The trial of a Pensioner, who allegedly attacked the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, popularly known as Accra Commando, somewhere in December last year will commence on August 8, 2023.
Nii Odoi Kwao II, alias Robert Koomson, 61 and a retired Computer Programmer, allegedly attacked the minister in traffic, at Osu, a suburb of Accra.
The Prosecution, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Evans Kesse, has given indication to the Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Samuel Bright Acquah, that three witnesses would be called.
According to him, the witnesses in the trial will include Minister Henry Quartey, his Dispatch rider and the Investigator in the case.
This was revealed during Case Management Conference (CMC) held yesterday. However, the order by which the witnesses would testify was not disclosed.
The accused has been attending court for some time now, until yesterday’s decision to commence trial next week.
The start of the trial also means Prosecution has filed all the necessary documents to pursue the case to its logical conclusion.
Background
Nii Odoi Kwao II has been charged for causing road obstruction, threat of death, assault on public officer and offensive conduct conducive to the breach of the peace.
The charges arose from the accused alleged act of slapping Mr Henry Quartey in traffic, amid the use of unprintable words, as well as threatening to kill him.
The 61-year old pleaded not guilty to all the charges and is currently on bail.
The Facts
According to the Prosecuting Officer, the Complainant in the case was a police officer stationed at VVIP and attached to the Greater Accra regional minister, as his Dispatch rider, while the accused is a retired Computer Programmer who lives at Osu in Accra.
He said on December 8, 2022 at about 1:10pm, Mr Quartey, together with his security detail were visiting Osu and on reaching a section of the road, he observed that the accused had blocked it with his Kia Bongo car, preventing the Minister and others from accessing the road.
The Court was informed that the Complainant signalled the accused to give him and other road users way, but he refused and retorted that nobody can access the road unless he finishes with what he was doing.
“The action of the accused person created a heavy traffic jam on that stretch of the road. Based on that, the Honourable Minister decided to advise the accused to move his car from the road, but the accused person ignored the Regional Minister,” the court was told.
The accused, according to the prosecution, rather became violent and threatened that if the Regional Minister gets closer to him (Nii Odoi Kwao II) he will kill him (Mr Quartey).
In addition to the threat, the accused resorted to using offensive words on the minister, including a claim that he is a thief and has stolen state money, but he is moving freely.
The Prosecutor, in describing the sequence of events, said the accused later abandoned the vehicle in the middle of the road, locked it, removed the ignition key, kept same in his pocket, rushed on the Regional minister and slapped him.
It was at this instance that the security detail of the regional minister, who the Court suggests should be changed, moved in swiftly to arrest the accused person and handed him over to the Regional Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Accra.
The accused allegedly admitted to the offence in his caution statement during investigation and was accordingly charged with the offences and brought before the court for trial.
