REPUBLIC v. HIGH COURT (CRIMINAL DIVISION 1), ACCRA

MAJORITY OPINION

PWAMANG JSC:-

My Lords, the applicant before us prays the court to exercise our supervisory jurisdiction and quash by an order of Certiorari, “part of the ruling of the said High Court (Criminal Division 1), Accra dated 7th day of May, 2021 which rejected exhibits 58, 59, 60…74 and 75 from the evidence and for an order of Prohibition to prohibit His Lordship Justice Clemence Jackson Honyenuga (JSC) sitting as an additional High Court Judge from continuing with Case No. CR/158/2018- Republic v Stephen Kwabena Opuni, Seidu Agong, Agricult Ghana Limited.” As grounds for the application, the applicant pleads grievous error of law, breach of the right to be heard and real likelihood of bias.

The brief background to the application is this. At the criminal trial pending in the High Court, Accra, the applicant who used to be the Chief Executive Officer of Cocobod has been charged together with two others on various counts including abetment of defrauding by false pretences and willfully causing financial loss to the state of Ghana in relation to the procurement and supply of Lithovit Foliar Fertilizer from Germany. The fertilizer was for application by farmers on cocoa so as to increase the country’s cocoa output. At the close of the case of the prosecution, the applicant made a submission of no case to answer and in his ruling dismissing that application the trial judge made the impugned orders and findings. Part of the case made by the prosecution against the Accused persons, as captured by the trial judge at pages 17 to 21 of his 89-page ruling, which is Exhibit “EXH OP3” in these present proceeding, was as follows;

“Investigations have revealed that on assumption of office, Stephen Kwabena Opuni 1st Accused person as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COCOBOD, directed, contrary to established policy and practice that the period for testing should be shortened. Additionally, upon the direction of the 1st Accused person no field or laboratory tests were conducted for renewal of certificates for the use of Lithovit Foliar Fertilizer on cocoa during his tenure in office……On the 19th February 2014, the 1st Accused person applied to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) for approval for the 3rd Accused company to be singled sourced to procure 700,000 litres of “Lithovit Fertilizer ‘although conditions for single source procurement had not been satisfied.’…..In the course of investigations, tests conducted revealed variously that the “Lithovit”