Opuni’s Judge Transferred, Ordered to get to Kumasi by July 3

Justice Kwasi Anokye Gyimah, the Court of Appeal judge, who was presiding over the ongoing trial of the former chief executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Stephen Opuni, has been asked to report to Kumasi, the Ashanti Region capital, on Monday, July 3, 2023, as his new duty post.

The new twist offers credence to the earlier reports that Justice Gyimah was to be transferred.

With the latest development, the coast is now clear for a new judge to take over the trial of Dr. Opuni and Alhaji Seidu Agongo, a businessman.
It is not clear whether or not Justice Gyimah was handling other cases at the court he was presiding over in Accra.
There are murmurings within the Judicial Service over the short notice offered to the judge on his transfer.

It is not clear whether the new Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, is aware of the transfer of Justice Gyimah to Kumasi.
The transferred judge was assigned the case, upon the retirement of Justice Clemence Honyenuga, who sat on it for five years, and until the expiration of additional six-month extension mandate given him by the former Chief Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah.

On April 4, 2023, the new judge, Justice Gyimah, decided to start the case anew, since, in his opinion, the previous proceedings were “replete with applications upon applications” from “both counsel for the accused persons challenging various aspects of the conduct of the proceedings before the previous judge, some of which applications are currently pending before the Supreme Court, with another one currently pending before me.”

Justice Gyimah also said Section 80(2) (a) of NRCD 323 enjoins the court to assess a witness’s demeanour in determining his or her credibility.
“Much as that may be the right position, in a criminal trial where the liberty of the accused is at stake and where the accused is, by law, presumed innocent and also entitled to a fair trial, any factor, however, minimal or insignificant its effect, that will enhance the opportunities for the fair trial of an accused person should not be overlooked by the court.”

“The drafters of NRCD 323 knew why they placed that provision in the Act, and, as a statutory provision, a court that is meant on doing justice in a criminal trial should, as much as is within its power, make sure that the said statutory provision is observed,” he said.

However, the Attorney General, Godfred Dame, has prayed to the Court of Appeal to quash Justice Gyimah’s decision to start the case de novo.
Mr. Dame argues in his application that the high court judge “misdirected himself” in the application of the principles regarding the adoption of evidence in a trial.
The AG argued that the ruling “has occasioned a miscarriage of justice, as it will hinder an efficient trial of the accused persons in the instant case.”

Justice Gyimah, in 2017, received the University of Nottingham Alumni Award, which recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves through exemplary leadership and achievements in their professional industry and who can demonstrate the highest level of integrity and character in their professional career.
He received a Master of Laws degree in International Criminal Justice and Armed Conflict from that university.