Tsatsu's lawyer: Judge was wrong
By myjoyonline - Myjoyonline.com General News | Fri, 20 Jun 2008
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Professor E.O.V. Dankwah, counsel for incarcerated Tsatsu Tsikata, former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, (GNPC) says he is surprised and shocked at the decision of Justice Henrietta Abban to proceed with her judgement while his client had not closed his case.
He says apart from the bad precedent the speed with which the court delivered its judgement in the trial of Tsatsu for misapplying State property and also for wilfully causing financial loss to the State has set, the counsel said there was no notice whatsoever from the court that Wednesday, June 18, was judgement day.
“I was surprised and shocked that judgement has been given when we were waiting for an important witness to come and give evidence for us,” he told Joy News' Matilda Asante at midday.
Professor Dankwah, who was abroad to seek medical attention and therefore could not attend court with his client, said the judgement should not have been given at all because the case was not completed and the Supreme Court was waiting to make a ruling on an aspect of the case.
He said they had gone to the Supreme Court on June 11 in their bid to get the trial Fast Track High Court to invite the International Finance Corporation to testify in Tsatsu's favour, where the court asked them to return on June 26, and all his expectation was that the court would take further action only after the Supreme Court decision. He insisted that it was absolutely false that the court or anyone had communicated the judgement date to them.
He said the IFC's evidence would have supported his client's case that there was no intent on the part of Tsatsu to cause any financial loss to the State.
Tsatsu was found guilty of three counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the State and another of misapplying State property. He received a five-year jail term on each, however the sentences are to run concurrently.
Author: Isaac Yeboah
Source: myjoyonline - Myjoyonline.com
He says apart from the bad precedent the speed with which the court delivered its judgement in the trial of Tsatsu for misapplying State property and also for wilfully causing financial loss to the State has set, the counsel said there was no notice whatsoever from the court that Wednesday, June 18, was judgement day.
“I was surprised and shocked that judgement has been given when we were waiting for an important witness to come and give evidence for us,” he told Joy News' Matilda Asante at midday.
Professor Dankwah, who was abroad to seek medical attention and therefore could not attend court with his client, said the judgement should not have been given at all because the case was not completed and the Supreme Court was waiting to make a ruling on an aspect of the case.
He said they had gone to the Supreme Court on June 11 in their bid to get the trial Fast Track High Court to invite the International Finance Corporation to testify in Tsatsu's favour, where the court asked them to return on June 26, and all his expectation was that the court would take further action only after the Supreme Court decision. He insisted that it was absolutely false that the court or anyone had communicated the judgement date to them.
He said the IFC's evidence would have supported his client's case that there was no intent on the part of Tsatsu to cause any financial loss to the State.
Tsatsu was found guilty of three counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the State and another of misapplying State property. He received a five-year jail term on each, however the sentences are to run concurrently.
Author: Isaac Yeboah
Source: myjoyonline - Myjoyonline.com
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Tsatsu’s lawyer: Judge was wrong
Sir JAy | NY -USA (Location: United States) | 6/20/2008 6:15:00 PM
I think finally, the judge came to terms with the tactics Mr. Tsikata and his counsel were using: to wit, countless petitions, appeals, counter appeals, motions after motions filed, sometimes without any clear merit to the case on try but intended to delay justice until maybe, God willing, NDC came to power.I think that, even if the judge had waited for the supreme court's ruling on the current motion, there would certainly have been another motion for consideration. the judge simply has had enough of the time buying strategy.
Tsatsu was prisoned without a trial
koo-swiss | -swiss (Location: Switzerland) | 6/21/2008 6:27:00 AM
You seem's ignorant of the laws and the court preceedings. How can you pronouce a judgement while the accused hat not clossed his file?Everybody is aware that this case is very sensitive and it's delaying but as a good judge who want to give a fairly pronoucement must allow the process to take it curse so that at the end of the day you may have more evidence to suport your judgement.
I think that the speedy action of the judge is the same as arresting Tsatsu from his house and sent him direct to prisons
this was an uncompleted trial and we know that every judgement which had not taken it's full preceedings in a highcourt of a country the pronoucement come from the above (government)
