The Accra High Court has rejected a request by counsel for former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food and Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, to adjourn his trial to October 19, 2026, pending the determination of a stay of proceedings application before the Court of Appeal.
The court, presided over by Justice Francis Apangabuno Achibonga, held that the mere filing of an application for stay of proceedings at the Court of Appeal did not automatically stay proceedings at the trial court.
The court, however, granted a shorter adjournment on health grounds after both lawyers representing Mr Aludiba and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, submitted medical reports indicating that they had been excused from work.
The case has, therefore, been adjourned to September 29 and 30, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. each day.
Stay application
When the case was called Wednesday (August 26), the Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, opposed the request for the long adjournment.
He said counsel for the first accused, Godfred Yeboah Dame, had earlier indicated that he would not be available for proceedings during the legal vacation and had also indicated that he would be out of the jurisdiction.
Dr Srem-Sai said the medical report subsequently submitted by counsel indicated that he was expected to attend scheduled outpatient appointments, which, according to him, raised questions about his availability within the jurisdiction.
He, therefore, urged the court to take the circumstances into account in deciding whether to grant the adjournment in full, in part or refuse it.
Court’s ruling
In ruling, Justice Achibonga said although counsel for the first accused had previously indicated that he would be unavailable for proceedings and would be out of the jurisdiction, that did not mean that he could not subsequently fall sick.
The judge said he had no reason to doubt the medical report from counsel for the first accused’s Hospital dated August 17, 2026.
He said while the court was not necessarily bound to adjourn a case merely because a medical report had been submitted by a lawyer, it would indulge a lawyer where it was the first such request and the circumstances did not suggest an intention to unduly delay proceedings.
Justice Achibonga said both counsel for the first and second accused persons had, for the first time, sought an adjournment on health grounds.
“I cannot, therefore, say that counsel intends to use their health as a basis to unduly delay the process,” he said.
The judge said the medical report submitted for counsel for the first accused indicated that he had been excused from work for six weeks to enable him to recover completely.
He, however, noted that the report did not indicate when the six-week period would commence.
Court rejects October date
Justice Achibonga also considered a letter dated August 24, 2026, from counsel for the first accused requesting an adjournment until October 19, 2026, in view of a stay of proceedings application pending before the Court of Appeal.
He said he had examined the applicable rules but had not found anything which would enable the High Court to stay proceedings merely because an application for stay had been filed before the Court of Appeal.
The judge said, unlike a stay of execution, the mere filing of an application for stay of proceedings did not automatically stay proceedings at the trial court.
He said granting an adjournment to a date after October 19, 2026, on the basis of the pending application would, in effect, amount to staying the proceedings.
Justice Achibonga, therefore, rejected the request for an adjournment to a date after October 19.
He, however, said he would accommodate the period for which the lawyers had been excused from work on medical grounds.
The case was consequently adjourned to September 29 and 30, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. each day.
Background
The court had on August 25, 2026, adjourned the case after counsel for the two accused persons failed to appear and letters seeking adjournment on health grounds were presented.
The Deputy Attorney-General had then questioned the sufficiency of the medical documentation submitted by the lawyers.
Justice Achibonga directed that the medical report relating to counsel for the first accused be placed on the court’s docket before the court could properly determine the adjournment request.
Mr Aludiba and Mrs Wuni are standing trial on multiple charges in connection with alleged financial impropriety involving the National Food and Buffer Stock Company. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
