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January 31, 1968
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
JUDGMENT OF ANTERKYI J.
The accused is being tried before me on two charges as follows:
"First Count
STATEMENT OF OFFENCE
Conspiracy to deliberately dissipate public property, contrary to section 23 (1) of the Criminal Code, 1960 (Act 29), and section 2 (a) of the Public Property (Protection) and Corrupt Practices (Prevention) Act, 1962 (Act 121).
PARTICULARS OF OFFENCE
Theodore Oboo Asare, between the months of April 1965 and August 1965 at Accra in the Eastern Region of Ghana and in diverse places outside Ghana, acted together with Marwan Mahmoud Koreh, Nachaat Mouhamed Kabbara, D. E. Bilimoria, K. T. B. Menon and other persons unknown, with a common purpose in committing a crime, namely, that the said Theodore Oboo Asare should deliberately dissipate public property to wit N¢522,480.04 (£G261,240 0s. 5d.) the property of the Ghana Commercial Bank, a statutory corporation, by knowingly entering into an unprofitable business transaction on behalf of the said Ghana Commercial Bank with the aforesaid other persons and the United Arabian Corporation.
Second Count
STATEMENT OF OFFENCE
Deliberate dissipation of public property, contrary to section 2 (a) of the Public Property (Protection) and Corrupt Practices (Prevention) Act, 1962 (Act 121).
PARTICULARS OF OFFENCE
Theodore Oboo Asare, between the months of April 1965 and August 1965 deliberately dissipated public property to wit N¢522,480.04 (£G261,240 0s. 5d.) the property of Ghana Commercial Bank a statutory corporation, by knowingly entering into an unprofitable business transaction on behalf of the said Ghana Commercial Bank with K. T. B. Menon, Nachaat Mouhamed Kabbara, Marwan Mahmoud Koreh, D. E. Bilimoria, United Arabian Corporation and others unknown."
[p.97]
When the accused first appeared on 20 October 1967, it being represented to me that the prosecution intended the trial to be summary, I questioned the validity of such a procedure, as by the Schedule to Act 121, pursuant to the penalty sectionsection 8 (1) every person charged with an offence under section 2 of the Act, as in this case, is liable to be sentenced to "imprisonment for a term not less than ten years and not exceeding fifteen years with productive hard labour."
My attention was then called by the Director of Public Prosecutions to the General Provisions as to procedure in Part I, sections 1 and 2 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1960 (Act 30), with regard to summary trials and trials on indictment, and, particularly
AI Generated Summary
Justice Anterkyi presided over a High Court proceeding where Theodore Oboo Asare faced two chargesconspiracy and deliberate dissipation of public propertyarising under Act 121 and Act 29. The allegations concerned the dissipation of N a2522,480.04 ( a3G261,240 0s. 5d.), property of the Ghana Commercial Bank, between April and August 1965. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Taylor, urged a summary trial, while defense counsel, Dr. de Graft Johnson, challenged the legality of summary procedure. Examining the Criminal Procedure Code (Act 30), the Public Property Act (Act 121), and the Interpretation Act (C.A. 4), Anterkyi J concluded that offences under section 2 of Act 121 must be tried on indictment and that section 44 mandates that criminal cases be initiated in a District Court before committal to the High Court. The court rejected arguments of consent and inconvenience and found that indictable procedures persist despite the repeal of section 7 and abolition of the Special Criminal Division. Proceedings were stayed for want of jurisdiction, with leave for appropriate measures.