Former Attorney-General and lead counsel for former National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) Chief Executive Officer Hanan Abdul-Hamid, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has rejected any attempt to compel his client to continue his trial during the legal vacation without legal representation.
Mr Dame argued that forcing an accused person to conduct proceedings without a lawyer of his choice would violate a fundamental constitutional right and could set a dangerous precedent for Ghana’s justice system.
His comments follow a recent directive by Justice Francis Apangabonu Achibonga, a Court of Appeal judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, in the trial of former National Signals Bureau (NSB) Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene and his wife, Angela Adjei Boateng.
The court directed the couple to ensure that their lawyers are present when the case resumes on August 17. It warned that should they appear without legal representation, they could be required to personally continue the cross-examination of the fourth prosecution witness.
The court further indicated that failure to conduct the cross-examination themselves could result in the witness being discharged.
Speaking to journalists after Monday’s proceedings, Mr Dame said he did not expect the same situation to arise in his client’s case because the next hearing was expected to focus on an application seeking to halt proceedings pending the determination of a motion before the Court of Appeal.
“I have my doubts that that will happen because next week, what is for consideration is whether the stipulations we have filed at the Court of Appeal should hold the hands of the court,” he said.
Mr Dame, however, maintained his position that he would not participate in proceedings during the legal vacation.
“In any event, I’m saying that there cannot be a trial in the vacation. If the court indeed wants to order my client to conduct the case by himself, so be it,” he stated.
The former Attorney-General insisted that an accused person has a constitutional right to legal representation and that the right could not be taken away by a court order.
“We’ll see the kind of dangerous precedent that would set in this country. A party has a right to legal representation, to counsel of his choice, and that right is constitutional. It cannot be taken away from a person just by the stroke of the pen of any person,” he added.
Mr Dame has repeatedly challenged the decision to hear the case during the legal vacation, arguing that criminal proceedings should only be conducted during the period under exceptional circumstances.
He has also questioned the urgency of the case, maintaining that there is no emergency that warrants proceeding with the trial during the vacation.
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