The High Court in Accra has ordered the former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau (NSB), Kwabena Adu-Boahene, and his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, to ensure that their lawyers are present at the next sitting or conduct the cross-examination of the last prosecution witness themselves.
Justice Francis Apangabuno Achibonga gave the order after the accused persons' lead counsel, Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, and his team failed to appear in court yesterday.
Absent
When the case was called, the judge asked Mr Adu-Boahene about the whereabouts of his lawyer.
In response, Mr Adu-Boahene told the court that he had been unable to reach his lawyer, adding that, as of the weekend, he was aware that Mr Atta Akyea and his team were engaged in marking examination scripts outside Accra.
He said he was uncertain whether the lead counsel was even within the jurisdiction and appealed to the court to indulge them while they tried to resolve the matter.
AG's position
The Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, who represented the state, told the court that he was aware defence counsel had written to the Chief Justice, the Registrar of the court and the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), indicating he would exercise what he described as an "alleged right" not to attend court during the legal vacation.
Dr Srem-Sai argued that the power to determine whether court proceedings should be held during the legal vacation rested with the Chief Justice, subject to the inherent power of a trial judge to control proceedings in his own court.
He said no law, rule, practice or convention allowed a lawyer or group of lawyers to unilaterally decide whether proceedings should take place.
Where counsel had genuine grounds to be absent, he said, the proper course was to apply to the court for an adjournment, which the court could grant in full, in part, or refuse.
The Deputy Attorney-General urged the court to allow proceedings to continue without hindrance.
Orders
In his ruling, Justice Achibonga stated that counsel for the accused persons had not explained his absence, even though he had been present when the case was adjourned to yesterday specifically to continue his cross-examination.
The judge said he had taken notice of a letter dated August 5, 2026, from defence counsel to the Chief Justice, asking for reconsideration of the directive to sit during the legal vacation, as well as a separate letter from the GBA raising concerns about vacation sittings.
Justice Achibonga, however, said that the letters did not amount to a stay of proceedings.
He said he had been issued a warrant by the Chief Justice to sit and conduct hearings during the legal vacation, and that until that warrant was revoked, he remained mandated to continue sitting.
Justice Achibonga said it would not be fair to compel the accused persons to cross-examine the fourth prosecution witness even though their lawyers had abandoned them without justification.
He added that it was proper to give the accused persons the opportunity to advise themselves on the future conduct of their legal representation.
The court accordingly adjourned the case to August 17, 2026, warning that if the accused persons remained unrepresented on that date, they would be made to conduct the cross-examination of the prosecution witness themselves, failing which the witness would be discharged.
Background
Mr Adu-Boahene, his wife and two others, Mildred Donkor and Advantage Solutions Limited, are standing trial on 11 counts, including conspiracy to commit crime, stealing, using public office for profit, money laundering and causing financial loss to the state.
The prosecution alleges that while Mr Adu-Boahene was Director-General of the NSB in 2018, he and his wife incorporated a private company, BNC Communication Bureau Limited, with a name deliberately similar to the state agency, to disguise the diversion of GH¢49.1 million meant for the procurement of a national cybersecurity system.
They have pleaded not guilty and are currently on bail pending trial.
