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In Court on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, Prosecutions led by Akosua Agyepomaa Agyemang, an Assistant State Attorney, prayed the Court to oblige them a short adjournment to file their disclosures and Witness Statements.
While apologizing to the Court, she said they were unable to comply with the orders of the court previously to file their disclosures and witnesses by December 8 and a short date will help them put their house in order.
State Prosecutors from the Office of the Attorney General have been granted one last opportunity to file their disclosures and witness statements in the case in which two former Housemaids of Cecilia Dapaah and five others have been charged variously for stealing.
Botwe, 18, and Agyei, 30, together with Benjamin Sowah, Malik Dauda, Christiana Achab, Job Pomary and Yahaya Sumaila have pleaded not guilty to the various charges pressed against them – ranging from Conspiracy to steal, stealing, dishonestly receiving and money laundering.
However, despite been admitted to bail, they are still in lawful custody because they have not yet satisfied their respective bail conditions.
Defence lawyers particularly Lawyer Yaw Dankwah and Lawyer Abdul Basit Adams opposed to the request.
They argued separately that, it has been over six months since the accused persons were arrested and the Prosecution have not shown any reasonable cause for the court to oblige them a further opportunity to file disclosures.
Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, the trial judge at the Criminal Division (2) of the High Court in Accra after listening to the parties obliged the prosecution one last adjourned.
“I have listened to submissions by counsel for A7 (Lawyer Yaw Dankwah) and A5A6 (Lawyer Abdul Adams Basit) as well as from the prosecution, I will obliged the prosecution last adjournment to file disclosures and witness statements, if not all, so that the case will go on bearing in mind that, the accused persons though on bail are still in lawful custody,” Justice Simmons said.
According to the Court, the Prosecution is to file by January 10 whilst the accused persons remained on their previous bail terms.
The Case has been adjourned to January 16.
New charges
On November 8, a charged sheet was filed at the High Court which proffered some 31 counts, eight more than the 14 that were on the amended charged sheet which was withdrawn on Wednesday, November 8, at the Circuit Court.
The 31 new counts comprised of five counts of conspiracy, six counts of stealing, nine counts of dishonestly receiving and 11 counts of money laundering.
Patience Botwe, 18, and seven others have been charged for allegedly stealing various sums of monies including $1 million, 300, 000 euros and other properties.
They were since July 6, this year, been put before the Circuit Court but that has been withdrawn and fresh charges proferred against them at the High court.
