The testimony of Dr Frederick Mac-Palm, the man charged with orchestrating a coup to remove the government, has been excluded by the Accra High Court.
It came after a three-person court panel obtained the man's death certificate.
"We have received word that Dr Palm has passed away.
Judge Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, the panel's president, prayed to the Lord for him to find peace.
Livingston Ameyivor handled the brief for his attorney, E.A. Vordoagu, who was subsequently fired.
The judge said that the trial will resume on April 17, 2023, with Donya Kafui, the second defendant, presenting his case.
On March 25, 2023, Mac-Palm climbed the dock to begin his defence, but he later passed away.
Trial
Dr Benjamin Agordzo, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Bright Alan Debrah Ofosu, Colonel Samuel Kodzo Gameli, Johannes Zikpi, a civilian member of the Ghana Armed Forces, and Donya Kafui, nicknamed Ezor, are the other defendants on trial with Dr Mac-Palm (a blacksmith).
The remaining individuals are all members of the armed forces: Corporal Seidu Abubakar, Lance Corporal Ali Solomon, Corporal Sylvester Akanpewon, and Warrant Officer Il Esther Saan Dekuwine.
The defendants are in court for allegedly participating in the operations of Take Action Ghana (TAG), a non-governmental organization that the prosecution claims are plotting to cause instability in the nation so that it may seize power.
They are free on bond after entering a guilty plea.
Defending party's case
According to the prosecution's version of events, TAG planned to undermine the government and destabilise the nation.
The prosecution alleges that Dr Mac-Palm, Kafui, and Debrah conspired to abduct the President, the Vice President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief of the Defense Staff to coerce the President into announcing his overthrow.
The prosecution stated: "Again, there were negotiations on whether or not to assassinate the President in the course of overturning the government.
The prosecution continued by saying that in June 2018, the security services discovered information indicating that the accused individuals had intended to overthrow and seize power under the direction of TAG.
According to the report, Col. Gameli hired Zikpi, a GAF signal specialist, as part of the plot to assist in jamming the National Communications Authority's radio transmissions.
The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation was the only radio station TAG didn't intend to jam, according to the prosecution.
According to the prosecution, Dr Mac-Palm brought Kafui, a blacksmith from Alavanyo in the Volta Region, to Accra for him to produce explosives and guns for the gang.
The prosecution said that ACP Dr Agordzo gave GHC 2,000 to TAG in support of that organization's purpose and also wrote a speech for Dr Mac-Palm to recite at a protest that TAG had organized.
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