Tsatsu Tsikata Ends 10-day Cross Examination

Lead Counsel for the third respondent, Tsatsu Tsikata has concluded, albeit temporarily, his ten day-long cross examination of star witness of the petitioners, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. Over the ten day period, Dr Bawumia's credibility as a witness has been questioned on several occasions with Tsatsu Tsikata quizzing him about duplicate, triplicate and quadruplicate pink sheets and attempts by the petitioners to deceive the court. The line of questioning adopted by Tsatsu Tsikata has come under much scrutiny over the period of the cross examination with the judges ruling on Wednesday for him to discontinue his mode of cross examination. Mr. Tsikata was seeking to question Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on some a document he has tendered in as evidence to buttress his argument that petitioners acted in bad faith in challenging the results of the 2012 elections. According to the court, in situations where the questions posed by lead Counsel for the third respondent have already been "ploughed", there was no need to drag it further. One of the major Highlights on Wednesday was the posture of the judges who on several occasions, called for the lead counsels for both the petitioners and respondents to order in dramatic fashion. While at one point calling for lawyer Philip Addison to take his seat and respect the rules of the court, they also instructed, on several occasions, Tsatsu Tsikata to move on with his questions because they had already been addressed.