COURT ADJOURNES FORMER FIRST LADY'S CASE

THE Accra Fast Track High Court hearing the case involving the former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, and five others accused of causing financial loss to the state in the divestiture of the GIHOC Cannery at Nsawam has adjourned to July 9, 2007.
That was after the court turned down a request by the prosecution, which had indicated at the last sitting to substitute the charge sheet, that it was ready to call its first witness.
The acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms Gertrude Aikins, who was apparently frustrated by what she described as the media trial of the case, said she wanted hearing to commence to put to rest speculations on the matter.
“My Lord, at the last date I indicated a course of action (referring to substituting the charge sheet) but there have been all kinds of accusations on the FM stations. There is nothing against compressing charges,” she said, and added that she was ready to call the first witness to put the speculations to rest.
But the trial judge, Mr Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, a Court of Appeal judge with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, replied that the trial was taking place in the court and not outside because the court was not supposed to be influenced by what went on in the media or elsewhere.
Mr Tony Lithur, counsel for Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, objected to the hearing of the case and stated that he felt ambushed by the prosecution because the agreement at the last date was for the charges to be substituted and the records indicated that.
The court said it was within the right of the prosecution to proceed with the case, whether with the old charge sheet or a new one, and it was in the best interest of the bar that the acting DPP hinted to substitute the charge sheet, saying, “It is also within your right to say so but you cannot object.”
Mr Lithur then informed the court of his intention to file an application for stay of proceedings which he had discussed with the prosecution and stated that the application to commence the case was in bad taste because of discussions both counsel had had.
Meanwhile, there was commotion at the court premises as numerous sympathisers of the former First Lady, who was accompanied by her husband, former President J.J. Rawlings, to the court hurled invectives amidst shouting.
Security, both inside and outside the court premises, was so loose that even some foreign media practitioners were able to enter to film proceedings until the attention of the cameraman was drawn to the fact that it was not allowed.
Some of the people who wanted to forcibly enter the courtroom made noise which attracted the presiding judge to ask whether there was no policeman to ensure that peace prevailed.
As if that was not enough, some of the former President’s security men demanded identity cards from journalists before they were allowed to enter the courtroom.
After the court had adjourned, the sympathisers of the Rawlingses, who held placards, some of which read, “Stop peddling lies, NPP Ministers”, “Stop selective justice”, “Nana Konadu, Champion of African women”, “Give account of Hotel de Kufuor waa waa”, went on a procession before leaving the court.
Substituting the charge sheet has become necessary because the names of three persons, namely, Georgina Okaiteye, a Director/General Manager of Caridem Development Company Limited, Larry Adjetey, a Director/Secretary of Caridem, and George Mould, a Director of Caridem, were still on the charge sheet, although they had been discharged.
They were discharged when the prosecution withdrew the charges against them, leaving the former First Lady and five others, namely, Emmanuel Amuzu Agbodo, the former Executive Secretary of the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC), Thomas Benson Owusu, a former accountant of the DIC, Kwame Peprah, a former Minister of Finance and former Chairman of the DIC, Sherry Ayittey, the Managing Director of Caridem Development Company Limited, and Caridem as an entity.
All the accused persons, except Owusu, were in court and following that the court adjourned to enable him to appear at the next adjourned date.
The accused persons are facing various charges of conspiracy, causing financial loss to public property, conspiracy to obtain public property by false statement and obtaining public property by false statement.
All of them have pleaded not guilty to all the charges and are on self-recognisance bail.
They were alleged to have caused financial loss to the state running into billions of cedis in respect of a public property following the acquisition of GIHOC Cannery, a government cannery, by Caridem Limited, which was owned by the 31st December Women’s Movement (DWM), in 1995 when the cannery was divested.
The accused persons, together with their counsel, were in court and the former First Lady, who was dressed in a white top with trousers, was, as usual, followed by some women sympathisers who were held behind the court fence amidst singing.
According to the prosecution, the accused persons failed to complete interest payments which accrued on the purchase price of the cannery and as a result had caused financial loss to the state.
The prosecution said the accused persons failed to pay interest which accrued on an outstanding balance of ¢7,069,640,664.86, amounting to ¢2,191,588,606.11, to the DIC in respect of the sale of GIHOC Nsawam Cannery.