra Regional Tribunal in connection with a 1.5 million-dollar fake cheque transaction at the Bank of Ghana (BOG) is to stand or not.
This followed an ex-parte motion for an order of certiorari filed on behalf of the bank by Mr Yaw Boahene Asare of its Legal Department.
The bank is asking the court to quash the tribunal's order of July 17 made against the BOG by the tribunal, urging it to rescind its decision to dismiss two former top officials of the bank for their alleged involvement in the scandal.
The tribunal, chaired by Mr Justice Isaac Duose, ruled that Mr Sebastian Dick Kobla Nukpui Gavor and Mr Justice Ofosu Larbie, the two officials, should remain interdicted until the determination of the case.
It said that the BOG would be cited for contempt should it fail to execute or carry out the order.
In a supporting affidavit, Mr Asare said the tribunal, without hearing the evidence in the case, which is totally unrelated to the criminal offences the two officials are charged with, had made certain orders, which were outside its jurisdiction.
"The regional tribunal misconceived its jurisdiction to determine matters which were not directly or indirectly concerned with the criminal matters before it.
"The regional tribunal could not have made the pronouncements without hearing the BOG which would be affected by the tribunal's orders on the bank's reasons for the steps it had taken to relieve its offending officers of their jobs."
On November 26, 1999, Hajia Baby Ocansey, the brain behind the scandal, and now on the run, allegedly presented the bank draft of 1.5 million dollars to the BOG for payment through Gavor.
Jointly charged with the two is Alhaji Sidiq Gimala, a businessman and Chief of the Wangara Community in Accra.
They have all pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to steal and stealing. They are on a 500,000-dollar bail each, or its equivalent in cedis with one or two sureties each to be justified.
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Asamankese (Eastern Region) 31 January 2001
A wrapper of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp was found on Yayera Goka, a 24 year-old unemployed when he was arrested for attempting to break into a room to steal.
In the dock with Goka was an accomplice, a minor, whose shirt left at the scene gave them away.
They pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and attempting to steal. Goka also pleaded guilty to possessing narcotic drug and was sentenced to three years in jail in hard.
The Judge said he would serve an extra 10 years if the leaves were found to be Indian hemp after forensic examination.
The minor received a sentence of 14 days imprisonment "to teach him a lesson" and fined 400,000 cedis or in default serve six months imprisonment.
Goka is to re-appear on February 26, on the drug charge.
The court heard that the complainant in the case and witnesses had information that the accused had planned to travel from Brekumanso where they lived to Appropro, a nearby village to steal cocoa beans.
On reaching the outskirts of Brekumanso, Goka and the minor decided to break into the room of one Kwadwo Kwarteng who had travelled to Accra. Before they could break into the room, someone in the area threw a torchlight beam on them and they took to their heels.
The next day a shirt identified as belonging to the minor was found in the bush near the house and when he was arrested mentioned Goka.
Goka was searched and a wrapper of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp was found on him.
The Judge, Mr S S Appiah commended the three men whose vigilance, bravery and timely intervention prevented the accused from committing the burglary.
Mr Appiah advised communities to set up neighbourhood watch committees to combat crime.
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