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Gyakye Quayson’s trial continues in absentia as judge doubts medical excuse
The High Court in Accra has heard the case involving Assin North Member of Parliament James Gyakye Quayson in his absence.
This follows the failure of the legislator to make himself available in court on Thursday, as directed by the court.
The accused, who is on trial for alleged counts of perjury, was instructed by the court on November 3 to either appear in court or join a virtual link on November 9.
This directive was necessitated by the failure of the accused and his lawyers to make themselves available for proceedings at the last adjourned date.
The Judge, Justice Mary Yankuh, directed that the trial may continue in absentia if the accused, who she believed did not have any reasonable basis to be absent, repeats a similar act.
But on Thursday when the case was called, his lawyers led by Tsatsu Tsikata explained that James Gyakye Quayson was out of the country for medical tests and requisite treatment.
“The accused person is in Canada for medical tests and the requisite treatment arising from those tests,” Tsatsu Tsikata noted in court.
He explained to the court that the accused was preparing for the medical doctors in Canada to provide the court with an update on his medical situation for which the treatment may take 5 months.
He, however, indicated that steps are being taken to get a medical doctor in Ghana to testify to the medical condition of the legislator.
“I am, therefore, asking the court to allow us to contact that doctor in Ghana to make him available to the court to make it clear to the court the medical situation which makes it necessary for the accused to go for medical treatment from specialized doctors,” Tsatsu Tsikata pleaded with the court.
He also notified the court that his client and lawyers were not aware of the November 3 sitting where the order to possibly try the case in his absence was given. He urged the court to review its stance taken on November 3.
But the Judge indicated that there was no evidence before the court confirming the medical condition of the accused; hence, the court will treat it as though he has no medical condition as claimed.
The judge then ordered the trial to continue in his absence under article 19(3b) of the 1992 constitution and asked Tsatsu Tsikata to conclude his cross-examination of prosecution’s witness 1, Richard Takyi, an executive of the NPP in the central region.
Source: Citinewsroom
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
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BY MALIK SULLEMANA
