James Gyakye Quayson, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, has retained Tsatsu Tsikata as his Lead Counsel. Mr. Tsikata has successfully undermined the testimony of Richard Takyi-Mensah, the first witness called by the Attorney General.
Yesterday, in an effort to undermine the credibility of the witness' testimony in front of the Criminal High Court "3," which was presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh, Mr. Tsikata punched holes in the paper.
In the course of the witness's cross-examination, the question of what language the police recorded his statement in arose.
The first witness for the prosecution (PW1) stated that he spoke in English, but the documents that were shown and adopted in court indicated that Mr. Takyi-Mensah spoke in the Twi language, and his statements were recorded and translated for him in the same manner.
Before this, PW1 was asked by Lawyer Tsikata whether or not someone who claimed that he talked in the Twi language when making the police statement would be telling the truth. PW1 argued that he spoke in English, despite the fact that Lawyer Tsikata had asked him this question.
In addition, he stated in front of the judge that the statement was drafted and signed on the same day.
The witness, however, stated that he may have accidentally spoken in Twi while providing the statement that was handed to him to read in open court after his statement had been given to him to read in the first place.
The witness further claimed that he learnt about the complaints made to the Electoral Commission against the Legislator through an article online. The witness also indicated that he was served with some of the processes in the civil action.
Following the denial of the defense's plea to halt the proceedings awaiting the outcome of an application before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, the parties engaged in cross-examination of each other.
As a result of the court's finding that there was no order in front of it from the supervisor courts suspending its proceedings, the application was rejected.
After the application was dismissed by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh, she recommenced the cross-examination by requesting that the witness mount the box.
The following are snippets from the interrogation of the witness:
Have you ever visited the Electoral Commission's offices in Accra? Q. Have you ever gone to Accra?
A. Yes.
Are you aware of a complaint that has been filed with the Electoral Commission regarding the accused person's candidature for the election that will take place in December 2020?
A. I've been informed about it.
Q. Were you aware that in response to that complaint, the Electoral Commission investigated the topic that was the subject of the complaint?
A. I've been informed about it.
From what you've read, do you have any idea about it?
A. According to what I've read, your answer is yes, ma'am.
You are aware, right? That the allegation was that he did not meet the qualifications to run for that election, aren't you?
A. Your majesty, based on what I've read, I've learned that a group has lodged a complaint with the Electoral Commission.
You are aware, aren't you, that the complaint was founded on the fact that he owed loyalty to a country other than Ghana, aren't you? Are you conscious of that fact?
A. According to what I've read, that was the basis of the complaint.
Do you know that the Electoral Commission invited both the complainant and the accused to appear before it? Q. And you are aware of this, right?
A. According to what I have read, the EC looked into it, and if my recollection serves me well, the complaint was around the 24th of October in the year 2020.
Are you aware that the EC has given permission for the accused person to run for office?
A. According to what I have read, the EC held a meeting in which they called both the complainant and the accused, and based on what the accused said to the EC, and based on that, the Supreme Court exonerated him.
A. The EC exonerated the individual who was accused. Are you conscious of that fact?
A. Yes. According to what I've read, the EC did exonerate him on the basis of what the accused presented before the commission.
Where did you find this information?
A. If my recollection serves me well, I believe it was a report on the internet, and moreover, as I mentioned earlier, some of the processes in the civil case were served to the petitioner through me, so I got to view some of the documents that were served on the petitioner through me.
Do you aware that the accused was allowed to vote in that election on the grounds that they had been approved by the Electoral Commission?
A. Yes. According to the accused person's statements to the EC.
You are unable to disclose on what grounds the EC gave him clearance, is that correct? Q.
A. What I am stating is based on what I have read in the article.
Do you also know that the EC requested evidence from the complainant indicating that the accused owed allegiance to a country other than Ghana? Q. You are aware of this, right?
A. I am unable to confirm that statement.
A. When you submitted a petition to the Director General of the Criminal Investigation Division, you stated that you would present evidence, right?
After you handed in the petition, did you also give a statement to the law enforcement officials?
A. Yes.
What language is the question in?
A. The English language.
You put your name on the police statement, right?
A. Yes.
Please have a look at the attached paper and verify that your signature appears where it should.
A. Yes, that is the case.
When you made that statement, did you say it in Twi? If somebody claims that you did, they are not telling the truth, is that correct?
A. As I have already mentioned, the statement is available to me in English.
Question: Please read the first statement...
A. "Complainant spoke in the Twi language, and the same was taken down in English."
Is that an accurate representation of the situation?
A. I can't put my finger on it.
You supposedly put your signature on this document, right?
A. Yes.
You went through the trouble of reading the document before you signed it, right?
A. Yes.
And you are telling this court that it is not true that you said anything in Twi that was recorded in English by a police officer? Q. And you are telling this court that it is not true that you said something in Twi that was recorded in English?
A. Although I recall narrating everything in English, it's possible that something else could have been said at some point throughout the narrative, such as...
Q. You mentioned in that statement that you would be adding copies of the documents in which the MP made [the] false declarations. One of those documents is the statutory declaration that the accused made, and you mentioned in that statement that you would be attaching copies of all of those documents. Do you remember what I said?
A. Yes.
Q. In other words, if anybody tells the court that you did not attach the statutory declaration, they will not be telling the truth if they make that claim.
A. The individual may be telling the truth, as I did attach all of the documentation that I had on hand....
The charges of perjury and forgery against Mr. Quayson are currently being heard in court.
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