The witnesses statement of the first of two witnesses of the petitioner (John Dramani Mahama) in the ongoing trial of the 2020 election petition, sparked controversy today (29 January 2021) at the Supreme Court, eventually forcing the court to expunge four paragraphs completely and three others in part.
Akoto Ampaw, lead counsel for the second respondent (Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo), before commencing his cross-examination of the witness, told the court that he had fundamental problems with ten of the 42 paragraphs of Johnson Asiedu Nketiah’s witness statement.
The ten sections, according to the second respondent, were paragraphs six, seven, 21, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 33 and 37.
Arguments of second respondent
Among other things, the lead counsel for the second respondent, Akoto Ampaw, argued that the paragraphs identified were not pleaded by the petitioner in his petition filed on 30 December 2020.
Describing them as prejudicial as well as scandalous, he prayed the court to expunge them from the witness statement forthwith.
Petitioner’s opposition
Tsatsu Tsikata, lead lawyer for the petitioner, opposed the objection.
He argued that all the ten paragraphs as identified were relevant and in the pleadings of the petitioner in his petition.
Ruling
The seven-member Supreme Court panel, presided over by Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, ruled that paragraphs six and seven were expunged from the witness statement because the petitioner did not plead same in his petition.
Paragraph 21, the court said, was pleaded in the pleadings of the petitioner hence must be maintained. Paragraphs 25, 26 and 28, according to the court, had specific portions that the witness could not speak to and therefore those specifics were struck out. Paragraph 30 was struck out by the court indicating that the petitioner did not have same in his pleadings.
With paragraphs 32 and 33, the court noted that these were in the pleadings and they were therefore maintained. However, the last paragraph, number 37, was also struck out because it had not been pleaded by the petitioner.
Cross-examination
Justin Amenuvor, lead counsel for the first respondent (the Electoral Commission), then proceeded to cross-examine the first witness for the petitioner (Johnson Asiedu Nketiah).
He asked the witness questions ranging from his appreciation of the rules governing elections in Ghana, to the training of agents of the petitioner’s party (the National Democratic Congress) in the lead-up to Election 2020, to claims of conflicting figures from the Electoral Commission for results of the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections.
Request to show visuals
Taking his turn to cross-examine Nketiah, the lead lawyer for the second respondent, Akoto Ampaw, requested that a video clip be played in court.
His oral application was upheld by the court.
However, the presiding judge ruled that the clip would be played at the next court hearing, scheduled for Monday 1 February 2021.
Wilberforce Asare
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