News
Most of the evidence came from their defence — Deputy Attorney-General rejects NPP’s political persecution claims in Wontumi Case
Deputy Attorney-General, Justice Srem-Sai has dismissed claims by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that the conviction of its Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, was politically motivated.
Speaking on TV3 yesterday, Dr. Srem-Sai described the party’s claims as “shocking,” insisting that the evidence relied upon by the court largely came from Chairman Wontumi’s own defence.
According to him, the judge’s decision was based on evidence presented by defence witnesses, statements made by the accused person, and his police statements.
“Most of the evidence that the judgment relied on came from their defence,” Dr. Srem-Sai stated.
He explained that the materials presented by the defence formed the basis for the court’s conclusions, making it difficult to support claims that the conviction amounted to political persecution.
Dr. Srem-Sai argued that the NPP’s reaction was political rather than legal.
He noted that the party held a press conference and described the conviction as political persecution before members had even obtained a copy of the judgment.
According to him, it was unlikely the party would withdraw its earlier position after reading the judgment.
“They had not even seen the judgment when they made those claims. Now that they have seen it, they are unlikely to come back and admit they were wrong,” he said.
Dr. Srem-Sai further stated that, so far, no one has identified any specific part of the judgment that demonstrates a serious legal error.
He maintained that the conviction was based on the evidence before the court and not on political considerations.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Management and staff of Owass FM have announced the passing of media personality, comedian and politician Seth Kwame Dzokoto following a medical emergency during a live morning show discussion at the station earlier today.
According to the station, Dzokoto was participating in a panel discussion on its morning show “Oman Nkoso” when he suddenly took ill and collapsed.
A statement from the station said its team immediately rushed him to the hospital for medical attention, but he was pronounced dead by the attending medical doctor upon arrival.
“We are deeply saddened by this unfortunate incident, which occurred in the course of our regular programming. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, loved ones, colleagues, and all those who have been affected by his passing,” the statement said.
Management acknowledged that information about the incident is already circulating in the public domain, but appealed to the public and colleague media houses to respect the privacy of the bereaved family and refrain from circulating unverified information or speculation regarding the circumstances of his death.
Owass FM extended its heartfelt condolences to the family of Seth Kwame Dzokoto.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The State through the Attorney General (AG) has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court challenging the suspension of the trial in the case of The Republic v Hanan Aludiba and Faiza Seidu.
On Monday, the Court of Appeal suspended the trial in the case. But the prosecution says it has filed an appeal against the suspension order.
According to the update, the law does not allow a criminal trial to be suspended simply because an accused person has complained about some of the charges on the charge sheet, particularly when those complaints were dismissed as meritless.
It argues that if the Court of Appeal’s decision is allowed to stand, no prosecution will ever be possible, since all it would take for a trial to be suspended is an accused person complaining about anything on the charge sheet.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
