Former Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, has disclosed that he will not testify personally in court and has also closed his case to charges in the ongoing COCOBOD case after parading 10 witnesses to mount his defence.
Dr. Opuni, who, together with businessman Seidu Agongo, are standing trial for 27 charges, said he was satisfied with the evidence of his witnesses.
Dr. Opuni said he would exercise his rights under Article 19(10) of the 1992 Constitution not to personally mount the witness box to give evidence.
Lawyers of Dr Opuni, led by Samuel Cudjoe, on Monday, February 12, 2024, informed the court that they would call no further witnesses.
He also told the High Court in Accra, presided over by Justice Aboagye Tandoh, that their client would not personally give evidence because he was satisfied with the evidence of his witnesses.
“….The first accused (Dr. Opuni) is satisfied with the evidence of his witnesses, and therefore, he will not mount the box to give evidence personally,” counsel for Opuni told the court.
Dr Opuni and Mr Agongo are facing 27 charges, including defrauding by false pretences, willfully causing financial loss to the state to the tune of GHc217 million, money laundering, corruption by a public officer and contravention of the Public Procurement Act.
They have both pleaded not guilty to the charges and are on GH¢300,000.00 self-recognizance bail each.
The 10 witnesses called by Dr. Opuni include farmers, scientists, bankers, and COCOBOD officials, some of whom were subpoenaed, including Reginald Aduakwa, a banker who was assigned to Dr. Opuni at Ecobank.
Samuel Amponsah, then acting head of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED), will give evidence that farmers in the Western North Region required Lothivite fertilizer.
Peter Okyere Boateng, Deputy Executive Director, CHED, in charge of Monitoring and Evaluation, was directly in charge when the officials wrote the CHED report on the evaluation of fertilizers, including Lithovit, which was given to them by the prosecution.
Also, Dr. Gilbert Anin Kwarpong, who was the Executive Director of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) in the 2015/6 and 2016/17 cocoa seasons, testified because it was during his time that COCOBOD, through CRIG, renewed the certificate for Lithovit fertilizer.
Atta Kwasi, a farmer who used Lithovit and whose farm is in the Brong Ahafo area of Ghana, also testified.
Ambassador Daniel Ohene Agyekum, the former board chair of COCOBOD, also gave evidence.
Meanwhile, the court has facilitated the attendance of the first five witnesses for Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Limited.
The first five witnesses who are expected to testify for Seidu Agongo are Dr. Francis Baah with the Cocoa Health Extension Division (CHED) of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG), Bunso, Mr. Paul Agyei-Gyan, Economic and Organised Crime Office, Head Office, Madam Fiona Gyamfi, Ghana Starbdards Authority, Madam Beatrice Debrah Eshun, Deputy Procurement Manager, COCOBOD, and Jerome Dogbatse, CRIG Tafo.
The case has been adjourned to February 15 for Seidu Agongo to open his defence.