Prosecution seeks permission of court

Mr. Martin Amidu, Minister of Justice and Attorney General

The prosecution in the trial of three soldiers over the alleged murder of the then Chairman of the Tamale/Bolgatanga branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Alhaji Issa Mohammed, also known as Issa Mobila, has filed an application seeking leave of the Fast Track Court (FTC) to file additional evidence.

Ms. Penelope Ann Mamattah, Chief State Attorney, yesterday, drew the attention of the court, presided over by Justice Mustapha Habib Logoh, to the filing of the application.

However, defense counsel Mr. Thaddeus Sory informed the court that he had not been served with the process filed.

The court, therefore, adjourned hearing to today, to enable the defense be served and respond to the issues raised in the application.

Meanwhile, the application filed by the prosecution indicated that the evidence could not be added to the summary of evidence of the accused person, because as at the time, it had not been brought to the attention of the state prosecutors.

The request further noted that the evidence was very material to the case before the court, and therefore, the application should be accepted.

On the last adjourned date, the defense counsel took the state prosecutors by surprise, as he objected to a piece of evidence a prosecution witness was about to give, as he mounted the witness box.

As Sergeant George Mensah Kpligi of the Tamale Regional Police Headquarters attempted to indict Cpl. Appiah Yaw, Private Modzaka Eric and Private Seth Gokah in his evidence-in-chief over the murder of the Issa Mobila, the lead defense counsel objected, indicating that the evidence about to be given before the court was not part of the summary of evidence provided by the prosecution.

According to Mr. Thaddeaus Sory, leave should be sought from the court, as the law requires, before additional evidence could be given.

The defence counsel had informed the court that if the witness was allowed to give the evidence he was about to provide, it would lead to the perversion of justice, since a human life was at stake.

In response, Chief State Attorney, Ms. Penelope Ann Mammattah concede that leave had not been sought, noting that the prosecution was prepared to go through the process.

According to her, since the issue took place as far back in 2004, it was possible the witness had forgotten some aspects of what took place.

Cpl. Appiah Yaw, Private Modzaka Eric and Private Seth Gokah are facing two counts of conspiracy and murder of the late Issa Mobila.

Cpl. Appiah Yaw and Private Modzaka Eric pleaded not guilty to all the charges leveled against them, however, Private Seth Gokah has been declared 'Absent Without Official Leave' (AWOL) by the 1st Infantry Battalion (1BN) at Michel Camp, a military installation where the accused persons were held after being transferred from the Tamale High Court, where they were previously standing trial.

Cpl. Appiah Yaw and Private Modzaka Eric are currently in prison custody.

The facts of the case are that the accused persons were on duty at the Kamina Barracks at Tamale, in the Northern Region, when the deceased, who was in their custody, died.

Issa Mobila had surrendered himself to the police in Tamale, when he got information from his wife that they were looking for him.

The police on December 9, 2004 went to his house to arrest him on suspicion that he had supplied the youth with guns and ammunitions the previous day to cause mayhem in the heat of political campaigning in the region.

The deceased was then arrested and detained, in respect of a gun-firing incident in the late hours of December 8, 2004, at Werizehi, a suburb of Tamale.

The police further impounded a BMW car with registration number GR 2772 Q belonging to the deceased, and conducted a search on him and his residence, but found nothing incriminating.

The court was told that subsequently, the police had information that the youth were going to besiege the police station for the possible release of Issa Mobila, as a result of which, during a meeting of the Regional Security Council, a decision was taken to transfer the then Convention People's Party (CPP) Regional Chairman to the Military at Kamina Barracks for safekeeping.

The prosecution alleged before the court that the police handed over the deceased at about 3:00 p.m. fit and sound, to the Military at Kamina Barracks.

However, Issa Mobilla was taken to the Medical Reception Station (MRS) of the barracks at about 8:00 p.m., with evidence of violent attacks all over his body. He was later pronounced dead.