The Accra High Court has dismissed an application by former National Food and Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) Chief Executive Officer, Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, to strike out 16 criminal charges against him, clearing the way for his trial to proceed.
The court, however, directed the prosecution to amend two counts of defrauding by false pretence after finding that they lacked sufficient particulars required under the law.
In a bench ruling delivered on Thursday, July 23, Justice Francis Apangabuno Achibonga held that the charge sheet and supporting affidavit provided the accused with enough information to understand the allegations and prepare an adequate defence.
The application, filed by Aludiba through his lawyer, Godfred Yeboah Dame, challenged the charges on several grounds, including claims that they lacked the necessary particulars and improperly combined multiple offences.
The court rejected the argument that the charges were too vague, ruling that prosecutors are only required to provide reasonable information about the nature of the offences alleged.
Justice Achibonga held that the particulars contained in the charge sheet were sufficient to inform Aludiba of the case he was required to answer.
The court also dismissed claims that the prosecution had wrongly merged separate offences into single counts, holding that where offences arise from the same transaction or course of conduct, they may properly be presented in one count.
On the issue of charging both stealing and defrauding by false pretence based on the same set of facts, the court acknowledged that the offences may appear contradictory because one suggests property was taken without consent while the other implies consent obtained through deception.
However, the judge ruled that Ghana’s criminal law allows prosecutors to bring alternative charges arising from the same conduct, provided an accused person is not convicted and punished for both offences.
Relying on Section 157 of the Criminal and Other Offences Act (Act 30), the court held that the prosecution was entitled to maintain both charges at this stage of the proceedings.
Despite dismissing the application, the court found defects in Count 14, which relates to Aludiba, and Count 9, which concerns his wife and co-accused, Faiza Seidu Wuni.
Justice Achibonga ruled that both counts failed to state that the accused persons allegedly made representations they knew to be false or did not believe to be true, an essential element of the offence of defrauding by false pretence.
The court consequently ordered the prosecution to amend the two charges before the trial proceeds.
