Supreme Court delay kept prosecutors from Adu-Boahene trial, AG says

Ghana’s Attorney General’s Office has denied deliberately staying away from the trial of former National Signals Bureau Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene after prosecutors failed to appear in court on Wednesday.

The office said a separate hearing at the Supreme Court ran more than two hours later than anticipated, preventing the Deputy Attorney General from attending proceedings at the High Court.

The High Court subsequently adjourned the case to Tuesday, 8 September, when the defence is expected to complete its cross-examination of a prosecution witness.

Benjamin Alpha Aidoo, press secretary to the Attorney General, rejected suggestions that the prosecution had abandoned its case, describing that portrayal as “mischievous”.

He said the prosecution remained committed to ensuring a fair and expeditious trial.

According to Mr Aidoo, defence lawyer Samuel Atta Akyea requested an additional day to complete his cross-examination during proceedings on Tuesday, September 1.

Mr Atta Akyea and the Deputy Attorney General then agreed that the final session would take place the following day.

However, the Deputy Attorney General was also scheduled to appear at the Supreme Court at 09:00 in connection with a review application filed by former Education Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.

The prosecution asked the High Court to begin the Adu-Boahene proceedings at 11:30, expecting the Supreme Court hearing to end before then.

The Attorney General’s Office said the Supreme Court instead began sitting at 10:00 and concluded at 13:20.

By that time, the High Court had adjourned the Adu-Boahene case after the prosecution team failed to appear.

Mr Aidoo said the Deputy Attorney General had personally agreed to the High Court’s time because he expected the Supreme Court proceedings to end by 11:00.

He added that it was not possible to send another prosecutor to represent the state at short notice because the office’s other lawyers were already committed to their respective schedules.

“The Prosecution is fully committed to closing its case as early as the Court’s timelines allow and will be in Court on Tuesday for the final day of cross-examination,” Mr Aidoo said.

The case involves Mr Adu-Boahene, his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, and two other accused persons.

They are facing charges connected to the alleged diversion of public funds during the procurement of cybersecurity software. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Mr Adu-Boahene has pleaded not guilty.

The supplied material does not include the defence counsel’s full comments about the prosecution’s absence or indicate whether the court issued any criticism or sanction against the Attorney General’s Office.

Proceedings are expected to resume on September 8 for the completion of cross-examination.