The Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra has struck out two witness statements filed by the prosecution in the ongoing trial involving the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food and Buffer Stock Company Limited, Hanan Abdul-Wahab, and others.
The ruling followed an objection by counsel for the first accused, Godfred Yeboah Dame.
The prosecution, led by Principal State Attorney Esi Dentah Yankah, had filed two witness statements on April 24, 2026, in respect of James Tieku Apau and Clara Naa Koshie Nyarko.
The prosecution indicated that it intended to substitute those statements with earlier ones filed on December 18, 2025, citing the emergence of new evidence.
However, counsel for the first accused objected to the move, arguing that the prosecution had already filed and adopted witness statements for the same witnesses during the Case Management Conference (CMC).
He contended that any subsequent filing required prior leave of the Court in accordance with the Practice Directions governing criminal proceedings.
Mr. Dame further submitted that the prosecution neither sought leave nor provided justification for the filing.
He also noted that it was unclear whether the documents constituted amendments, substitutions, or entirely new witness statements, describing the process as irregular and unknown to the rules of court.
Counsel for the second accused, Augustine Obour, supported the objection, maintaining that following the closure of disclosures at CMC, any further filings must strictly comply with established procedures.
When the Court requested the legal basis for the filing, the prosecution maintained that the action was prompted by new evidence but did not demonstrate that leave had been obtained before filing the statements.
In its ruling, the Court held that under the applicable Practice Directions, the prosecution could not file such processes as of right without first seeking and obtaining leave. The Court therefore struck out the two witness statements filed on April 24, 2026.
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