Residents of Jirapa in the Upper West Region have expressed dissatisfaction with the recent decision of the Wa High Court to suspend the murder trial proceedings of Eric Johnson, the CEO of the Royal Cosy Hills Hotel.
The court announced the suspension of the trial following claims made by the lawyers representing the accused that the Chief Justice had ordered the case to be transferred to Kumasi.
This decision has been met with disapproval from members of the Jirapa community, many of whom were present in court to observe the proceedings.
Mr. Johnson, the former CEO of the Royal Cosy Hills Hotel, was brutally murdered, and three individuals are currently on trial for his killing.
State prosecutors, led by Saed Abdul Shakuur, along with the defence team, were prepared to commence the hearing when the lead counsel for the accused, Clement Eledi, presented a letter claiming that Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo had directed the case to be relocated to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
Consequently, the court decided to pause the proceedings to authenticate the letter from the Chief Justice’s office.
Principal State Attorney Saed Abdul Shakuur expressed astonishment at this turn of events, highlighting that the prosecution was ready to proceed with 11 witnesses, seven of whom are located in Wa, and three are officers at the regional police headquarters.
“When we entered the court, the lawyer for the accused gave us a letter, purporting to be a letter from the CJ…instructing the district court to immediately transfer the matter to the high court in Kumasi. But I think that there’s more. We have 11 witnesses. Seven of them are in Wa.”
“Three are officers at the police regional headquarters. So, we intended to start the trial next week with the lawyers and we have since had conferences with everybody, we have filed witness cases and everything and so the case was about to start until this happened.”
Several residents from Jirapa, present at the court, voiced their opposition to the decision to relocate the case to Kumasi.
One resident questioned the authenticity of the petition that led to the Chief Justice’s directive. They suggested that if the petition originated from the accused’s mother, it might indicate a biased interest, making it equally pertinent for the local community of Jirapa.
The residents are worried that transferring the case to Kumasi would be unfair, considering that the murder occurred in Jirapa. They argued that traveling to Kumasi for every hearing would be inconvenient and costly. Consequently, they are urging that the trial be conducted in Wa, where the crime was committed.