The lead counsel for former National Signals Bureau boss Kwabena Adu-Boahene and his wife, Angela Adjei Boateng, has defended skipping Tuesday’s court sitting, insisting his absence was a deliberate stand rooted in what he believes the legal vacation is meant for, and not an attempt to dodge the trial.
Speaking to TV3, Samuel Atta Akyea argued that the vacation period was never designed for demanding trials, especially high-profile criminal cases, but rather to give lawyers time to rest.
“We are in the legal vacation, and if you pay regard to the history of legal vacation, it is very obvious that they are not intended for substantial cases before the court like hard-heard criminal cases.
“They are intended that the lawyers should rest and where there are emergencies, some consequential motions that should have the attention of the Judiciary, the vacation Judge will sit and listen to the motions,” he said
He also pointed to how far virtual hearings have come, arguing that lawyers no longer need to appear in person for urgent applications.
“Now, it has even become virtual that you can sit in the comfort of your law firm and move the motion for the Judge to determine one way or the other,” he stated.
Beyond defending his own absence, Atta Akyea questioned why some cases have been singled out to continue during the vacation in the name of speeding up trials. He called it a break from how the courts have always operated, and said he still doesn’t understand the justification for giving certain cases special treatment.
“So, we do not understand why, in the name of expedited trial and ambulance trials, some special courts should sit to deal with some special cases probably to achieve some special ends. We do not understand it,” he said.
He made clear that neither he nor his legal team plan to go along with what he sees as a real shift away from how legal vacations have traditionally worked.
His comments come after the Accra High Court gave Adu-Boahene and his wife six days to show up with their lawyers for the case to continue on August 17, warning that if they fail, they’ll have to personally cross-examine the fourth prosecution witness themselves, or the witness will be discharged.
Justice Francis Apangabonu Achibonga, a Court of Appeal judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, gave the directive on Tuesday, August 11, after Adu-Boahene and his wife turned up in court without their lawyers.
