Supreme Court hears Tsatsu's review application on February 10

The Supreme Court will on February 10 hear a Motion for Review filed by Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), praying the court to review its decision of October 16, 2008, in respect of his application for arrest of the court's judgment.

Furthermore, the application is asking the Court to quash the specified decisions and determinations of Mrs Justice Henrietta Abban, a judge of the Court of Appeal, who sat as an additional High Court judge and convicted Mr Tsikata on June 18, 2008 for wilfully causing financial loss to the state.

The seven-member panel of the Court fixed the date after its sitting on Tuesday, during which Professor Emmanuel Victor Oware Dankwa, counsel for the former GNPC boss, had moved the Review Application filed at the court's registry on Monday, February 2, asking the SC for extension of time for the filing of a supplement to the statement of case, and to submit additional evidence that he could not present when the motion came up for hearing in July 2008.

In the affidavit in support of his motion, Mr Tsikata stated that his Review Application, which was filed while he was in prison, indicated that he would file additional written submissions.

Mr Tsikata said with the limited facilities at his disposal in prison, he could not complete the writing of the arguments in support of his application before filing.

He indicated that as a result of his subsequent ill-health and hospitalization, as well as the time needed to brief his counsel after his recuperation, there had been further delay in the filing of the additional arguments.

This, Mr Tsikata said, had resulted in his counsel seeking leave for extension of time for the filing of these additional arguments.

The additional evidence, he said, will include evidence conclusively establishing that Mrs Justice Abban had pre-determined the outcome of the application filed by his counsel to call further evidence before her sitting on June 18, 2008 to hear the application.

Mr Tsikata alleged that in having him imprisoned on that fateful day immediately after striking out the application, the trial judge was rather acting in collusion with the Executive, contrary to her constitutional mandate, and her judicial duty to act fairly.

The additional evidence, the former GNPC boss said, would further include that of the determination on the part of Mrs Justice Abban to act arbitrarily against him, which is reflected in statements she made on June 19, 2008, a day after sentencing him.

Another additional evidence, Mr Tsikata indicated, would include the corrected certified true copy of the proceedings before Mrs Justice Abban on October 27, 2006, which, he said, he only obtained from the Registrar of the Fast Track High Court after tape recordings of the proceedings had been used to verify the record after the Supreme Court had heard the case in July 2008.

Further evidence, he said, would include playing of the tape of the proceedings before Mrs Justice Abban on June 18, 2008, before the Supreme Court.

Mr Tsikata said all the evidence would further establish the exceptional circumstances justifying the Supreme Court to review its decision of October 16, 2008.

“It is in the interest of justice that the said evidence be allowed so that the truth about what took place before Mrs Justice Abban can be the basis for this Honourable Court administering justice in this case,” Tsatsu concluded.

Responding, Mr Matthew Amponsah, Chief State Attorney, who represented the Attorney-General's Department, told the court that he was served with a copy of Mr Tsikata's motion only this morning by his counsel.

He, therefore, prayed the court to give him time to study the document and respond appropriately.

The seven-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by Mr Justice William Atuguba, has Mrs Justice Sophia Akuffo, Mr Justice Julius Ansah, Mrs Justice Sophia Adinyira, Mrs Justice Mariama Owusu, Mr Justice Jones Dotse and Mr Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie as members.