Africa-Press – Ghana. The Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice has refuted claims in media reportage regarding changes in the panel overseeing the trial of former COCOBOD CEO, Dr. Stephen Opuni.
According to the A-G, these reports are deliberately crafted to incite public disapproval of the Judiciary.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, May 14, the Office addressed allegations made by The Herald newspaper and commentary on social media platforms by individuals such as Prof. Kweku Asare.
“The attention of the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice has been drawn to deliberate misrepresentations in the media (traditional and social) about the composition of a panel to hear an appeal in the Supreme Court in a case entitled ‘Republic vrs. Dr Stephen Opuni & 2 Others’.”
Publications in various newspapers, particularly the Herald, and commentary on social media by some persons including, Prof Kweku Asare, are laden with falsehood and contain an imputation that the composition of the panel for the hearing of the appeal on 8th May, 2024 was unusual, questionable or in violation of the Constitution.,” an excerpt of the statement said.
The statement from the A-G’s Office emphasised the importance of maintaining public trust in the Judiciary and denounced any attempts to undermine its integrity through misleading narratives.
It urged the public to disregard the reportage, stating that the allegations were unfounded and lacked substance.
“The A-G notes the persistent attempts by some media houses aligned to Dr Opuni to distort the effect of court proceedings relating to the prosecution of the former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocoa Board. These publications, many a time, are a gross misrepresentation of the evidence led at the trial, intended to ridicule the case of the prosecution and create false impressions about the soundness of the defence put up by Dr Opuni at his trial.
The A-G observes that most of the publications on the “Opuni case”, orchestrated by the accused persons themselves, transgress the limits of permissible speech as they are calculated at perverting the course of justice and/or prejudicing the fair hearing of that case. Nonetheless, the Republic remains focused on adducing cogent evidence in substantiation of the charges against all the accused persons in the case mentioned above and will not be overawed in that process.
For the purpose of educating the public, the A-G states that no party to proceedings in court, has a right to insist on a particular court or panel of a court to hear his or her case. In accordance with the Constitution and the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459), the Chief Justice determines the composition of every court for the hearing of any matter,” the release read.
Source: 3News
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