Prosecution witness to court: EC cleared Quayson to contest 2020 election
The first prosecution witness in the perjury and forgery trial of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin-North has told the High Court in Accra that Quayson was cleared to contest the 2020 Assin North parliamentary election based on what he told the Electoral Commission (EC).
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Richard Takyi Mensah mounted the witness box on Tuesday (July 18) after the court presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh dismissed a prayer by James Gyakye Quayson’s lawyers to put the trial on hold.
Mensah who was being crossed examined by Quayson’s lead counsel, Tsatsu Tsikata, told the trial court that the EC investigated allegations that the MP owed allegiance to a different country following a petition.
But counsel for the accused asked the witness his source of information confirming that Quayson was cleared to contest the election based on what he had told the commission.
“If my memory serves me right I think I read the report on the internet and also as stated earlier, some of the processes in the civil case were served to the petitioner through me,” the witness told the court.
Mr Tsikata further suggested to the witness that he was not in the position to state the basis for EC’s clearance but the witness insisted that he read exactly that from the internet.
Language
The language in which the witness gave his statement to the police also became a focus of Mr Tsikata’s cross-examination.
Counsel asked the witness whether his statement was given to the police in English and Mr Mensah affirmed same to be true.
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However, the statement, which was read in open court by the witness read: “Complainant (Mensah) states in Twi language and being recorded in English”.
Mr Tsikata further asked the witness why he had initially told the court that it was not true that he gave his statement to the police in Twi.
In his response, Mr Mensah said in the course of the narration to the police, “It could have been that he inadvertently switched to local language”.
The case has been adjourned to July 19, 2023 for further cross-examination.
Charges
Mr Quayson is facing charges of forgery and perjury in relation to certain alleged offences in the run up to the 2020 Assin North parliamentary election.
He has pleaded not guilty to five counts of forgery of passport or travel certificate, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury and false declaration for office.
It is the case of the prosecution that Mr Quayson allegedly made a false statement to the Passport Office that he did not hold a passport to another country when he applied for a Ghanaian Passport.
In addition, the prosecution has accused Mr Quayson of making a false declaration to the Electoral Commission (EC) to the effect that he (Quayson) did not owe any allegiance to a foreign country when he filed to contest as candidate for the Assin North seat.