The Accra High Court has turned down an open-court request by lead counsel for former National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Chief Executive, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, to grant a prolonged adjournment in his ongoing trial.
Lead Counsel Joseph Kpemka had urged the court to pause proceedings, citing ill health, physical exhaustion, and the upcoming bar conference. Presiding over the matter, the court refused the prayer and ordered all parties to return tomorrow to continue the case management conference.
Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, a former Minister for Information in the Akufo-Addo administration who assumed the NPA top role in 2021, is on trial alongside seven others over allegations of extorting funds from petroleum sector operators. The accused persons previously sought to throw out the charge sheet, but the application was dismissed, allowing pre-trial proceedings to move forward.
Addressing journalists after the hearing, Mr Kpemka outlined the grounds for the application.
“You recall that when we applied to the office of the CJ to waive the holidays for us to have the vacation, he actually indicated that adjournments are actually at the discretion of trial courts and not the CJ, and that if we needed that, we should pass it through the court. And we have attended court throughout the holidays. There’s no adjournment that we have been absent,” he said.
He explained that the defence team put forward the request due to several compounding pressures.
“Counsel has been unwell. That’s one. And two, you know that the bar conference is coming next week. And subsequently, we have other activities just before, and we are exhausted. I mean, the legal year took a toll on us. We are all exhausted. And we also needed that maybe we could get the judge’s attention to give us a few more days after the legal year so that we come back in October,” he explained.
Despite the plea, the trial judge directed the legal teams to resume the session the following day.
“But my lord said that we should come back tomorrow. And that he was not acceding to the prayer. And we are obliged to be in court tomorrow, and we will so be,” Mr Kpemka said.
He maintained that the request was made in good faith given the demanding legal schedule.
“As I indicated, there were good reasons why we wanted the adjournment. It wasn’t a frolic of our own that we wanted to embark upon. As I indicated, on grounds of ill health, one. Are you not feeling well yourself? Yes, and a number of counsel actually. And then two, that we were also talking about one fundamental issue, which is the bar conference next week,” he said.
Mr Kpemka added that the team needed time to recuperate from the “very torturous journey” experienced across the preceding legal year.
With the trial continuing uninterrupted, the court will reconvene tomorrow to progress with the case management phase.
By:;Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
