A Cape Coast circuit court, presided over by Kofi Amatewee, on Wednesday freed the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Hemang-Lower-Denkyira (HLD) Constituency of the Central Region, Bright Wireko-Brobby and 17 other people.
Mr Wireko-Brobby and three others namely, Kweku Nsowah, Felix Kwame Quainoo and Ernest Odei Larbi, were accused of allegedly stealing 1,201 bags of cocoa fertilizer at the Twifo Praso office of Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) estimated at GH¢201,287.60, while 14 others were also charged for dishonestly receiving the said bags of fertilizer.
The case, which had been pending before the court for about a year, has heightened political tension in the area – a situation which compelled the paramount chief of Hemang to call on President John Dramani Mahama to step in immediately to avert political violence in the area.
Drama unfolded at the court when the chief state attorney, John Ofori Tulasi, who pleaded with the court on July 20 to adjourn the case to August 3, 2016 – as his outfit was expecting fresh evidence from the Central Regional Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service and study it to advise the court on the issue – could not produce any fresh evidence.
Mr Ofori stormed the courtroom and pleaded again for adjournment saying the evidence was yet to be received – a statement which infuriated the lawyer for the accused persons, Mr Michael Arthur Dadzie.
Mr Arthur Dadzie, who looked very dissatisfied about the continued adjournment of the case, appealed to the court not to accept any more adjournment from the AG, adding that the accused persons are farmers and other workers who could not waste any more time on the case.
According to the lawyer, the AG and the regional CID did not have any case to stand on to prosecute the accused persons hence, their refusal to submit a fiat against them (accused persons) at the last adjourned date.
Mr Amatewee, upon submissions by Mr Ofori and Mr Arthur Dadzie, therefore freed the accused persons.
A copy of the fiat intercepted by DAILY GUIDE indicateD that there was nothing in the docket to show that Mr Wireko-Brobby stole or conspired with any of the accused to steal fertilizer.
The fiat further stated that there was no evidence which showed that the accused dishonestly appropriated bags of fertilizer.
The fiat added that after carefully perusing the docket it was their opinion that charges of conspiracy to steal and stealing could not be sustained against any of the accused persons and did not recommend their prosecution.
In the earlier presentation, the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Amoako, said Mr Wireko-Brobby, who contested as parliamentary candidate on the ticket of the NPP in the June 13, 2015 primary for the HLD Constituency, was charged with conspiring with Felix Kwame Quainoo, Twifo Praso District cocoa officer, in getting access to the said fertilizer. He said after securing the bags of the item, the parliamentary candidate distributed them to the other accused persons who are farmers and polling station executives of the party, to aid his chance of winning the primary.
The prosecutor stated that the District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area, Francis Korankye Sekyi, upon hearing the information, reported the matter to the police.
Prosecution added that on June 12, 2015, the police had information that Mr Wireko-Brobby was distributing government’s free cocoa feed fertilizer meant for cocoa farmers in the area, to some NPP polling station executives to induce them to vote for him during the NPP parliamentary primary.
DAILY GUIDE observed that some members of the NPP in the constituency who accompanied the parliamentary candidate and the others to the court, started jubilating immediately after the accused persons had been freed.
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