Former Minister for Works and Housing, Collins Dauda, is in hot water for leaving Ghana without court permission.
Dauda, facing prosecution for financial loss and related offenses in the Saglemi Housing Project, was required to seek court approval and passport release for travel.
The High Court justice overseeing the trial, Justice Ernest Owusu-Dapaa, expressed astonishment at Dauda’s ability to travel without the court’s knowledge, considering his passport was in the court’s custody.
The incident came to light when Dauda’s lawyer explained his absence, citing an emergency invitation for parliamentary duties in South Africa.
The judge learned about the MP’s travel to South Africa when his lawyer, Thaddeus Sory, explained Dauda’s absence from proceedings on November 20, 2023.
Sory stated that Dauda had an emergency invitation for a pan-African conference in South Africa related to parliamentary duties.
The lawyer began the process to obtain Dauda’s passport from the court, but travel arrangements were made before the application hearing on November 17, 2023.
The state prosecutor, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, shared the judge’s surprise about the accused’s ability to travel without the court’s registry holding the passport.
Obuobisa, the director of Public Prosecutions at the Office of the Attorney General, expressed concern that Dauda’s actions were troubling as he was required, as part of his bail conditions, to notify the court before travelling outside the jurisdiction.
In the ongoing trial, the state has finally presented its case against the former housing minister and his three co-accused after several months of deferring due to the absence of its witnesses.
The prosecution’s initial witness was Rev. Stephen Yaw Osei, the acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Works and Housing.
Despite objections from the defense lawyers, the court adopted the chief director’s witness statement. The case has been adjourned to Tuesday, November 21, 2023, for the witness to read his statement.