State opposes bail application by jailed MP

THE state has opposed the application for bail pending appeal filed by the jailed Member of Parliament (MP) for Keta, Dan Kwasi Abodakpi.
This was disclosed to the court press corps in Accra yesterday after the parties in the case had met in the judge’s chambers to take a date for the hearing.
Details of the affidavit in opposition were not made available to the press and efforts to get it, as well as that of the former minister were unsuccessful.
While the acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms Gertrude Aikins, said making the affidavit available to the press would be contemptuous of the court proceedings, counsel for Abodakpi also made it clear that he would not entertain the press on the matter.
The matter was adjourned to March 5, 2007, to enable counsel for the applicant, who was served at short notice, respond to it for the stage to be set for the hearing.
If the application is upheld, the MP can go back to represent the interests of his constituents and the minority opposition in Parliament.
The former trade and industry minister was on February 5, 2007, sentenced to a 10-year jail term with hard labour by an Accra Fast Track High Court after being convicted on all seven counts of conspiracy, defrauding by false pretences and wilfully causing financial loss of $400,000 to the state.
After the sentence some sympathisers, including some MPs hailed him as a hero and cast aspersions that the sentence was politically motivated.
Abodakpi was said to have, between May and December 2000, acted, together with the late Victor Selormey, who was also a former Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Frederick Boadu, a consultant, and other persons with a common purpose, to wilfully cause financial loss of $400,000 to the state through the Trade and Investment Programme (TIP).
The amount was in respect of a feasibility study for the establishment of a Science and Technology Community Park/Valley Project which was meant to enhance the export of non-traditional products.
They were charged with causing the transfer of the cedi equivalent of $400,000 during their tenure of office in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration when they co-chaired the TIP.
The former ministers were accused of causing the transfer from the TIP interest account lodged with ECOBANK Ghana Limited into the personal account of the project consultant, Dr Frederick Boadu.
They were arraigned on October 14, 2002 on three counts of conspiracy, two counts of defrauding and two counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state but both of them pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted a self-recognisance bail.
Selormey, however, died in the course of the trial.