Ato Forson accuses judge of bias in his criminal trial; asks her to recuse herself.
Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson wants the judge presiding over his criminal trial to recuse herself for alleged bias.
The former deputy Finance Minister who is standing trial for counts of causing financial loss to the state believes comments made by the judge, Justice Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe while granting his application to summon some witnesses amounts to bias.
His lawyers on June 21, 2023, applied to the court to summon former Health Minister, Alex Segebfia, former Budget Director at the Ministry of Health, Patrick Nimo and former Controller and Accountant General, Seidu Kotomah, who have been facing difficulties in getting their appearance in court to testify even though some have filed their witness statements to testify on his behalf.
On the day of moving the motion, his lawyer Aziz Bamba apologized for not getting the appearance of their second witness Seidu Kotomah as steps were taken to get a witness to appear before the court though fruitless.
The Judge, before allowing for the motion to be moved, cautioned his lawyers that the decision to compel witnesses comes with possible consequences, where an arrest warrant could be issued if the witness does not honour the summons.
His lawyers however moved the motion for the summons, which was subsequently granted.
However, in the application for refusal of the judge sighted by Citi News, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson indicates that the comments were “highly prejudicial, presented in the form of a caution that was premature and lacked any factual basis.”
He argues that failure of a witness to attend to a witness summons does not mean they “must be arrested without an inquiry” but rather the court ought to find out if the absence is “wilful and without any reasonable excuse.”
According to him, the focus of Justice Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe on the possible arrest warrant if the witnesses failed to appear before the court has “unsettled and irritated” the witnesses following media publications on the comments of the judge.
He says the witnesses feel they have been presented as “common criminals and unpatriotic citizens who will wilfully disobey a witness summons issued by the court.”
The Minority Leader further argues that the decision of the trial judge to revise the case completion plan and to make two of his witness testify on the same day amounted to a breach of his rights to fair trial under Article 19 to be given adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence.
Dr. Ato Forson in the application states “the trial judge appears hostile to my case and is rushing to judgment such that it has become clear to me that I would not be given adequate time and facilities to prepare my defence.”
He therefore prays for the judge to stay proceedings and recuse herself from continuing to hear the case further.
Meanwhile, the application which was expected to be moved on July 12 was not moved as the judge revealed that, lawyers of the Minority Leader have also petitioned the Chief Justice to assign the case to a new judge.
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The trial judge has thus adjourned the case to July 27 with the hope that the decision of the Chief Justice will be known by then, which will determine the next steps to be taken. -source; citinewsroom
