An Accra High Court has adjourned the trial of 14 persons accused of killing the late Major Maxwell Adam Mahama to 20 June 2022.
The adjournment enables the state prosecution to file its response to the submission of no case filed by the accused persons.
At the last adjourned date, after the prosecution closed its case, lawyers for the accused persons informed the court of its decision to file a submission of no case on the matter.
A submission that there is ‘no case’ to answer by the defendant can be made in a contested criminal matter after the close of the prosecution case.
A no-case submission is made when the defence considers that the prosecution case does not support a finding of guilt and that the court should dismiss the charge without the defence presenting a case.
By this, the lawyers are convinced the prosecution has not shown that the 14 accused persons currently before the court are the ones who killed the army officer.
Lawyers for the accused were then given two weeks to file their submission of no case, but some failed to do so.
When the case was called on Monday, 13 June 2022, a Chief State Attorney, Frances Mullen Ansah, told the court they were yet to receive submissions from Augustine Gyamfi (lawyer for accused persons 7 and 11) and Theophilus Odonkor (lawyer for accused persons 3 and 9).
Mr Ansah assured the court that “our responses are ready, except that we were waiting and hoping to incorporate the responses to the two outstanding submissions”.
Following the latest development, the court presided over by Justice Mariama Owusu adjourned the case to 20 June.
She, however, stressed that the court would not wait on the defence lawyers and would move on regardless of the application yet to be filed.
Accused persons
Those standing trial for his murder are William Baah, the Assemblymember of Denkyira Obuasi; Bernard Asamoah alias Daddy; and Kofi Nyame, known as Abortion.
The others are Akwasi Boah, Kwame Tuffour, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Michael Anim, Bismarck Donkor, John Bosie, Akwasi Baah, Charles Kwaning, Emmanuel Badu, Bismarck Abanga and Kwadwo Anima.
They have all pleaded not guilty to charges ranging from murder, abetment to murder, and conspiracy to commit murder.
What happened on 29 May 2017
At the dawn of that day, the then Captain Mahama went on his usual jogging.
On the way, he came across two women who assumed he was an armed robber because he had a gun tucked at the back of his trousers.
Multiple sources said the women called the assemblyman and informed him that they had seen a man with a gun and were convinced that he was an armed robber.
The assemblyman then called two associates and headed to where the Captain was seen jogging.
According to him, upon reaching the venue, the soldier opened fire on them, and he absconded.
The ex-soldier had his head smashed with bricks and other objects.
A day after his death, armed military officers were dispatched to the area.
The action by the military sent residents fleeing from the town for fear of being attacked by the armed personnel in a reprisal attack.
About 120 residents were picked up for their involvement in the incident.
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