Whoever decided Honynuga should sit on Opuni’s case was unfair to him – Pratt

The Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr has said whoever decided Justice Clemence Honynuga should sit on the trial of the Ghana Cocoa Board Chief Executive Officer had been unfair to him.

That he said was because the decision had exposed the justice of the court to  unnecessary public scrutiny.

Mr Pratt noted ordinary, such  would not be the case if another judge had sat on the case.

Mr Pratt made the comment on Pan African TV’s Good Morning Africa, monitored by GhanaPlus.com.

He blamed the brouhaha which had graced the case so far on that singular decision.

Adding, for a judge who had made statement believe to be politically inclined, the decision was very much uncalled.

 “Judges especially, those who rise to the level of the Supreme Court cannot behave like me and you. There is a certain responsibility which urges them to live which substantially different from ours and so on. Yet whatever they do even outside the court room could have implications for their decisions inside the court room”.

“And if you take this judge at the centre of the controversy, he clearly outside the court room and his capacity as a chief has made statement which create the impression that he is a loyalist of this administration, at least he admire this administration, at least believes this administration is doing so well and so on”.

“Now that is a political stand and therefore, I think whoever decided that he should sit on this case was unfair to him. Because given that history if you out in charge of a very sensitive case like Opuni’s case you subject him to scrutiny which would not have applied to any  other judge so by deciding that he should be the one to sit on this case he was unfairly put in the spot light and all of this , application to the supreme court, review of the decision of the ordinary court and so on are all consequences of that decision to make a judge who have made a political statement outside the court room to sit on a case which is largely deem political”.

Honynuga removal and restitution in Opuni’s case

Justice Clemence Honynuga, a trial judge in the prosecution case against the former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Mr Stephen Opuni had been in the  spot light recently following a petition by the latter seeking his removal from the case over an allegation of bias.

He was subsequently removed by a panel but had been restored to the case following an application by the Attorney General, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame challenging his removal.

The Attorney General argued, the ruling was fundamentally flawed and contained errors which had manifested in a miscarriage of justice.

Mr Opuni is standing trial for allegedly causing financial loss in a GH ₵217m fertilizer deal.

He has pleaded not guilty to all 27 charges leveled against him.

Source: GhanaPlus.com