You are 50 years at the Bar, please stop playing to the gallery – Attorney General chides Tsatsu Tsikata

The Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has called Tsatsu Tsikata out for playing to the gallery in the trial of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson.

Objecting to a question posed by Mr Tsikata, counsel for Mr Quayson, to the state’s first prosecution witness, Richard Takyi-Mensah, during cross-examination in court on Wednesday July 19, 2023, Mr Dame observed that Mr Tsikata’s line of questioning amounts to harassing the witness in order to appeal to the sentiments of people in the courtroom.

Records
The witness, Richard Takyi-Mensah from the records available, petitioned the Police to investigate the Assin North MP after the 2020 general elections. In his petition, he attached various documents to support his case against the MP.

Following his petition, the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) invited him to assist in their investigations. When he attended to their invitation, he wrote a statement in line with the standard operating procedures of the police, a report by asaaseradio.com stated.

In the said statement, Mr Takyi-Mensah indicated that he attached various documents to his petition to support his case in the petition he had submitted to the police against Mr Quayson.

Cross-examination
During cross-examination, Mr Tsikata asked the witness to confirm whether or not he indicated in his police statement that he had attached supporting documents to the statement. The witness, in his answer said indeed, he had attached supporting documents to his petition to the Police.

Mr Tsikata at that point indicated to the court that it is the position of the defence team that the state had not fully disclosed to the defence team all documents they ought to disclose because the said supporting documents that the witness said he attached to his police statement were not known to defence lawyers and the accused person.

Mr Tsikata at that point, prayed to the court for an order directed at the Police CID to make the said documents available to the defence team because those documents will be vital to establish the innocence of their client.

Needless application
The Attorney General opposed the application describing it as totally needless and unwarranted. He explained that the state furnished counsel for the accused with all documents in the possession of the prosecution before trial.

In the course of the trial, the defence had requested the same document the state gave to the defence. Again, the state had written a letter to the defence lawyers in which it indicated all the documents they had, had been disclosed to the accused person. This included all the documents that Takyi-Mensah referred to as having attached to his petition to the Police.

The Attorney General noted that there are no other documents anywhere to be disclosed as has been persistently demanded by counsel for the accused.

Mr Dame then indicated that the claims of Mr Tsikata amount to playing to the gallery and he ought to stop that and concentrate on asking questions that are relevant to the charges that have been preferred against his client by the state.

By court
The court, presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh, after hearing both sides ruled that the State had indicated that it had fully disclosed all documents in its possession.

She said counsel for the accused had suggested that there was more to be disclosed but had failed to indicate what those documents were.  In the circumstances, she said the court would not make an order in futility and therefore, dismissed Mr. Tsikata’s application.

The court after its intervention, initially adjourned sitting to Tuesday, July 25, 2023.

However, Mr Tsikata said his client’s case at the Supreme Court seeking judicial review of an earlier decision of the trial court, will come up for hearing on the same day.

The court, therefore, adjourned to Wednesday, July 26, 2023, for further cross-examination of the first prosecution witness.