Gregory Afoko challenges jury selection process

General News on Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-07-17

Gregory Afoko's legal team has challenged the jury selection process for his trial in the High Court of Accra.

Gregory Afoko and Asabke Alangdi were accused of murdering Alhaji Adams Mahama, president of the Upper East Region, in 2015.

During the jury selection on Wednesday, Graphic Online's court reporter, Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson, said that Afoko's lawyer, Mr. Stephen Sorwah Charway, had requested the court to authorize the defense. to verify the antecedents of the seven selected jurors.

In his opinion, this would allow the defense team to challenge the inclusion of any juror who may be biased or not eligible to be a member of the jury.

Such a challenge to the selection of jurors, he said, was in accordance with Section 251 of the Criminal Offenses and Other Crimes Act 1960 (Act30), reported Hawkson Court of Graphic Online .

Not provided for in our law

In response, the prosecutor, Ms. Marina Appiah Opare, Attorney General, stated that the lawyer's request had no legal grounds.

It added that under Law 30, defendants were allowed to challenge the selection of jurors three times without giving reasons, while subsequent challenges had to be reasoned, but there was no provision for background checks to be made. jurors.

Decision

In her ruling, Judge Merley Afua Wood, who chaired the meeting, rejected the objection raised by the defense team.

According to her, the defendants used their three pre-emptive challenges that compel them to give no reason, but as they did not use the subsequent challenges that compelled them to motivate, it was not necessary to check the history of jurors.

Not guilty

Meanwhile, the two accused pleaded not guilty under two counts of conspiracy to murder and murder.

A seven-member jury, consisting of four women and three men, was called Wednesday at the hearing Wednesday, said Ebo Hawkson of Graphic Online.

The prosecution informed the court that it would summon 19 witnesses and present a number of exhibits.

The hearing is continuing on July 26, 2019.