Court orders Ali-Gabass to open defence

Sulley Ali-Gabass, the embattled medical doctor who is standing trial for allegedly sodomising a 16-year-old student, is to open his defence on May 13, 2015.

This followed the failure of his lawyers to convince the Gender-based Circuit Court which dismissed an earlier submission of ‘no case’ made at its sitting in Accra yesterday. 

In its ruling, the court, presided over by Mrs Rita Agyemang-Budu, said the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the accused and so he should be compelled to open his defence.

Lawyers for the accused, however, indicated that they would file for a stay of execution of the court’s ruling and appeal against it.

They had asserted at the last hearing that the accused, a gynaecologist of the Effia Nkwanta Hospital in Sekondi had not been implicated in the charges preferred against him.

The prosecution, they said, had failed to provide any circumstantial evidence, adding that there were contradictions in the charges preferred against the accused.

They, therefore, prayed the court to dismiss the prosecution’s claim and discharge the medical doctor of the alleged sodomy charges.

Prosecution

However, the prosecution opposed the defence team’s application and prayed the court not to grant the request.

So far, five witnesses have testified in the trial.

They include the alleged victim; the journalist who broke the news, Manasseh Awuni Azure; the medical doctor who examined the victim, Dr Nii Aryee; a surgeon at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and the victim’s father.

Background 

According to the facts of the case, the alleged  victim is a student residing at Kasoa, while Ali-Gabass is a medical practitioner at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital.

In September 2013, the alleged victim encountered Ali-Gabass on Facebook and they became friends.

“They exchanged ideas online and communicated by phone for a while until October 2013 when Ali-Gabass arranged and met the alleged victim at the Kasoa New Market area where he forcibly had anal sex with the victim in his car,” the prosecution claimed.

It said about 7 p.m. on December 28, 2013, the two met again at the same venue where Ali-Gabass was alleged to have had anal sex with the alleged victim, after which he offered the boy a Samsung Galaxy mobile phone and GH¢20.

After the second sexual act, it said, the victim became ill and Ali-Gabass allegedly prescribed paracetamol tablets for him.

“The act was repeated at the same venue in February 2014,” it said.

According to the prosecution, in March and April 2014, Ali-Gabass lured the boy to his house at Alajo in Accra where he allegedly had another bout of anal sex with him.

“After the fifth incident, the victim started experiencing excruciating pains and complained to Ali-Gabass to give him money to attend hospital but he refused.

“Rather, he threatened the victim persistently via phone calls and managed to put fear in him from disclosing his ordeal,” the prosecution further claimed.