Court Threatens To Discharge DSP Gifty Tehoda

The Accra Circuit Court hearing the case of DSP Gifty Mawenyega Tehoda, , the woman accused of helping in the swapping of cocaine to sodium bicarbonate saga has threatened to discharge the accused person if the state fails to commence trial at the next adjourned date.

The Judge, Mr Francis Obiri gave the order after he expressed worry over the number of times the case had been adjourned since it was presented in court on February 6 this year.

“The case had been adjourned nine times already without the prosecution commencing trial, if the state fails to commence trail on the next adjourned date the court will conclude that the state is not ready to prosecute the accused person and will adequately discharge her,” he added.

This was after the Principal State Attorney, Mr Rexford Anthony Wiredu told the court that the state was not ready to start prosecution and that the witnesses that would be giving evidence before the court were unavailable.

He told the court that he prepared a supina on Tuesday but had not yet been filed, adding that he went to the BNI office to contact the officer in charge of the case to file the subpoena and serve the appropriate witnesses but did not meet him.

“We have about six to seven witnesses to call but I know only two of the witnesses, it is the investigator who knows them and so we would ask for an adjourned date to enable us do so,” he said.

The judge in his quest to know who the investigator was asked the State Attorney the where about of the investigator, after minutes of murmuring among the State Attorneys who seems not to know the investigator in question and his where about, the judge said the state was supposed to be working closely with the investigator in the case.

He added that even though the prosecution had told the court that they have prepared a subpoena the investigator was not in court to tell it about the advancement of the procedure.

The defence counsel, Mr E.A Ephraim Vorduagu said they had no option but to oblige with the request of the state and that it seems to the defence that the state was not working with the investigator in the case.

He said the state after requesting for the case to be heard in the afternoon should have made the effort to contact the investigator before the court proceedings and that it was the investigator who was suppose to file the subpoena and serve it to the appropriate witnesses.

The case was adjourned to June 14 for the state to commence trial.

The state prosecutors for the past four months have been seeking adjournment without commencing trial.

Mr Wiredu in May told the court that the Attorney General was not in any way obliged to commence the prosecution of the case adding that, there was no time limit in the prosecution of criminal cases and that the AG would prosecute the case when it was ready.

 He added that nothing stops the AG from prosecuting the case as at when it was ready, “we are not bounded by time to start prosecution, in criminal cases the prosecution can start its case as at when it was ready, so even if it takes 20 years the prosecution can still open its case since it is a criminal one.”

DSP Gifty Mawenyega Tehoda is standing trial for the role she played in the swapping of cocaine to sodium bicarbonate.