Prosecution to provide Dr. Opuni with documents it intends to rely on at the trial

The Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame has said that the State is willing to provide Dr. Stephen Opuni, with all the relevant documents it intends to rely on to prosecute him.

This was after the 1^st Accused, Dr. Opuni made an application in court for the Prosecution to provide him with copies of documents they tend to rely on.

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The following are the documents that the applicant wishes to obtain from the Prosecution.

1. All witness statements of 2^nd and 3^rd  Accused
2. All witness statements of Prosecution witnesses to be called at the trial
3. All witness statements of persons obtained by Prosecution who would not be called at the trial.
4. All letters written by COCOBOD through 1^st Accused to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) for permission to sole source contracts for all fertilizers.
5. All letters written by PPA in connection with Lithovit Foliar Fertilizers during tenure of 1^st Accused with COCOBOD.
6. All correspondence from the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) to the Chief Executive of COCOBOD in connection with Lithovit Foliar Fertilizer before, during and after the tenure of 1^st Accused as Chief Executive of COCOBOD
7. All certificates issued by CRIG for all Fertilizers including Lithovit Foliar Fertilizer from 2008 till March 2018 as well as renewals of all such certificates.
8. All contracts for Fertilizers entered into by COCOBOD from January 2008 to March 2018
9. The directive(s) of 1^st Accused issued to CRIG instructing it to reduce and or shorten the time for testing of Lithovit Foliar Fertilizer
10. All contracts executed between COCOBOD and 3^rd Accused for Lithovit Foliar Fertilizer.
11. All reports issued by CRIG on the effect of all Fertilizers including Lithovit Foliar Fertilizer after use from 2008 to 2017.
12. The 2 (two) test results issued by Ghana Standard Authority for Lithovit Foliar Fertilizers.
13. All proceedings, together with the findings, of the investigative body set up by COCOBOD in connection with Lithovit Foliar fertilizer.

Counsel for the 1^st Accused, Mr. Samuel Cudjoe, relied on Article 19 clause 2 (e) and (g).

According to the Prosecution some of the documents being requested for by the 1^st  Accused person that date as far back as 2008 were irrelevant to the trial and to the defence, since the 1^st Accused person was made Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD in 2013.

According to the presiding judge, His Lordship, Mr. C. J. Hoenyenuga, the application paved way for the interpretation of the above mentioned article, which lies solely on the bosom of the Supreme Court.

The judge said that he was not going to rule on the application, neither was he going to refer it to the Supreme Court, since the interpretation of the same Article and clauses were before the Supreme Court in another matter.

He adjourned the case to 30^th April, 2018, hoping that by that time, the Supreme Court would have given its interpretation.

Dr. Stephen Opuni, former CEO of COCOBOD, has been arraigned before an Accra High Court in various financial crime charges.

Source: Ghanajustice/F.Kyeremanteng