[ 2012-03-10 ]

New Prosecutor For Amina Yutong
A new State Attorney has been assigned to take
over the case of Amina Mohammed, the 24-year-old
lady who captured national attention following an
allegation she made on Adom FM , a Tema-based
radio station, that there was a mass rape of women
on a Bawku-bound bus during a robbery attack at
Kubiase near Ejisu in the Ashanti region.

Dominic Bakoma is to replace Paul Asibi Abariga, a
former state attorney who has since resigned from
the Attorney-General's department and is now
practicing as a private lawyer.

The case was called at an Accra Circuit Court
presided over by Patience Mills-Tetteh after about
a six-month break, but there was no hearing
because Mr. Bakoma indicated to the court that he
had not yet received a copy of the proceedings.

Mr. Bakoma, who said he had been informed that the
proceedings would soon be ready, indicated that he
would be ready for the case on the next adjourned
date.

The judge also noted that Amina's lawyer, Andy
Appiah Kubi, through a letter, informed the court
that he had travelled and would therefore need an
adjournment.

Mrs. Mills-Tetteh has therefore adjourned the
matter to April 11, 2012.

On the next adjourned date, the state attorney
would probably respond to a motion by Mr.
Appiah-Kubi seeking leave of the court to recall
one Michael Ofosu Frimpong, a prosecution witness
in the case.

Ofosu Frimpong is to substantiate an allegation
he made in the media that he was coached by the
Attorney General's Department to frame up some New
Patriotic Party (NPP) chieftains as having
attempted to bribe him over the Amina case.

Andy Appiah Kubi, when he moved the motion, said
Ofosu Frimpong, the fourth prosecution witness,
would have to come and give a vivid account of the
said interaction he had with the Attorney-General
(AG) for the court to ascertain whether the
evidence he gave to the court was reliable.

It would be recalled that Ofosu Frimpong, a
trader, made allegations in open court that some
members of the NPP attempted to bribe him over the
Amina case.

The young man, who had earlier spoken on Adom FM
in Tema and Great FM in Accra, claiming he was on
the Yutong bus when the mass rape incident
occurred, surprisingly added that he was persuaded
by Adom FM to add some information to Amina's
claim to make the information credible.

The witness claimed that renowned criminologist,
Professor Ken Attafuah and Andy Appiah-Kubi, both
lawyers of Amina, the lady at the centre of the
controversy, took him to the NPP headquarters at
Asylum Down, Accra, where he met three party
bigwigs such as Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Kennedy
Agyapong and Yaw Osafo Marfo and in a meeting,
after showing him some money, they promised him
GH˘90,000 if he helped clear Amina and Adom FM .

Mr. Appiah Kubi recalled that the witness gave
this evidence on March 18, 2011 and was
cross-examined, after which he was discharged.

However, subsequent to this, Ofosu Frimpong
granted an interview to the media, alleging that
he was motivated and coached by the AG to lead
such an evidence.

Counsel observed that such evidence, as allegedly
promoted through the witness by the AG, is already
in evidence as part of the proceedings in this
court.

The statement given to the media, counsel noted,
'is relevant for the purpose of ascertaining the
competence and credibility of the witness and the
value of the witness evidence in court. It is for
this reason that my lord we find it appropriate
and imperative to seek leave to apply to recall
the witness,' he indicated.

Amina is standing trial for causing fear and panic
as well as deceit of public officer. She has
pleaded not guilty to the charges and is currently
on a GH˘5,000 bail with a surety.

Source - Daily Guide

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