The court refuses to suspend the trial of Opuni, Agongo

General News of Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-03-19

Seidu Agongo, the businessman accused of fraudulently selling substandard fertilizer to the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), with presumed help from Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, former director general of COCOBOD, did not stop his trial in the Accra District Court.

In a ruling yesterday, the court, chaired by Judge Clemence Honyenuga, dismissed a motion for stay of proceedings filed by the businessman's lawyers.

Agongo sought to terminate the proceedings, pending the final decision of his appeal to the Court of Appeal, where he disputed the High Court's refusal to admit a document that the High Court had been wrongly presented as evidence.

The court found that Agongo's lawyers had not presented any of the exceptional circumstances provided for by the law for which the proceedings had to be stayed.

"I see no particular reason for suspending the proceedings. The granting of the stay of proceedings will result in an additional delay in the trial.

As a result, the claim is dismissed, "said Judge Honyenuga.

Why the request for a stay of proceedings

On February 25 of this year, Judge Honyenuga rejected the submission of a document submitted by the senior counsel of Agongo, Mr. Benson Nutsukpui, through the second Prosecution witness, Mr. Alfred Arthur, soil scientist at Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG). .

This document was the report of a committee established by CRIG and the Division of Cocoa Health and its Extension (CHED), both of COCOBOD, on the disappearance of certain documents that the court had ordered to disclose to the name of Agongo.

Judge Honyenuga, rejecting the submission of the report as evidence, ruled that it was wrong for the defense to submit the report through Dr. Arthur, who was not there. author or who was not aware of it.

On the other hand, the judge, who is a judge at the Court of Appeal and who has additional responsibilities as a judge in the High Court, felt that it was right that the defense would ask the court to ask to the court to badign members of the committee. for that they will appear in court and talk about the report.

Unsatisfied with the decision, Agongo's lawyers lodged an interlocutory appeal with the Court of Appeal and, as a result, they asked that the High Court be discontinued.

The case of Agongo

In arguing for the claim, Mr. Nutsukpui argued that the court, by rejecting the presentation of the report as evidence, deprived his client of his constitutional right to a fair trial.

According to him, the court's position that the accused should subpoena the authors of the report showed that he had already decided that the accused would definitively open his defense.
In his opinion, such a measure meant that the accused's right to argue that no "case" had been restricted.

"This is a very serious exceptional circumstance that will cause a serious miscarriage of justice for the accused," he said.

Opposition by prosecution

In her response, a senior prosecutor, Ms. Stella Ohene Appiah, objected to the request and urged the court to dismiss it.

She argued that the defense's argument that it was denied an argument that "no case was" was not plausible because it was premature, and the court did not no longer refused to the defense.

"This is nothing but a calculated attempt to delay the proceedings and waste time in court," she said.

The court accepted the prosecution, denied the application and postponed the trial until March 27, 2019.

Case against Opuni & Agongo

In March 2018, the Attorney General (AG) accused Opuni and Agongo of 27 counts of alleged illegalities that allegedly caused a financial loss of 271.3 million GH ¢ to the state and led to the distribution of substandard fertilizer to cocoa farmers.

This is the case of the AG that Dr. Opuni, during his tenure as CEO of COCOBOD (from November 2013 to January 2017), has breached the procedures provided for by the laws on public procurement and other laws that resulted in the loss of 271.3 million GH ¢ in the so-called fertilizer scandal. .

Agongo allegedly used fraudulent means to sell substandard fertilizers to COCOBOD and then distribute them to cocoa farmers.

The two accused denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the 27 counts.
They are currently on bail up to 300 000 GH ¢ each.