2023: Court cases in retrospect
The courts were busy in 2023 with several cases with different legs at their disposal for determination.
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The year was also an eventful one for the judicial arm of government as the President made new appointments to replace retired Justices of the Supreme Court with Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah passing the baton to Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo.
The public also witnessed some new courts built closer to them in a bid to bring justice delivery to their doorsteps.
By this review, the Daily Graphic seeks to highlight some of the major cases that made the headlines in 2023.
Side Chick case
The public woke up to a leaked writ about a former national service person of a bank, dragging the bank’s Chief Financial Officer, and the bank to court over sexual harrasment claims and failed promises.
The plaintiff alleged that Ernest Kwasi Nimako, whom she referred to as her "sugar daddy", made several promises to her.
According to the plaintiff, Nimako agreed to buy her a car, pay for her accommodation for three years, provide a monthly stipend of GH¢3,000, marry her after divorcing his wife and offer a lump sum to start a business.
The plaintiff claimed that although the car was initially registered in Nimako's name, he later took it back, depriving her of its use after just a year.
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Additionally, she asserted that Nimako paid for only one year of accommodation, despite promising to cover three years.
But the bank where Nimako works filed an application for the court to dismiss the case against it.
The case was subsequently dismissed.
Gyakye Quayson
What started as an electoral dispute determined by the High Court in 2021 found its way to the doorsteps of the Supreme Court as a constitutional matter for interpretation.
After getting the Cape Coast High Court to nullify Mr Gyakye Quayson’s election as Member of Parliament for Assin North on the basis that the MP held Canadian citizenship at the time he filed to contest the seat, Mr Ankomah-Nimfah went to the Supreme Court for interpretation of Article 94 (2) (a).
In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the election of Mr Quayson as an MP for Assin North in the Central Region.
A seven-member panel of the apex court further ordered Parliament to expunge the name of Mr Quayson as MP.
That was after it determined that Mr Quayson breached Article 94(2) (a) of the 1992 Constitution because at the time he filed to contest the elections, he was not qualified to be elected as a legislator since he had not renounced his dual citizenship.
The seven-member panel of the court was presided over by Justice Jones Dotse, with Justices Nene Amegatcher, Mariama Owusu, Gertrude Torkornoo, Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi and Barbara Ackah-Ayensu.
Ato Essien
In October, the Accra High Court imposed a 15-year jail term on the founder of the defunct Capital Bank, William Ato Essien, for stealing over GH₵90 million belonging to the bank.
That was after Essien, who was convicted in December 2022 for stealing the money belonging to the Capital Bank, failed to honour an agreement between him and the Attorney-General (A-G) for him (Essien) to pay the GH₵90 million as restitution to the state.
The agreement was pursuant to Section 35 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459), which allows accused persons standing trial for causing financial loss to the state to pay the money and possibly avoid a custodial sentence.
Essien paid GH₵30 million of the amount on December 1, 2022, and per the agreement as adopted by the court, was ordered to pay the remaining GH₵60 million in three instalments with the first instalment on or before April 28, 2023, the second on or before August 31, 2023, and the last instalment on or before December 15, 2023.
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However, Justice Kyei Baffour at the time of imposing the custodial sentence, said Essien had paid only GH₵7 million out of a possible GH¢40 million, missing the deadlines for April 28 and August 31 this year, bringing the total paid to GH₵37 million of the total GH₵90 million.
Afoko
In April 2023, Asabke Alangdi, the man accused of conspiring with Gregory Afoko in 2015 to kill Adams Mahama, a former Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), was sentenced to death by hanging by the Accra High Court.
That was after a seven-member jury unanimously found him guilty of conspiracy to commit murder.
Afoko on the other hand, was to be retried after the jury returned a 4-3 verdict of not guilty on the charges of conspiracy to commit murder and murder.
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Asabke is currently standing trial again on the charge of murder alongside Afoko.
Fresh trial for NAM 1
After more than 36 appearances without a trial over three years and 11 months by embattled Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Menzgold Ghana Company Limited, Nana Appiah Mensah, popularly known as NAM 1 at the Circuit Court, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice filed 39 counts of fresh criminal charges at the High Court against the accused.
In the new charge sheet filed at the High Court in Accra, NAM 1, together with Menzgold Ghana Company Limited (MGCL) and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited, was charged with a string of charges, including selling gold without a licence, operating deposit-taking institution without a licence, inducement to invest and defrauding by false pretence, fraudulent breach of trust and money laundering.
According to the A-G’s facts, the accused persons, under false pretences, took over GH¢1.68 billion from their customers and have since not recovered the money.
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Aisha Huang
On December 4, 2023, Galamsey kingpin, En Huang, also known as Aisha Huang, was jailed four-and-a-half years for engaging in illegal mining by the Accra High Court.
That was after she was found guilty of undertaking a mining operation without a licence, facilitating the participation of persons engaged in a mining operation, and illegal employment of foreigners.
The jail term was in respect of offences she committed between 2015 and 2017 before she was first deported in 2018 following the Attorney-General’s decision to discontinue the case.
In addition to the custodial sentence, Huang was also fined GH¢48,000.
She is to be deported after serving her jail term and paying the fine imposed by the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court after finding her guilty of undertaking a mining operation without a licence, facilitating the participation of persons engaged in a mining operation and illegal employment of foreigners.
Cecilia Dapaah
At the Circuit Court in Accra, two house helps working for Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, and her husband, Mr Daniel Osei Kuffour were arraigned for allegedly stealing monies and items worth millions of cedis from the couple's residence at Abelenkpe in Accra.
The accused individuals, 18-year-old Patience Botwe and 30-year-old Sarah Agyei have been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of stealing.
The alleged thefts occurred between July and October 2022.
During this period, the house helps allegedly stole personal effects belonging to Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, including assorted clothes valued at GH¢95,000, handbags, perfumes, and jewellery worth US$95,000.
Additionally, Ms Botwe is accused of stealing six pieces of Kente cloth worth GH¢90,000 and six sets of men's suits valued at US$3,000, which belong to the minister's husband.
In November last year, state prosecutors withdrew the charges against the seven accused persons in the case at the High Court.
The seven — Patience Botwe, Sarah Agyei, Benjamin Sowah, Malik Dauda, Christiana Achab, Job Pomary, and Yahaya Sumaila — were set free by the circuit court where they were facing various charges of conspiracy, stealing, dishonestly receiving and money laundering.
72, 000 acre lands
The Supreme Court has clarified that the Numo Nmashie Family of Teshie cannot hold themselves as owners of 70 villages, which occupied over 72,000 acres of land.
In its latest clarification, a five-member panel of the apex court presided over by the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, affirmed that the Numo Nmashie Family of Teshie could not claim ownership of the land because a Court of Appeal’s decision in 1982 which declared them owners of the piece of land was based on fraudulent information presented to the court.
The court, therefore, directed the Lands Commission to expunge all registration and certificates issued to the Numo Nmashie Family of Teshie and the Tetteh Olewolon Family, in respect of the 72,000 acres of land.