GREL Divestiture Case adjourned

Accra, Oct. 27, GNA - The Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) Divestiture Case at an Accra Fast Track Court with three persons standing trial for corruption during the Company's privatisation in 1990, was on Wednesday adjourned for two weeks.
This followed a communication from Mr David Lamptey, Counsel in the case, praying the Court to adjourn proceedings for at least a week, to enable his sick client, Hanny Sherry Ayittey to receive medical treatment.
After reading the communication, Mr Justice J. C. Amonoo-Monney, an Appeal Court Judge with an additional responsibility on the case as a High Court Judge, adjourned the case to Wednesday, November 10.
The three persons on trial are Ayittey, Treasurer of the 31st December Women's Movement, Emmanuel Amuzu Agbodo, Former Executive Secretary of the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) and Ralph Casely-Hayford a Businessman.
They have been variously charged for allegedly using their positions to influence the DIC Board to divest GREL in favour of a French company called Societe Industrielle Plantation Hevea (SIPH). They have all denied their various charges and each of them is on a self-recognisance bail.
Agbodo and Casely-Hayford have Mr John-Hanson Senoo and Mr Rodney Heward-Mills, respectively, as their lawyers.
When the case was called on Wednesday, neither Ayittey nor her counsel, was present in Court.
According to the communication from Mr Lamptey, the Court would be furnished with a medical report on his client's condition of health at the next adjourned date.
Before adjourning the matter, Mr Justice Amonoo-Monney stated that on November 10, Mr Lamptey would cross-examine Agbodo.
This, the Trial Judge explained, had become necessary because Ayittey had not been in court for some time to instruct her counsel to cross-examine Agbodo, after he had given his evidence-in-chief.
Mr Justice Amonoo-Monney said the Court would then have the chance to listen to addresses from Mr Osafo Sampong, Director of Public Prosecutions and Mr Lamptey.