Ever since the current judge, Justice Aboagye Tandoh, took over the trial of former COCOBOD boss Dr. Stephen Opuni and businessman Seidu Agongo, he has taken a number of unpopular decisions so far as counsel for the accused persons are concerned, setting him on a collision course with the defence lawyers.
The judge took over the case from Justice Kwasi A. Gyimah, who was controversially transferred to Kumasi weeks after hearing the highly politicized case he inherited following the retirement of Supreme Court judge Justice Clemence Honyenuga.
The High Court judge, Justice Aboagye Tandoh, who is thought to be in a hurry to conclude the case, has been accused of introducing “alien practices”.
Some of the actions of the judge that has made him unpopular with the defence lawyers and could potentially taint the trial include:
Adoption of Proceedings
Justice Aboagye Tandoh sat on the case for the second time on July 25, 2025. Immediately the court reconvened, he unexpectedly announced that he was adopting the proceedings of the previous court.
“I have examined and satisfied myself with the records and proceedings of the case of the Republic vrs Stephen Kwabena Opuni and two others. I will therefore go ahead and adopt the proceedings as recorded by the other courts. That is my ruling,” Justice Tandoh declared.
Lawyer Samuel Codjoe, counsel for Dr. Opuni, was shocked by that pronouncement.
“My lord, what you have just done is alien to the practice. What are you adopting now?” he wondered.
After counsel’s brief exchanges with Justice Tandoh, the latter insisted: “That is my ruling. I said I have satisfied myself with the proceedings and adopted same.”
But Samuel Codjoe stressed, “We don’t have any records, and we don’t know what you have adopted; since it’s your ruling, we will do what is right”.
In moving a motion on October 12, lawyer Codjoe explained why he disagreed with the ruling, noting that it has “no basis in law”.
“My Lord, what is not in doubt is that adoption of proceedings required that all parties should agree [on] what the proceedings are and what constitutes the proceedings. With proceedings we also submit, it also consists not only the testimony of the parties but also [of] the exhibits, rulings, and orders, and a court is required and has no option but to follow this approach,” he asserted.
“What is clear is that the parties have to go through the records and ensure that the record is an accurate reflection of what took place in court, and if there are any errors, [the] same should be corrected. In this particular case, the court did not abide by this binding position.”
He referenced the fact that the proceedings the judge claimed to have adopted were riddled with errors that were pointed out at the Court of Appeals and were directed to do the corrections at the High Court, but this, according to the defence lawyers, never materialized.
Unilaterally deciding on sitting days
Unlike the two previous judges who sat on the case and magnanimously conferred with prosecution and defence lawyers before settling on convenient dates, Justice Aboagye Tandoh would have none of that.
On Thursday, October 12, 2023, the judge adopted and announced about 40 sitting dates without looking at the bar for their input or concerns, if any. Immediately after announcing his chosen dates, Justice Tandoh adjourned the case and swiftly dashed to his chambers, much to the lawyers’ chagrin.
Daily Hearing
The 40 days the judge unilaterally picked and imposed on the lawyers and their clients were carefully selected to ensure that there would be no breathing day for the accused persons or their lawyers.
Parties are therefore to report to the court every weekday, starting from Friday, October 13, 2023, until December 7, 2023, for a new set of dates to be taken, probably by the judge solely again.
In effect, the trial is going to be heard on a daily basis.
Directive to Opuni to call next witness whilst a witness is under cross-examination
On October 13, when the court sat, Justice Tandoh was not enthused that the seventh defence witness was not in court for the continuation of the case.
But counsel for Dr. Opuni pointed out to him that the development would have been avoided, but for the fact that “we didn’t have [the] opportunity of going through the proceedings with your lordship”.
He noted, “We add that yesterday (October 12), as we were not given any opportunity with respect to the date and due to the fact that just after the court read the ruling, it rose, we were unable to inform the court about this fact.”
However, the judge, who would not wait for the Registrar of the court to inform the subpoenaed witness about the resumption of hearing after the long legal vacation, directed the first accused person to call his next witness on Monday, October 16, 2023. This means the seventh defence witness, who is in the box, would continue with his testimony after the eighth defence witness has finished giving evidence within a period the judge has decided for the parties.
A visibly angry counsel for Seidu Agongo, Benson Nutsukpui, could not fathom the posture of the judge towards the bar.
“Even the question of dates we cannot discuss? This is strange,” he muttered in disbelief.
He had cause to later approach the prosecution and inquire from them if they had even seen the kind of attitude being displayed by Justice Tandoh in their many years of practice.
The former COCOBOD Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Opuni, and businessman Seidu Agongo, as well as Agricult Ghana Limited, are facing 27 charges, including wilfully causing financial loss to the state and contravention of the Public Procurement Act in the purchase of Lithovit liquid fertiliser between 2014 and 2016.
ghanaweb.com
