According to Ayikoi Otoo, the judgment of the Appeals Court explored technicalities in the law to drop the accusations without necessarily determining whether Tsatsu Tsikata was right or wrong in the matter.

[contextly_sidebar id=”iHV6QTC6HDbJpzSq7tQeUxSrJbL7oG9h”]“As far as I am concerned it is a very critical narrow matter. No one has said he did nothing wrong. What they are saying is that he was not given the opportunity to call the witness that he wanted to call and it was nobody’s fault. He kept calling the people who did not want to come so where are the facts that he has been proven not guilty.

“As to the facts of the case, whether he did the proper thing or not I don’t think the judges spoke about it. If this all that the judge said my understanding is that it is a very technical, narrow issue.”

The decision of the Appeals Court last Wednesday held that the judgment of the High Court was a miscarriage of justice, because it did not give Mr. Tsikata a fair opportunity to defend himself.

The Court further went ahead to acquit and discharge Tsatsu Tsikata of all charges brought against him.

Mr. Tsikata in June 2016, went to the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision of the High Court.

In his appeal, Mr. Tsikata stated that, the verdict that led to his imprisonment was unreasonable and was not supported by evidence.

He also added that, the judge erred in law in deciding that financial loss had been caused simply because payment of monies had been made by the GNPC.

Background

Tsatsu Tsikata was jailed for five years on June 18, 2008, by the Accra Fast Track High Court for causing financial loss to the state through a loan that the GNPC guaranteed for Valley Farms, a private cocoa-growing company.

He was found guilty on three counts of willfully causing financial loss of GH¢230,000 to the state, and another count of misapplying public property.

His trial started in 2002 under the then Kufuor administration, and travelled back and forth the court until he was sentenced, which generated a lot of controversy.

Valley Farms contracted the loan from Caisse Francaise de Development in 1991, but defaulted in the payment, and the GNPC, which acted as the guarantor, was compelled to pay it in 1996.

Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata was unconditionally pardoned by former President J.A. Kufuor on his last day in office, but he rejected the pardon and insisted that he would continue to pursue justice in the court of law, although he left the prison since his health was failing.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post Tsatsu Tsikata’s acquittal won’t exonerate him – Ayikoi Otoo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the judgment will guarantee the enforcement of the rights of all citizens.

He, therefore, described it as a victory for Ghana’s democracy.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ZJwS6ch96oEDej8WKY9E0nXBFCBgyPln”]Mr. Tsikata was sentenced to five years imprisonment in June 2008, for causing financial loss to the state.

But he insisted on his innocence and said he was a victim of political witch-hunting by the then Kufuor administration.

Addressing the press on Thursday, Mr. Tsikata said the decision by the Court of Appeal is an important one.

“I believe that the Court of Appeal yesterday [Wednesday] especially in upholding constitutional rights that are there for all of us is an important decision, which must not just be seen in relation to me, Tsatsu Tsikata, upholding and enforcing the constitution as the Court of Appeal did. It is valuable for all of us. No one should have to go through what I went through that day and thereafter,” he added.

Kufuor’s pardon

On his pardon by former President John Agyekum Kufuor, Mr. Tsikata said the Court of Appeal’s judgment overlooked it.

“The Court of Appeal also gave due consideration to the pardon that was granted by former President Kufuor in his last day in office. The court again relied on various provisions of the constitution to show that the right of appeal is a constitutional right which cannot be taken away by an executive act such as the exercise of the prerogative of mercy. The judiciary is the body in which final judicial power resides, my right of appeal therefore remained, and the jurisdiction of the court of appeal over the appeal was not taken away by the supposed pardon. As you all know, that pardon was rejected by me the very day it was announced; and I wrote to the former president from a hospital bed in Korle Bu to that effect,” he added.

Court of Appeal frees Tsikata

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday overturned a High Court judgment which sentenced Tsatsu Tsikata to jail, for willfully causing financial loss to the state.

According to the Court of Appeal, the judgment of the High Court was a miscarriage of justice, because it did not give Mr. Tsikata a fair opportunity to defend himself.

The Court further went ahead to acquit and discharge Tsatsu Tsikata of all charges brought against him.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Franklin Badu Jnr./citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Tsatsu Tsikata: Court’s judgement a victory for democracy appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.