The High Court in Accra has directed lawyers for former National Signals Bureau (NSB) Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene to continue with the cross-examination of the prosecution’s fourth witness after rejecting a request to suspend proceedings.
Lead counsel for Mr Adu-Boahene, Samuel Atta Akyea, had asked the court to halt the trial pending the Supreme Court’s determination of a review application filed by Ofoase-Ayirebi MP Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
The application seeks a review of an earlier Supreme Court decision concerning the High Court’s authority to conduct criminal trials during the legal vacation.
However, at Tuesday’s sitting, August 25, Justice Francis Apangabuno Achibonga dismissed the request and ordered the defence to proceed with the cross-examination.
Mr Atta Akyea subsequently asked the court for an adjournment to enable him to return home and prepare, explaining that he had attended the proceedings expecting his application to suspend the trial to succeed.
“My Lord, I didn’t come today prepared, and even I didn’t bring my files,” he told the court.
Justice Achibonga declined the request, stressing that counsel appearing before the court must be prepared to conduct proceedings regardless of the outcome they anticipate from applications before the court.
The judge noted that Mr Atta Akyea’s table was empty but said that this did not constitute sufficient grounds for an adjournment.
“Yes, I can see your table is empty, but I can’t grant you the request. You can just say you have ended the cross-examination and I will adjourn,” the judge said.
Mr Atta Akyea subsequently resumed his questioning of the prosecution witness.
Dispute over legal vacation sittings
The latest development follows an earlier decision by the same court on August 17 to adjourn proceedings until August 25 while awaiting the Supreme Court’s determination of an interlocutory injunction application filed by Mr Oppong Nkrumah.
At the time, Justice Achibonga acknowledged that the filing of an application does not ordinarily amount to a stay of proceedings. However, he said the nature of the application, which sought to restrain the High Court from sitting during the legal vacation, justified waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision.
The injunction application was later dismissed on August 21 by Supreme Court Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, sitting as a single judge.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah has since returned to the Supreme Court with a review application challenging that decision.
It was on the basis of that pending review that the defence again sought to have the High Court pause the Adu-Boahene trial.
Fourth prosecution witness remains on the stand
The ruling means the defence must continue its lengthy cross-examination of Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) investigator Frank Marshall Cromwell.
Mr Cromwell has been under cross-examination for several weeks as the defence probes the prosecution’s case surrounding GH¢49.1 million allegedly linked to the procurement of a cybersecurity system for the state.
During an earlier sitting, the witness maintained that the money came from a public account operated by the then Bureau of National Communications.
Mr Atta Akyea challenged that position, arguing that the account had been established on the instructions of the National Security Coordinator for operational purposes and questioning whether investigators had adequately considered the special nature of national security operations.
Mr Cromwell acknowledged that the National Security Coordinator authorised the opening of the Fidelity Bank account for operational purposes but maintained that investigations established that it was among accounts operated by the Bureau.
The defence has also questioned the scope of EOCO’s investigation.
Mr Cromwell previously acknowledged that there was no identifiable complainant whose formal complaint triggered the investigation. He also indicated that he had not interviewed officials within the national security establishment to establish the operational context of some of the transactions being investigated.
The prolonged cross-examination has previously drawn the attention of Justice Achibonga, who questioned the defence about how much longer it intended to question the witness after he had spent about six weeks in the witness box.
Mr Atta Akyea indicated that several issues still needed to be addressed.
On August 11, the court warned that if lawyers for Mr Adu-Boahene and his wife failed to appear for subsequent proceedings, the accused persons could be required to conduct the remaining cross-examination themselves or the witness could be discharged to allow the trial to proceed.
Charges against Adu-Boahene and others
Kwabena Adu-Boahene, his wife Angela Adjei-Boateng, Mildred Donkor and Advantage Solutions Limited are standing trial over the alleged misappropriation of GH¢49.1 million in connection with the procurement of a cybersecurity system for the state.
They face 11 charges, including conspiracy to commit crime, stealing, using public office for profit, money laundering and causing financial loss to the state.
The accused persons have denied the allegations.
The trial continues with the cross-examination of the prosecution’s fourth witness.
