Lawyers for Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, have accused the Presiding Judge hearing his case of bias. His Lawyers made this point when they were called to move his application for the Judge, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, to recuse herself.
The former Deputy Finance Minister, who is accused together with two others of causing a two-point-three-seven million euro financial loss to the State, filed the application following the grant of a witness summons he requested from the Court.
His lawyers had asked the court to issue witness summons for some of his witnesses, including former Health Minister Alex Segbefia, as they were facing difficulties getting them to appear even though they had filed witness statements.
The Judge, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, before allowing the motion to be moved, inquired why they resorted to a motion compelling the appearance of the witnesses while admonishing the lawyers of Dr. Ato Forson of the consequences of issuing an arrest warrant for the witnesses if they fail to appear.
His lawyers, led by Dr. Bassit Bamba, insisted that was the best option due to the difficulty in securing their appearance to testify. But weeks after this request was granted, lawyers for Dr. Ato Forson applied to the court for the Judge to recuse herself on the grounds that the admonishment by the judge amounted to bias.
According to the lawyers, the caution by the Judge was not only biased but also portrayed their witnesses as criminals who willfully disobeyed a court order. However, when the case was penned down for determination on July 27, 2023, Dr. Bassit Bamba argued that the Judge does not even have jurisdiction to hear the application on whether she ought to recuse herself for the alleged bias.
He argued that the Judge hearing the matter will amount to her being a Judge in her own case. He further argued that there is precedence to show that when the allegations involved are of grave bias, it warrants a call for the sitting Judge not to hear the application.
In his view, statements of the Judge including a point that his case will be deemed to have been closed if the summoned witnesses do not appear and he does not secure the attendance of any other witnesses, are an infringement on his client’s right to a fair trial under Article 19.
The Judge then inquired why the application was filed in the first place if the applicant considered her unfit to hear the application.
Dr. Ato Forson’s Lawyers also clarified that in their application for witness summons they didn’t claim unwillingness on the part of the witnesses to testify but rather a difficulty in reaching out to the witnesses.
The Judge who disagreed on what the records of proceedings were, queried if the witnesses were willing, why did Ato Forson apply for the witness summons. Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe further inquired if indeed the difficulty was just in reaching out to the witnesses, how was a witness summon going to help reach them. Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame described the application as unmeritorious.
He argued that it is a settled position in law that a Judge whose bias has been alleged against has jurisdiction to hear the matter. He further argued that the court has not in any way shown bias and all orders made are within the powers of the Court.
Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, has adjourned the case to October 12 to deliver her ruling on both the objection to her jurisdiction to hear the matter and the substantive application for her to recuse herself. Meanwhile, an application by Dr. Ato Forson for his passport to be released to him was not heard as the Judge was of the view that her capacity to hear the application will be based on the ruling to be delivered in October.