GBA wants out of court settlement of 300 million cedis case
Two galamsey operators granted bail
Accra (Greater Accra) 16 June 2000
The Osu Community Tribunal on Thursday remanded in prison custody, Okyere Darko, a pastor, who allegedly collected 3.1 million cedis from three disabled persons, under the pretext of securing for them, travelling documents.
Darko pleaded guilty to defrauding by false pretence. He would reappear on June 22.
The accused, also a member of Aid Child Evangelism Association, a non-governmental organisation, wept in the dock, when Mrs Ivy Heward-Mills, who chaired the tribunal asked him to explain his action, for not having sympathy for the disabled persons.
He refunded 500,000 cedis out of the 3.1 million cedis he collected to enable the complainants, two, with clutches and one in a wheel chair, return to Kumasi, where they had come from.
The tribunal heard that the complainants are members of the Ghana Society for the Physically Disabled and on May 23 they met Darko at a function, in Accra where he introduced himself as an evangelist.
During their conversation, Darko told them that he was preparing to attend a conference in Beijing on June 9, and he needed other participants to also attend.
The complainants showed interest and Darko requested them to pay 3.5 million cedis each to enable him to secure the necessary documents for the trip.
The complainants paid him 1.5 million cedis on May 27, and another 1.8 million cedis on June 2 and additional 352,000 cedis later.
Darko, who failed to process the documents continued to demand for additional money that made the complainants to suspect some foul play and, therefore, reported the case to Police.
GRi../
Asamankese (Eastern Region) 16 June 2000
Tetteh Kwadwo Asamoah, a farmer, lived for nearly ten years with Margaret Maku at Akyem Kwamang and had two issues with her without formalising their marriage.
Following a misunderstanding three months ago, Maku packed her belonging and left to live with her parents, where she fell in love with another man, Kwaku Boye.
When Asamoah learnt of this, he became infuriated and decided to teach the couple a lesson, Inspector E. K. Kwashie, prosecuting Asamoah, told the Asamankese Circuit Court on Thursday
He said on June 2, while Maku and Boye were in bed, Asamoah entered the room through the ceiling and using a club, hit Boye twice on the head and during the ensuing struggle also bit his thumb while harming his former love, Maku as well.
Asamoah, who was charged with unlawful entry and causing harm with an offensive weapon pleaded guilty and was jailed 18 months in hard labour.
Inspector Kwashie told the court presided over by Mr Appiah that when Maku and Boye shouted for help, Asamoah managed to escape but was later arrested after a report was made to the Police.
In his explanation, Asamoah said he had planned to marry Maku by July 2 and that his intention was to harm only Boye and not Maku.
Mr Appiah wondered why for nearly ten years Asamoah lived with a woman he claimed to love without making any efforts to perform the marriage ceremony, adding that since no rites had been performed he could not claim the woman to be his wife.
Boye told the court in answer to a question that Maku had been his girlfriend for only two weeks before the incident.
GRi../
Sekondi (Western Region) 16 June 2000
Five mortuary attendants, charged with conspiracy to commit crime and abetment were on Thursday remanded in Police custody for their involvement in the disappearance of the corpse of Obaapanin Grace Duncan aged 87.
Their plea was not been taken and they are to re-appear on June 26. They are Isaac Quayson, 54, Samuel Duku 30, and Simon Baidoo 36, all of the Effia Nkwanta Hospital Mortuary.
The others were Joseph Dadzie, 42, and Kwesi Amoani, 57, from Cape Coast University Hospital Mortuary
Prosecuting Sergeant Andam Okyere said the deceased, who was admitted on April 5 at the Effia Nkwanta Hospital, died on April 13 and was embalmed and given tag number 41 and placed in refrigerator B 3.
On June 1 after the family had paid the storage fees of 397,000 cedis, the mortuary attendants informed them that the corpse was missing.
Sergeant Okyere said the family not satisfied with the explanation of the mortuary attendants reported the incident to the Police.
He said upon a tip-off, the Police went to the Cape Coast University Hospital, where the body was allegedly transferred without any transfer or death certificate but the corpse could not be traced.
The Sergeant noted that the two attendants from Cape Coast, Dadzie and Amoani, admitted that an already embalmed corpse was sent to the mortuary from Effia Nkwanta.
They said they forgot to register the corpse in their books and also failed to demand any document from two women and a man, who allegedly deposited and later collected the corpse.
Sergeant Andam appealed to the court to remand the accused persons to enable the investigators to locate the corpse and the other three persons involved.
Counsel for the accused Mr Samuel Arthur said remanding the accused persons, would not help to locate the whereabouts of the corpse and those alleged to have collected the corpse.
He rather asked that they should be granted bail and made to report to the Takoradi Central Police Station at least once or twice a week.
Before remanding them, the Presiding Judge, Mr Eric Baah noted that the families are currently mourning both the death and disappearance of the deceased and asked that the five persons should be admitted to Police Custody and to assist in the recovering of the corpse as early as possible.
Relations and friends and others, who thronged the courtroom, were wearing red and black mourning cloth.
GRi../
Tema (Greater Accra) 16 June 2000
The Tema branch of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) is making an effort to settle out of court the case in which a Tema High Court has ordered Mr Kwasi Blay, a Tema Lawyer to refund an amount of 300 million cedis to the court.
Mr Kwaku Kyei-Owusu and Mr Dan Abeberese counsel for Mr Blay are leading the initiative.
Blay is being tried for contempt of court in the case in which ex-workers of Watech Electric Company have sued the company for payment of their entitlements to the tune of 186 million cedis.
When the case was called on Thursday, Mr Kyei-Owusu announced that "we are still talking on settlement with the other parties and we have not reached a conclusion". He, therefore, asked for a two-week adjournment for further consultations.
Mr O. Agyeman-Bempah, Counsel for the ex-Watech workers turned down the two-week request saying that they agreed on a one-week adjournment when he met the Tema GBA delegation last week.
He said the case had travelled for almost one year and the longer it delayed the higher the amount that would be paid.
Mr Justice K. K. Acquaye, the High Court Judge in his ruling said the extra one week being asked by Mr Blay's lawyers would not make any significant difference and appealed to both parties to try to maintain the new rapport and goodwill that has been established.
The court also adjourned the substantive case and all auxiliary cases including a suit to attach Mrs Judith Adu-Agyei, the High Court Registrar for contempt for allegedly delaying the court's orders and issuing the cheque to Mr Blay to cash the money.
Mr Blay and Dr Teddy Yeh, Chinese Medical Consultant acting as a representative of Watech Limited, which has been liquidated, have been charged with contempt for failing to refund the 300 million cedis out of which the court has granted the ex-workers over 186 million cedis as entitlements.
Mr Blay is alleged to have taken his legal fees of 45 million cedis and paid the remaining 255 million cedis to Dr Yeh on behalf of the Directors of Watech.
Watech was auctioned on the orders of the Tema High Court presided over by Mrs Felicity Amoah for over one billion cedis for its indebtedness to Standard Chartered Bank.
After the bank was paid, the remaining amount of 300 million cedis was paid into the court's account at the National Investment Bank (NIB).
The ex-workers also sued for their entitlements and salary arrears, trade union dues from the remaining amount of 300 million cedis and won the case but the money was withdrawn against Mr Justice Acquaye's orders making it impossible to pay the ex-workers. The court sits again on July 3.
GRi../
Sekondi (Western Region) 16 June 2000
The Sekondi Community Tribunal on Thursday granted two persons out of the 41 galamsey operators charged with rioting, destruction and looting of property, five million cedis bail with two sureties each to be justified.
The accused persons whose plea was not taken are to re-appear on July 20. Hawa Issaka, a trader and her 16 year-old schoolboy son Ibrahim Moro, who allegedly stole gold ore hidden in a bush by the rioters are also to re-appear on the same date.
Police Inspector Joseph Hedidor alleged that Hawa and the son stole gold ore valued at eight million cedis being some of the looted property from the Central Pit of Ashanti Goldfields Bibiani limited (AGBL) and hidden in a near by bush by the rioters.
The remaining 39, who were granted a 10 million cedis bail with two sureties each on May 25, could not meet the bail bond and are still on remand.
Some galamsey operators in Bibiani armed with guns, machetes, clubs and stones on April 20 invaded the Pit harassed the workers, looted gold ore, computers and electrical gadgets and later burnt down some buildings of AGBL.
The courtroom was packed with friends, relations and some citizens of Bibiani resident in Sekondi-Takoradi.
GRi../