The High Court in Accra has rejected an application by lead counsel for former National Signals Bureau (NSB) Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene to suspend proceedings pending the Supreme Court’s determination of a review application filed by Ofoase-Ayirebi MP Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.

The ruling means defence lawyer Samuel Atta Akyea must continue cross-examining the prosecution’s fourth witness in the criminal trial involving Mr Adu-Boahene, his wife Angela Adjei-Boateng and two others.

At the court’s sitting on Tuesday, August 25, Mr Atta Akyea asked the court to pause the trial until the Supreme Court determined Mr Oppong Nkrumah’s review application challenging the decision to allow criminal proceedings to continue during the legal vacation.

However, the trial judge, Justice Francis Apangabuno Achibonga, dismissed the request and directed the defence to proceed with the cross-examination.

Mr Atta Akyea subsequently asked for an adjournment to enable him to return home and prepare for the cross-examination, explaining that he had come to court expecting his application to suspend proceedings to be granted.

“My Lord, I didn’t come today prepared, and even I didn’t bring my files,” he told the court.

Justice Achibonga declined the request, stressing that lawyers appearing before the court are expected to be prepared to proceed regardless of what they anticipate from applications they have filed.

The judge acknowledged that Mr Atta Akyea’s table was empty but said that circumstance did not provide sufficient grounds for an adjournment.

“Yes, I can see your table is empty, but I can’t grant you the request. You can just say you have ended the cross-examination and I will adjourn,” Justice Achibonga said.

Mr Atta Akyea subsequently proceeded with the cross-examination.

Earlier adjournment

Tuesday’s ruling follows an earlier decision by the same court on August 17 to adjourn the trial to August 25 pending the Supreme Court’s determination of an interlocutory injunction application.

At the time, Justice Achibonga acknowledged that merely filing an application does not ordinarily amount to a stay of proceedings. However, he said the nature of the Supreme Court application, which specifically sought to prevent the High Court from sitting during the legal vacation, justified waiting for the outcome.

The Supreme Court subsequently dismissed the injunction application on August 21, with Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang sitting as a single judge.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah has since filed a review application at the Supreme Court challenging that decision.

The defence had therefore asked the High Court to once again hold proceedings until the review application was determined.

Cross-examination continues

The dispute over the High Court’s sitting during the legal vacation has interrupted the lengthy cross-examination of Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) investigator Frank Marshall Cromwell, the prosecution’s fourth witness.

During proceedings on July 27, Mr Cromwell maintained that the GH¢49.1 million at the centre of the prosecution’s case originated from a public account operated by the then Bureau of National Communications.

Mr Atta Akyea challenged that assertion, arguing that the account had been opened on the instructions of the National Security Coordinator for operational purposes.

He also questioned whether investigators had adequately taken into account the special operational procedures associated with national security institutions.

Mr Cromwell acknowledged that the National Security Coordinator authorised the opening of the account at Fidelity Bank for operational purposes but maintained that investigations established that it was one of the accounts operated by the Bureau.

The defence also questioned the scope of EOCO’s investigations, with Mr Cromwell acknowledging at an earlier sitting that no identifiable complainant had formally triggered the investigation.

He further admitted that he had not interviewed officials of the national security establishment to determine the operational purpose and context of some of the transactions being investigated.

The prolonged cross-examination has previously drawn concern from the trial judge. By late July, Mr Cromwell had spent about six weeks in the witness box, prompting Justice Achibonga to ask the defence how much longer it intended to question him.

Mr Atta Akyea indicated that several matters remained to be examined.

The court later warned on August 11 that if lawyers representing Mr Adu-Boahene and his wife failed to appear for subsequent proceedings, the accused persons could be required to conduct the remaining cross-examination themselves or the witness could be discharged to allow the trial to proceed.

The case

Mr Adu-Boahene, his wife Angela Adjei-Boateng, Mildred Donkor and Advantage Solutions Limited are standing trial over the alleged misappropriation of GH¢49.1 million linked to the procurement of a cybersecurity system for the state.

They face 11 charges, including conspiracy to commit crime, stealing, using public office for profit, money laundering and causing financial loss to the state.

All the accused persons have denied the allegations.

Cross-examination of the prosecution’s fourth witness is continuing.