The Deputy Attorney-General (A-G) and Minister for Justice, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, has referred to an application filed by lawyers for the embattled Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North Constituency, James Gyakye Quayson, to stay proceeding of an Accra High Court as nothing but mere time wasting antics.
According to him, the application lacked merit, and a reason the defence team had lost almost all of the motions filed.
Speaking in an interview with journalists yesterday after a court session, he said: “All the processes they have filed, they have lost, why, because they are not in court to talk law, but to talk sentiment.”
He added that the defence team’s deployment of soft history was not meant for the court, saying, “if you want to put up the intelligent… or whatever… but you must stick to the law and that is what we have been doing.”
Mr. Tuah-Yeboah argued that it was not true that the Legislator was being dragged to court on a daily-basis, as a means to deny him the opportunity to fully represent the people of Assin North.
He stated that the Lawmaker would be attending court only twice this week, hence, it was not falling in place for anyone to assume that his time had been taken away from him, and that was why he had not been able to be going to Parliament.
The Deputy Attorney-General noted that Mr. Quayson, who is standing trial for forgery and perjury, was in court on Wednesday and would be doing the same on Friday.
On the issue of disclosure, Mr. Tuah-Yeboah indicated: “We have given them every bit… every single document that we have; we have given it to them to the extent of coming to our office to inspect the original file.
“We gave the documents to them. You (defence) inspect the document and take whatever you need. Unless they have the document and they will give it to us, otherwise we don’t understand why they keep talking about disclosures. It is what you have that you disclose, and not what you don’t have”
Abraham Amaliba, Director of Legal Affairs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), rebutted that the accused did not believe he was getting a fair trial, although he was satisfied with the war his lawyers were waging against the prosecution.
Mr. Amaliba stressed that: “He (accused) knows that his lawyers are doing all that they can to give him representation, which is of qualitative effect.
“As to what the judges do, we leave it to the judges and to the good people of Ghana. But I can tell you that he (accused) is more than satisfied with the work of his lawyers.”
The ND C Legal Director contended that the accused believed he was not getting a fair trial, because he thought that his hands had been tied at the back and he thrown into the boxing ring.
He explained that the trial had commenced while the defence team had not had the benefit of full disclosure.
Mr. Amaliba also stated that it was wrong for the MP to be compelled to attend court on a day-to-day-basis, as it was of a grave concern to the good people of Ghana.
He said: “Coming to court everyday must be a concern to the good people of Ghana. Here is a man who has been voted by the good people of Ghana to represent his people, yet the Attorney-General thinks that this man should be spending his time in court, and not representing his people.
“Clearly, you can see a calculated attempt by the State to ensure that the good people of Assin North are not represented.”
The lead counsel for Quayson, Justin Teriwajah, filed an application for stay to enable them seek an interpretation of Article 19 of the 1992 Constitution from the Supreme Court.
He said a person charged with a criminal offence shall be given a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court, but Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame disagreed.
The A-G stated that the Article was clear, and it was the lawyers of the accused who were placing an absurd meaning on a clear provision.
The court, presided over by Justice Mary Yanzuh, dismissed the application for lack of merit.
