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The Supreme Court removed Justice Clemence Honyenuga from the Opuni case as a trial judge.
By this ruling, the chief justice would have to assign a new judge to the 4-year-old case for the court process to continue.
The court deferred the reasons for its decision until Friday, July 30, 2021.
Supreme Court Justice Clémence Honyenuga sat as additional High Court judge in the Republic case against former COCOBOD CEO Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni.
Mr Opuni’s lawyers had previously argued that they wanted Judge Honyenuga to recuse himself from the case because he had prejudged and determined Dr Opuni’s guilt before the accused even put the box up.
Opuni’s lawyers had argued that Judge Honyenuga had expressed his eagerness to get rid of the case, so that he could resume his main duties at the Supreme Court. This, according to the lawyers, had manifested itself in all of the judge’s rulings against Mr Opuni in the pending case.
But Judge Honyenuga dismissed their request, saying: “I sincerely believe that the request was made in bad faith. Accordingly, the application is hereby dismissed ”.
It was the third unsuccessful attempt by Opuni’s lawyers to get the judge to recuse himself.
Dissatisfied with the decision, Mr Opuni’s lawyers took the matter to Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah and took the case to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s latest ruling was a 3-2 majority decision chaired by Justice Jones Dotse.
The presiding judge, as well as Judge Avril Lovelace-Johnson, expressed their dissent, while Judges Gabriel Pwamang, Agnes Dordzie and Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu defended Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni. context
Former COCOBOD CEO and Agricult Ghana Limited CEO Seidu Agongo is on trial along with Agricult Ghana Limited for allegedly causing the state to lose over GHS 217 million in a cocoa fertilizer deal.
Dr Opuni and Mr Agongo face 27 charges, including fraud under false pretenses, deliberately causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, bribery of public officials and breach of the law on public procurement.
They have both pleaded not guilty to the charges and are each on 300,000 ¢ bail.
Agongo allegedly used fraudulent means to sell substandard fertilizer to COCOBOD for further distribution to cocoa farmers, while Dr Opuni is accused of facilitating the act by allowing Agongo’s products not to be tested and certified as required by law.
—Citinenewsroom
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