I presented cheque to chief of Banka-Witness
Mr Wallace Bruce Cathline, a witness in the case in which Nana Osabarima Twiampomah III, the Chief of Banka, is standing trial for allegedly misappropriating an amount of US$150,000 belonging to the people of Banka, has told an Accra Fast Track High Court that he presented the cheque meant for the people of Banka to the chief.
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Mr Cathline, a lawyer who works with Minka Premo and Co. Chambers in Accra, admitted during examination that he personally handed over the cheque meant for the people of Banka to Nana Osabarima Twiampomah III, Chief of Banka.
Charge
Fifty-two-year-old Nana Osabarima Twiampomah III is charged with stealing to which he has pleaded not guilty.
He is on bail in the sum of GH¢50,000 with a surety to be justified and under bond not to travel pending the determination of the case.
He has also deposited a title deed to the court which is equivalent to US$150,000.
Led in evidence by Mr Mathew Amponsah, Chief State Attorney, Mr Cathline said he got to know the accused person on June 14, 2011 when one Mr Ebenezer Asare-Quansah, a client of his chamber, called him on phone that he wanted to bring a cheque to him to be given to the accused person.
When they came, Mr Asare-Quansah then introduced the accused to him as the Chief of Banka and thereafter he handed the cheque to him (witness) and that the cheque for US$150,000, payable through Stanbic Bank, was for the people of Banka.
“Mr Asare Quansah prepared a receipt to be signed by the accused in the name of the people of Banka,” Mr Cathline recounted.
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Insistence on cheque being issued to him
He told the court that in the course of discussions, the accused insisted that the cheque should be for him and so it should be issued to him.
Mr Asare-Quansah did not oblige and that led to an argument between the two, following which Mr Asare-Quansah left but instructed that the cheque should be released to the accused if he signed for it in the name of the people of Banka.
Consequently, the accused told the witness that he was going to see his lawyer, one Kwame Gyan, to prepare a receipt for him.
Mr Asare-Quansah also instructed the witness that in the event that the accused brought a receipt, the content should be read out to him (Mr Asare-Quansah) before the cheque is handed over to him (the accused).
When the content was read to him, he disagreed, saying it amounted to the accused receiving the amount in his personal capacity and for himself.
Cheque received in the name of Banka people
Later on, he said, the accused signed the receipt prepared by Mr Asare-Quansah for the cheque in the name of the people of Banka following which the cheque was released to him.
The witness then tendered the receipt in court.
According to the prosecutor, in 2000, Gulf Coast Resources Limited (GCRL) acquired a mining lease for a period of 10 years from the Minerals Commission to mine gold on Banka lands. The mining lease expired in 2010.
When the lease expired, GCRL wrote a letter to the Minister of Lands, Forestry and Natural Resources for renewal.
According to Mr Amponsah, in a letter dated June 10, 2010, the accused person and the people of Banka petitioned the ministry to not renew the lease because GCRL failed to fulfil its corporate social responsibility for the period the land was leased to it.
Following that challenge, GCRL entered into negotiations with the accused and the people of Banka, during which the company promised to pay US$150,000 to the community for development purposes.
Later, the accused and his people, in a letter dated January 13, 2011, wrote to the ministry to withdraw their petition and the mining lease was renewed for another 10 years, starting from 2011.
Mr Amponsah said after the mining lease was renewed, GCRL paid the agreed amount and subsequently transferred its rights to another mining company, Banka Gold Limited.
Payment
According to the prosecution, GCRL paid the amount as per Stanbic Bank cheque number 534403 on June 14, 2011. It was received and acknowledged by the accused, who issued a signed receipt on June 14, 2011.
Mr Amponsah said the accused failed to inform his people after receiving the money.
In spite of several demands by the people concerning the payment, the accused denied receiving the money.
In Nana Twiampomah’s statement to the police, he said the money he received was for his personal use and not for the community and added that he used part of it to defray the cost of his legal suit against GCRL.