July 29, 2010
Prosecution Of Wereko-Brobby, Mpiani - Court Rules August 10

The Accra Fast Track High Court has fixed August 10, 2010 to rule on whether or not the prosecution of the former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana@50 Secretariat, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, and the former Chief of Staff and Chairman of the National Planning Committee (NPC) of the Ghana@50 celebrations, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, should be struck out.

That followed the conclusion yesterday of submissions by both defence and prosecution counsels on applications by counsel for the accused persons urging the court to strike out the criminal proceedings against the two.

However, the date will be subject to approval by the Chief Justice to permit the judge to sit as a vacation judge.

Defence counsel described the trial as unconstitutional because the court lacked jurisdiction in the matter, which followed the release of the government’s White Paper on the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the activities of the Ghana@50 Secretariat and celebrations and recommended their prosecution.

According to counsel, the Constitution made the findings of the inquiry a judgement of the court, for which reason the court could not sit over its own judgement.

The accused persons have pleaded not guilty to four counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state and have each been admitted to a GH¢35 million self-recognisance bail.

However, the prosecution thought otherwise and argued, among others, that the trial of the accused persons was lawful and consistent with the Constitution.

Mr Anthony Gyambiby, a Chief State Attorney, told the court that the arraignment of the accused persons did not amount to incarceration without offering them the opportunity to a fair hearing, as provided for under the Constitution.

He said the accused persons would be afforded the opportunity to a fair hearing so that at the end of the prosecution's case if the court realised that no case had been made against them, it would so decide.

"They are not going through a kangaroo trial and be sentenced," he said, and added that the provision in Article 280 (5) destroyed the arguments of the defence.

According to Mr Gyambiby, that provision had a proviso that before the finding of a commission of inquiry became a judgement of the court, six months must elapse after the finding was released and announced to the public.

He said within that period, the Attorney-General was mandated to take the action she had taken to prosecute the accused persons.

Counsel said once the Attorney-General operated within the tenets of the law, she was not restrained from exercising her constitutional duties and that the court had jurisdiction in the matter.

Mr Gyambiby argued that there was no law which stipulated that when a person appeared before a commission of inquiry, he could not be prosecuted while he waited to take advantage of his right of appeal.

He further argued that the accused persons appeared before the commission of inquiry not as ordinary witnesses, as had been argued by the defence, but rather in a different stead, for which reason the immunity applicable to witnesses did not avail to them.

The state attorney described the application as frivolous, vexatious and without merit and also an attempt to frustrate the trial and for that reason same should be dismissed.

On May 26, 2010, the High Court judge designated by the Chief Justice to hear the case involving the two accused persons excused himself from the trial.

Mr Justice Charles Quist explained that his spouse, who is a lawyer by profession, had once worked under Dr Wereko-Brobby when he was the Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority (VALCO).

The Chief Justice, accordingly, appointed an Appeal Court judge, Mr Justice Samuel Marful-Sau, to sit on the case as an additional High Court judge.

The two were first put before Mr Justice Marful-Sau on April 22, 2010 before Mr Justice Quist was appointed.

The facts of the case are that Parliament had approved $31.80 million, equivalent to GH¢29.31 million, for the celebration of Ghana@50 from January to December 2007 and the holding of the African Union Summit.

According to the prosecution, the amount was made up of a first tranche of GH¢18.29 million, which was approved by Parliament on July 20, 2006, and a second tranche, which was a loan of $11.80 million, equivalent to GH¢11.02 million, contracted from the Fidelity Bank and approved by Parliament.

It said aside from those sums approved by Parliament, “huge sums of money appeared to have been spent on the celebrations”, adding that more than a year after the celebrations, many projects remained uncompleted and the government was saddled with huge debts.

It further stated that it was against that background that the Commission of Inquiry was set up by President John Evans Atta Mills to inquire into the activities of the Ghana@50 Secretariat and the entire celebration.

The commission found out that although Parliament had approved GH¢29.31 million for the celebration, GH¢97,776,338.44 had been spent on it, out of which GH¢75,569,563.34 had directly been spent by the secretariat and the NPC.

“The secretariat and the NPC, therefore, spent an amount of GH¢46,999,563 in excess of the amount of money approved by Parliament for the celebration,” it said.

The prosecution further stated that the commission also found that contrary to articles 176 and 178 of the 1992 Constitution, the NPC and the secretariat used all the internally generated funds, totalling GH¢19,352,498.00, without any approval from Parliament.

Source: Daily Graphic