The Court of Appeal has overturned the ruling of the Accra High Court to conduct a fresh trial for Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni and Seidu Agongo.
The three-member panel unanimously concluded that the trial court made an error in disregarding the previous proceedings when a new judge took over the case.
Adopt the records
The Court of Appeal, led by Justice Philip Bright Mensah, alongside Justices Jennifer Dadzie and Dr. Ernest Owusu-Dapaa, ruled in favor of the Attorney-General’s appeal.
They ordered the High Court to continue the trial from where it left off, adopting the records of the previous trial.
Trial
Dr. Opuni and Agongo, the CEO of Agricult Ghana Limited, were taken to court in March 2018 on allegations of causing a financial loss to the state through transactions involving Lithovit Foliar fertilizer.
The state prosecutors claim that the fertilizers were of substandard quality, leading to a loss of over GH¢271 million. Agongo is further accused of using fraudulent methods to sell the fertilizer to COCOBOD for distribution to cocoa farmers.
New judge
Following five years of trial, Justice Clemence Honyenuga, a Justice of the Supreme Court with additional responsibilities as a High Court judge, retired in March 2023. As a result, a new judge, Justice Kwasi Anokye Gyimah, was appointed by the Chief Justice to preside over the case.
The prosecution subsequently filed an application requesting the High Court to adopt the previous proceedings of the case under Justice Honyenuga. However, in a ruling on April 4, 2024, Justice Gyimah determined that starting the trial afresh would be fairer due to the numerous allegations surrounding the proceedings under Justice Honyenuga.
Appeal
The A-G then filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal challenging the decision of the High Court to start the trial afresh, with a case that the decision was against the tenets of fair trial.
It is the case of the A-G that Justice Gyimah misdirected himself by the manner in which he refused to adopt the evidence already adduced at the trial.
It appears the Lawyers for businessman Seidu Agongo are peeved over what has been described as unlawful conduct by a retired justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Clemence Honyenuga.
They, thus, have made the strongest move yet to get the retired justice to recuse himself from the ongoing trial at the High Court.
The judge is being accused of deliberately putting hurdles in the way of the accused so that they falter and get jailed on trumped-up charges.
In a motion filed on Friday, February 17, the embattled businessman called the entire trial, which has lasted over four years, a sham.
The retired judge has been presiding over the trial of former COCOBOD Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Opuni, and businessman Seidu Agongo, as well as Agricult Ghana Limited, who are facing 27 charges, including willfully causing financial loss to the state in contravention of the Public Procurement Act in the purchase of Lithovit liquid fertiliser between 2014 and 2016. A copy of the affidavit sighted by Newstitbits.com made copious reference to the May 7, 2021 ruling on the submission of no case, in which Justice Honyenuga in his closet unilaterally and “curiously rejected” as many as 18 evidentiary documents that the accused persons said exonerated them of any wrongdoing.
“That by rejecting the exculpatory evidence and marking them as rejects thus ensuring that we can never rely on the said exhibits at the trial while at the same time calling on us to open our defence in respect of the very same matters means that this Court has already sealed our fate and only wants us to go through a sham of a trial when it has already predetermined our guilt even before we are heard especially when similar evidence tendered by the Prosecution was spared the wrath of this Court.”
Mr. Agongo described the actions of Justice Honyenuga in that ruling as a “clear assault” on his constitutional rights to fair trial as well as being against the rules of natural justice and, “as a result, disqualifies the said trial Judge from continuing with the further conduct of the proceedings in this matter”.
Justice Honyenuga was also accused of being selective in applying the laws.
According to him, the judge “unfairly, capriciously, discriminatorily, and prejudicially” applied the hearsay rules “only against the Accused Persons”.
He cited the case of two farmers whose statements were taken and tendered in evidence in a similar manner but by two different parties. He noted that the farmer whose statement was tendered by the accused was rejected, but the same court accepted the one tendered by the prosecution and used same in his ruling against the accused.
Academic Exercise
“That I am advised by Counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that a fair minded trial Court in a criminal matter must be interested in evidence that enures to the benefit of an accused person and not seek to capriciously put such evidence beyond the use of an accused as this Court had done in rejecting and marking as rejects all these documents to the effect that we cannot rely on them in our defence at the trial.”
He is therefore convinced that no matter the evidence that would be adduced, “our fates are sealed and any further trial proceedings before the same judge will just be an academic exercise”.
Justice Honyenuga was once again accused of “clearly being influenced by extrajudicial considerations” in the matter before him.
The businessman also cited a recent event in court to buttress his reason to get the judge to back off.
On February 14, 2023 when the case was called, Mr. Agongo was not in court due to ill health.
The judge had previously ordered the registrar of the court to go to the 37 Military Hospital, where the accused was on admission, to ascertain the veracity of his claim.
“As I indicated, I have limited time to conclude this matter but such medical excuses are delaying the trial of this case. I must state emphatically that this court has the discretion to accept or reject medical evidence and I must also add that the second accused is on bail and he is still subject to this court’s discretion. And I must also add that this court has enormous powers to deal with any situation in this court,” the judge said in part before adjourning the case.
But he said comments made by the judge were terrifying and suggested that the judge did not trust him.
“That I was simply terrified to have read the above sentiments expressed and the threat issued by the said Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC), who obviously did not care whether or not I was unwell because he must by all means conclude this matter and considers my ill health as an impediment to his goal,” Agongo’s affidavit read.
“…his present threats to me would lead any independent observer, unfortunately, to the only irresistible conclusion that the said Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC) cannot be an arbiter in this matter; and must, respectfully, recuse himself in the interest of justice.”
When the motion was brought to the attention of the court on February 20, the judge admitted that issues raised in the motion were very serious.
“In view of the very serious matters raised, I am adjourning this case to Thursday 10:00am. I would have abridged the time to Wednesday the 22nd February to hear the motion but I am aware that the Supreme Court will give a ruling in the review filed by the first accused.”
Find excerpts of Agongo’s affidavit below
21. That I am advised by Counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that a fair minded trial Court in a criminal matter must be interested in evidence that enures to the benefit of an accused person and not seek to capriciously put such evidence beyond the use of an accused as this Court had done in rejecting and marking as rejects all these documents to the effect that we cannot rely on them in our defence at the trial.
22. That by rejecting the exculpatory evidence and marking them as rejects thus ensuring that we can never rely on the said exhibits at the trial while at the same time calling on us to open our defence in respect of the very same matters means that this Court has already sealed our fate and only wants us to go through a sham of a trial when it has already predetermined our guilt even before we are heard especially when similar evidence tendered by the Prosecution was spared the wrath of this Court.
23. That I am advised by Counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that when this Court, presided over by Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC), suo motu decided to reject the exhibits, all of which had been admitted at the trial with the agreement of the Prosecution in not objecting to their being tendered, the said Court ought to have given the Accused Persons, including the Applicants herein, a hearing on the matter prior to making a decision which the said Judge failed to do.
24. That for the trial Court on its own to exclude all the exculpatory evidence without giving us a hearing is clearly an assault our constitutional rights to fair trial and against the rules of natural justice and, as a result, disqualifies the said trial Judge from continuing with the further conduct of the proceedings in this matter.
25. That while this Court did not explain what it meant by saying in its Ruling that because the matter is a “sensitive” one we should open our defence, I am advised by Counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that the sensitivity of a criminal case is not a legally recognized ground on which to call upon an accused person to open a defence in a criminal matter; and to that extent the trial Judge has shown that he is clearly being influenced by extrajudicial considerations in this matter.
26. That apart from having unlawfully excluded those exhibits as this Court did; this Court in its Ruling of 7th May, 2021, also made sweeping definite final and conclusive findings against us, the Applicants, at the stage of submission of no case to answer as though the said Ruling was the final judgment of this Court after full trial, when the said Court was yet to hear us; demonstrably leaving no room in this Court’s mind for the statutory reasonable doubt that we are required to raise as to our guilt on the charges laid against us.
27. That at page 40 of the Ruling (Exhibit “SA 2”), for instance, this Court states “…of course, this cannot be the Lithovit Fertilizer the 2nd and 3rd accused [Applicants herein] knew that what they supplied to COCOBOD cannot be Lithovit fertiIizer. “
28. That at page 42 of Exhibit “SA 2″, the trial Judge stated further ” … In the instant case, the 2nd and 3rd accused knew that the representation they made and supplied COCOBOD with 700,000 litres, and 1,000,000 litres of Lithovit were (sic) false because they knew that the liquid substance they had supplied to COCOBOD were (sic) not Lithovit fertilizers. “
29. That again the trial Judge, Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC), stated at page 43 to 44 of the Ruling that ” … In the instant case, the 2nd and 3rd accused knew that the liquid substances they supplied to COCOBOD were false and they knew that they were not the Lithovit Foliar fertilizer from Germany. PW7’s testimony supports the assertion that the liquid substance was prepared from their (accused’s) own warehouse with(sic) any scientific formular. From the GSA and UG (1) it is clear that this liquid substance was intentionally prepared using insignificant portions of the genuine Lithovit Fertilizer from Germany, (urea was then added to it to pass off as Lithovit fertilizer from Germany. “
30. That at page 45 of Exhibit “SA 2” the said trial Judge continued thus ….. Is a result of the representations made by the 2nd and 3rd accused that they had supplied COCOBOD with Lithovit Foliar Fertilizer from Germany tested and approved by CRIG and COCOBOD, both the Audit, Inspectorate and Finance Departments believed that they were paying for genuine Lithovit fertilizer from Germany but did not know that they were paying for a liquid substance that could not be described as Lithovit Foliar fertilizer.”
31. That on page 54 of the Ruling, Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC) stated further that “… All these were perpetuated to facilitate the 2nd and 3rd accused’s [Applicants herein] business and defraud COCOBOD. Indeed these acts were all perpetuated to facilitate and intentionally, voluntarily to aid the 2nd and 3rd accused [Applicants herein] to perpetrate fraud on COCOBOD by supplying a different product from what was tested and approved… However, the 1st accused although he knew the correct state of affairs and knowingly facilitated and aided the 2nd and 3rd accused [Applicants herein] to defraud COCOBOD… there was no way COCOBOD would have been defrauded of such huge amounts. “
32. That at page 55 of the Ruling, Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC) continued his assault on the Applicants herein by stating “… The 1st accused made things easier for the 2nd, and 3rd accused to succeed in their enterprise of defrauding.”
33. That the said trial Judge continued his onslaught at page 59 of the Ruling thus: “… It is in evidence that these colossal amounts were paid through the 1st accused as the CEO of COCOBOD to the 2nd and 3rd accused [Applicants] who supplied Lithovit liquid fertilizer which was not tested nor approved by COCOBOD and which scientific reports which PW5 tendered as exhibit H from the Ghana Standard Authority and University of Ghana Chemistry Department that the Foliar liquid fertilizer is worthless. It is a fact that the state is the owner of these monies paid out and her coffers were depleted without receiving any value for its money. This indeed constitutes financial loss to the state… The actions of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd accused were willful.”
34. That on page 60 of the Ruling, Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC) continued thus “…it is safe to conclude that that the 1st, 2nd and 3rd accused intentionally engaged in a conduct which injured the state financially … It was an adulterated product and therefore could not have been tested and approved product from Germany. It was an intentional conduct to merit the charge.”
35. That at page 64 of the Ruling, Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC) stated “In the instant case the prosecution had proved that the accused persons acted together and the purpose was to cause financial loss to the state as earlier proved under the substantive offence. “
36. That t am convinced beyond any doubts that with the above categorical and determinative statements made by Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC), even before we could be heard, after he found ways of putting very vital evidence that would have assisted us to raise any doubts as to our guilt beyond our use at the trial by marking them as rejects at the submission of no case stage; we (Applicants) stand no chance before him no matter what manner of evidence we adduce before the said Court as, for all practical purposes, our fates are sealed and any further trial proceedings before the same judge will just be an academic exercise.
37. That by the above statements the court has again deprived us of our constitutional rights to be condemned only after the Court has heard both sides of the matter
38. That these deliberate hurdles placed in the way of the Accused Persons in this matter notwithstanding the 1st Accused (not a party to this Application) eventually opened his defence on 2nd December,2021, by calling DW1, Mr. Charles Tetteh Dodoo, and has so far called six (6) other witnesses; Dw7 currently testifying.
39. That midway through the evidence of the DW7, Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC), on the 16th of December, 2021, ordered all accused persons, including the Applicants herein, to file Witness Statements together with any documents the Accused might rely on at the trial; with a further order that each witness, together with the Accused Persons, including the Applicants, shall have a day to give their evidence-in-chief and the cross-examination of each witness shall not exceed two sitting days.
40. That the trial Judge, Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC), imposed these new restrictions on the Applicants in the conduct of our defence even though no such restrictions were imposed on the Prosecution when it conducted its case.
4t. That when the 1st Accused after the 16th December,2021, Ruling/Orders brought an Application in the Supreme Court for Certiorari and Prohibition, Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC), quite extraordinarily, personally swore to and filed an Affidavit in Opposition denouncing the 1st Accused and the allegations made in his said Application before the Supreme Court; thereby clearly descending into the arena of conflict or taking issues personally with the 1st Accused, with whom the Applicants herein have been jointly charged with conspiracy.
42. That I have always attended Court on this matter until the 31st of January, 2023, when I was absent on account of ill health. I had attended the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for medical care; and the Court adjourned the matter to 2nd February, 2023, for me to furnish proof of having sought such medical attention.
43. That on the 31st of January, 2023, I was given Three (3) days excused duty and scheduled to attend a review on 7th February, 2023; and as such I was unable to attend Court on the 2nd of February, 2023, but my lawyers furnished the Court with the Medical Note I had been given from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on 31st January,2023; upon which the court adjourned the case to 6th February, 2023, for continuation.
44. That on 6th February,2023, I attended Court though I was still seriously unwell on the insistence of my lawyers in order that we are not accused of delaying the proceedings; and at the end of the day’s proceedings the matter was adjourned to 8″‘February, 2023, for continuation.
45. That on 7th February, 2023, I duly attended my medical review session as scheduled but was still unwell and had to be taken to the 37 Military Hospital at night on the said 7th of February,2023, where I was admitted until 11th February, when I was discharged, and therefore could not attend Court on the 8th of February, 2023; I attach herewith evidence of my attendance at the 37 Military Hospital marked as Exhibit (SA 3).
46. That I am informed by Counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that on the said 8th of February, 2023, Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC) expressed his grave displeasure at having to adjourn the matter due to my absence from Court on account of being on admission at the Hospital and “with a heavy heart” adjourned the matter to 13th February, 2023, while ordering the Registrar of the Court to verify from the 37 Military Hospital whether I was indeed admitted there and for my lawyers also to furnish the Court with proof of my said admission on the l3th of February,2023.
41. That I am informed by Counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that on 13th February,2023, though the Court was furnished with the Medical Advisory Certificate given to me from the 37 Military Hospital upon my discharge on 11th February, 2023, which confirmed the dates of my admission at the said Hospital and gave me a week’s excused duty, Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC) adjourned the matter to 14th February, 2023, in order to receive the report of the Registrar as to whether or not I had in truth been admitted at the said Hospital; a clear indication that the said judge disbelieved the fact of my ill health and or admission.
48. That I am again informed by Counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that on the 14th of February, 2023, Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC) was incensed that I was absent and given a week’s excused duty and unable to hide his indignation, delivered himself in the following words or in words of similar nature: “At the last adjourned date, I expressed my difficulty in having to adjourn the case because of the absence of the 2nd accused on medical excuse duty. As I indicated, I have limited time to conclude this matter but such medical excuses are delaying the trial of this case. I must state emphatically that this court has discretion to accept or reject medical evidence and I must add that the 2nd accused is on bail and he is still subject to this court’s discretion. And I must also add that this court has enormous powers to deal with any situation in this court.”
49. That I am also informed by Counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that the Registrar’s report to the Court on the said 14th of February,2023, was to the effect that the Adjutant of the 37 Military Hospital, who was the appropriate person to have responded to the Registrar’s query, was otherwise engaged at the time the Registrar visited the said Hospital and as a result the Registrar was asked to wait till 11:00am when he would have been attended to, but Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC) would seem to have taken this report to mean disrespect towards him and stated thus: “At the last adjourned date, I also indicated that I was giving the 2nd accused the benefit of the doubt for his absence from court. I will, again, give him the final benefit of the doubt, especially when the effort of the Registrar who was to verify from the 37 Military Hospital whether or not the 2nd accused was on admission, ended in a fiasco.”
50. That I was simply terrified to have read the above sentiments expressed and the threat issued by the said Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC), who obviously did not care whether or not I was unwell because he must by all means conclude this matter and considers my ill health as an impediment to his goal.
51 That the said trial Judge’s conduct in unlawfully excluding vital evidence critical to our defence; setting up a personal battle with the 1st Accused, with whom we are jointly charged; sending the Registrar of the Court to the Hospital to confirm whether I had been on admission despite documentation from the Hospital to that effect; and his present threats to me would lead any independent observer, unfortunately, to the only irresistible conclusion that the said Justice C.J. Honyenuga (JSC) cannot be an arbiter in this matter; and must, respectfully, recuse himself in the interest of justice.
For many, being born into a wealthy home is almost an insurance against the difficulties and discomforts of life. It is sometimes even seen as a launch pad to riches. For business moguls and philanthropists, this is far from the truth.
Born to a wealthy man in a village in one of Ghana’s poorest regions, Upper East, young Seidu, who targeted the impossible, neither had life on a silver platter nor inherited any lunch-pad riches. Unlike many children of the wealthy few, Seidu did not stay with his biological parents to enjoy the conveniences that his dad’s wealth could buy.
Despite that early-life hard luck, young Seidu trudged through life’s trenches with bare audacity until his intense, stern gaze into poverty’s face eventually bought him freedom from the wants of this world.
Realising early in his life that he had absolutely no one but himself to blame and hold responsible for everything that either happened or did not happen to him – whether right or wrong – young Seidu would fuel his mission to escape from poverty with sheer hunger and anger.
As he told CTV’s Nana Otu Darko in a recent interview, hunger and anger drove him to think his way out of the trenches of poverty.
Gifted with wisdom to know from very early in his life that “my dad’s wealth wasn’t mine”, tough Seidu would start from very humble beginnings to conquer the behemoth heights of poverty.
“I wasn’t born into riches. I didn’t inherit riches although my father was a rich man. People who inherit riches normally don’t succeed because they would have had a pampered upbringing and mess up later”, he waxed philosophical to Nana Otu Darko.
“I’m a very tough and fearless person but humble. I grew up at Burma Camp among soldiers, so, you can imagine how tough I am. I have been a cobbler (shoeshine boy) before. I was also a bus conductor (trotro driver’s mate) at a point in my life”, he recounted.
“It is hard work and the grace of God that has brought me this far”, Mr Agongo, who now owns media giant Class Media Group and a plethora of other businesses, acknowledged the handiwork of the Divine God in his life.
To him, “it is foolish” for anyone to rely on their parent’s wealth to build their life because whereas hunger and anger may have been the motivators that fueled their ancestors’ hustles, a voracious appetite to “show-off” on social media in “designer” stuff might, more than likely, be the motivator for the progeny.
“Hunger makes you think. Secondly, anger can drive you to success. It has nothing to do with your parents’ wealth. I know the children of the rich will suffer in the future because they would not manage that wealth properly because their parents were driven by hunger and poverty but they are being driven by social media, so, they buy designer belts, shoes, and cars. You’ll never succeed that way”, the owner of the now-defunct Heritage Bank Limited continued.
“I’m grateful to God for how he wired me because I realised from an early age that I can’t blame anyone for my circumstances. I blame myself for everything”.
And, so, he became his own boss from the very outset. As CEO of his own shoeshine, busy young Agongo put his very heart into his job. Excellence was his target and excellence he hit.
With the same fervour, dedication and commitment, young Seidu took his trotro mate job to dizzying heights.
He was on to a good start – thanks to his toughness and rugged audacity to succeed.
He then took things a notch higher. “I was the very first person to set up a communication centre at Burma Camp”, he said with well-deserved pride, recalling: “People queued to speak to their soldier relatives abroad at my booths. It was very successful”.
“By the grace of God, no enterprise I establish ever fails; it’s just that I don’t get the right people to run them. It’s the same for all business owners in the whole of Ghana. Businessmen are struggling and suffering to get honest, decent managers and workers but don’t get them.
It’s difficult because all that those people think about is what my family and I have and how they will mess it up, without thinking that the better you run my business, the more experience you gain to run yours in the future”, the media mogul bemoaned.
But it would take him quite some doing before his bank and media forays.
“Real businessmen have humility and are able to do even the dirtiest and lowliest of jobs but in our part of the world, businessmen are all about showing off with big cars, among others, so, they make the concept of business look different”.
Far from being a show-off and keeping his eyes on the ball, Seidu Agongo turned his attention to even much bigger things.
“While at the Burma Camp, I loaned the proceeds from my communication centre business to the soldiers at a 30-per-cent interest rate because I didn’t know what to do with the huge profit. I did very well with that business, too”.
“From there, I went into rice, sugar and tin tomatoes trading at Nima. I created the bustling business environment you see at Nima today by virtue of my business. I attracted people to Nima to trade. Everyone knows me at Nima as ‘Seidu the Rice Seller’.
I could sell GHS4 million worth of rice in a day. You can ask Olam, Stallion and others. Banks were unable to count my money and, so, they did what they could and returned the following day to continue counting the money”.
“I drove trailer trucks myself to go and cart rice to sell. I could bring 20 to 30 containers of oil to Nima. The whole of the Nima Roundabout gets clogged with human and vehicular traffic just because of my trading activities there. I’ve done a lot of work in my life but my philosophy is the work must impact the lives of people positively”.
“The rice brands I sold were mostly imported brands from Thailand and USA. I only sold foreign rice. So, it meant we were creating jobs for those countries anytime we consumed their rice. It wasn’t meaningful to me because I believe money must be made in a satisfactory way to help other people but not through any means at all, irrespective of the consequences”.
“So, I began searching for institutionalised businesses protected by government regulations to establish more businesses. That’s what got me to set up Heritage Bank. Such businesses can outlive me and last for decades because they would have had protection from government regulatory institutions”.
Heritage Bank Limited, which he said “was doing well” even when it was collapsed by the Bank of Ghana, was one of those institutionalised businesses.
Ironically, it didn’t get to enjoy the regulatory protection that had attracted Mr Agongo to venture into such waters. The giver of the protection killed the seeker of that protection.
“The success of every bank depends on the kind of board members you have: are they people you want to control, or do you want them to use their knowledge and expertise to run the institution independently of you? I didn’t want remote-controlled board members. I wanted people who could look me in the face and tell me the truth, so, I had very good board members.
For instance, the late Prof Kwesi Botchwey was the Board Chair. Also, Mr Benson Nutsukpui, a former President of the Ghana Bar Association, a very respectable person who won’t allow anyone to dent his reputation, was a member of the board”.
Despite the bank’s death, Mr Agongo’s toughness isn’t shaken one bit. “I came into this world to experience life, not to avoid it, so, I am always prepared for whatever happens. If I can help the situation, I would do everything possible to salvage what I can and leave the rest to God, but if it is beyond me, I just leave it all to God to deal with”.
“I don’t want to go too much into the Heritage Bank matter”, he pleaded, explaining: “Because up till now, I haven’t been given any letter about why the bank was collapsed but, maybe, the regulators know why that happened. Apart from the announcement of the bank’s collapse in the media, I never had any official correspondence to that effect. I don’t fault anybody because every misfortunate has a purpose. So, I don’t question God about anything that happens. He knows best”.
Rather than worrying about the millions of dollars he lost following the collapse of the bank, Alhaji Seidu Agongo – very typical of his philanthropic nature – is more concerned about the fate of his workers who suddenly lost their jobs.
“I was worried about the bank’s collapse because my workers who had families and dependents lost their jobs and livelihoods suddenly just because of the decision of the central bank to collapse the bank. So, the human aspect of it really breaks my heart but I leave it all to God, He knows best”.
“It’s unfortunate that the major reason that motivates certain actions of the typical Ghanaian is short-sightedness. Even animals protect each other, so, to collapse banks suddenly without thinking of the repercussions on the workers and their families and dependents were heartbreaking for me.
I strongly believe that any action that would have a rippling effect on a lot of people and their lives and livelihood must be well-thought-through otherwise, the life of the person taking the action will even go in the reverse direction. Institutions must not act willy-nilly but I believe God is king”.
Mr Agongo, a young tough shoeshine boy and trotro mate, who now employs and pays an “uncountable number of workers”, said: “Even if Heritage Bank doesn’t bounce back, something bigger than it will come up because I have vowed to sacrifice myself to the service of the nation by doing something special for this country – something that will make you proud to be a Ghanaian; not material things like cars, etc.”
As for his media empire, which consists of nine radio stations across the country, a TV station and a news portal, Mr Agongo said he sought to use them to correct the waywardness of the country.
“I saw Ghana as going wayward. Not that I disrespect anybody. So, I wondered how I could get a medium through which well-meaning Ghanaians and I could speak to the masses. I feel my media houses have achieved only 3 percent of the vision for which I set them up. They are region-based and the objective for setting them up was for them to own the regions and impact the lives of the people in those parts of the country but I don’t see much of that”.
“I don’t dictate to my radio stations what to say and not to say. Even if I’m in the news for a bad reason, I won’t stop them from reporting on it”.
What Drives His Business Success?
“Every successful businessman must be humble enough for even his security man to be able to approach him with new ideas because as a businessman, whatever people tell you is important since all knowledge is not in one person’s head”, Mr Agongo, who rises for work every 3 am, said.
“One thing about Ghanaian businesspeople is that they like to show off. They buy the latest cars and chase everything in skirts but money is spiritual, it doesn’t like to be messed about with. And God has already planned everything in the Universe, so, all you have to do is find your place in it and fit in because we’re insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
So, there are so many factors that lead to the failure of businesses in Ghana. Even government policies are a factor as well as hatred, jealousy, the proverbial ‘pull him down’ syndrome and stereotypes – Who is he? Where’s he from? How can a northerner, whose kin and kith are known to be fufu pounders, security guards and farm hands, own a radio station? Are you God? You are not God. It’s all hatred”.
“[Barack] Obama, from Kenya, rose to become the US President. As we speak, a Briton of Indian ancestry is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It means you can’t, in the slightest way, alter God’s plan, so, shut up and be in your corner and do what you can and leave the rest for God. But, sometimes, we try to interfere with God’s plan. So, for success, there must be a change in mindset. You must go through the process rather than chasing overnight success”.
“Once you go through the mill and you establish yourself, it is difficult to bring you down”.
Attitude of The Ghanaian Worker
“If care is not taken, it may get to a time that no businessperson would establish any jobs because the attitude of the average Ghanaian worker is bad and appalling. Every business is like an infant. It needs nurturing. But Ghanaian workers don’t think about the job but rather what they would get from it. We need to prioritise things.
First of all, you can’t make money without putting in efforts that would result in money as the outcome. You have to use the strength, wisdom and knowledge God had gifted you with to make the things you want manifest because God didn’t give anybody money to come onto this earth. If He wanted it so, He would have designed it so.
But He gave you wisdom, knowledge and strength to work and, so, if somebody has employed you to do a certain job, care about the job: what can I do to make it better? What are some of the weaknesses? What level do I want to take this job in the next two years?
Once you think that way, money has no choice but to come. Every business evolves but a typical Ghanaian worker is all about the money. Even when you express gratitude, they wish it could be money. So, you should be able to gauge the stage of the business and tie it in with your demands and expectations because there is no free lunch. It’s a two-way affair: you can’t get what you don’t create.
What Gives Him Satisfaction
I’m satisfied when I am able to help a lot of people and families to realise their dreams. At the end of the day, that is what matters. It’s not about the car you drive or the plane you fly in. all that is vanity. But if I am able to help one million people and their families and dependents, at least that would reduce poverty and suffering. There are some brilliant students from poor homes who would have gone to waste had I not adopted them or intervened one way or the other.
Is Ghana on the right path
I feel Ghana has never been on the right path even from Nkrumah’s regime. I won’t talk about only this leadership. I feel Nkrumah, Kufuor, Jerry Rawlings, Atta Mills, this leadership [Akufo-Addo], we’ve not been under any right leadership because Ghana has no structures. If you are a president, it is only the structure that protects you. The structure makes you the commander of the Ghana Armed Forces.
If your structures are not right, what do you think we can achieve? There are no structures. Institutions are not right. You can’t achieve anything. Forget it. So, businesses will keep collapsing. The institutions are not strong. The judiciary is protected by the institutions; if it’s weak, nobody would want to be a judge. The presidency is protected by an institution if it’s weak … If a businessman is coming from Singapore or America, he looks at the institutions, not the presidency.
That is it. And, since Nkrumah’s time to date, institutions are not working. Let me be very frank with you, I’m coming from America to invest $100,000 in Ghana. I will be looking at the institutions, not the presidency because the president will be gone in eight years, maximum but how is our police system working, how is our military working, how is our judicial system working, how is our labour system working? It’s the institutions that protect your investment.
So, that is why people who amass wealth in government become paupers after leaving office in about five years because the structures are not there to protect him but if you look at somebody like Donald Trump, his father was into real estate and he still benefits from that inheritance.
So, if the institution doesn’t work, discretionary actions take over. Institutions protect growth, protect businessmen, protect investments, protect even succession plans, so, trust me, you can’t get one 100-year-old business in Ghana because we don’t have the institutions to protect them to grow to that extent.
Even wills can be manipulated. So, since Nkrumah’s time to date, if those things are not sorted out, we are just wasting our time. I’m a realist. The sad story is that once the institutions and the structures are not working well, we are all behaving like mosquitoes.
Favourite Quote
‘Time will eventually expose you’. And, so, time did expose Mr Agongo to the world as a strong-willed businessman who weathers whatever storms fight his progress and shrugs off hurdles.
But, perhaps, time, has more to expose than the Agongo we see now, for ‘vindication lies within its womb’.
For many, being born into a wealthy home is almost an insurance against the difficulties and discomforts of life. It is sometimes even seen as a launch pad to riches. For business moguls and philanthropists, this is far from the truth.
Born to a wealthy man in a village in one of Ghana’s poorest regions, Upper East, young Seidu, who targeted the impossible, neither had life on a silver platter nor inherited any lunch-pad riches. Unlike many children of the wealthy few, Seidu did not stay with his biological parents to enjoy the conveniences that his dad’s wealth could buy.
Despite that early-life hard luck, young Seidu trudged through life’s trenches with bare audacity until his intense, stern gaze into poverty’s face eventually bought him freedom from the wants of this world.
Realising early in his life that he had absolutely no one but himself to blame and hold responsible for everything that either happened or did not happen to him – whether right or wrong – young Seidu would fuel his mission to escape from poverty with sheer hunger and anger.
As he told CTV’s Nana Otu Darko in a recent interview, hunger and anger drove him to think his way out of the trenches of poverty.
Gifted with wisdom to know from very early in his life that “my dad’s wealth wasn’t mine”, tough Seidu would start from very humble beginnings to conquer the behemoth heights of poverty.
“I wasn’t born into riches. I didn’t inherit riches although my father was a rich man. People who inherit riches normally don’t succeed because they would have had a pampered upbringing and mess up later”, he waxed philosophical to Nana Otu Darko.
“I’m a very tough and fearless person but humble. I grew up at Burma Camp among soldiers, so, you can imagine how tough I am. I have been a cobbler (shoeshine boy) before. I was also a bus conductor (trotro driver’s mate) at a point in my life”, he recounted.
“It is hard work and the grace of God that has brought me this far”, Mr Agongo, who now owns media giant Class Media Group and a plethora of other businesses, acknowledged the handiwork of the Divine God in his life.
To him, “it is foolish” for anyone to rely on their parent’s wealth to build their life because whereas hunger and anger may have been the motivators that fueled their ancestors’ hustles, a voracious appetite to “show-off” on social media in “designer” stuff might, more than likely, be the motivator for the progeny.
“Hunger makes you think. Secondly, anger can drive you to success. It has nothing to do with your parents’ wealth. I know the children of the rich will suffer in the future because they would not manage that wealth properly because their parents were driven by hunger and poverty but they are being driven by social media, so, they buy designer belts, shoes, and cars. You’ll never succeed that way”, the owner of the now-defunct Heritage Bank Limited continued.
“I’m grateful to God for how he wired me because I realised from an early age that I can’t blame anyone for my circumstances. I blame myself for everything”.
And, so, he became his own boss from the very outset. As CEO of his own shoeshine, busy young Agongo put his very heart into his job. Excellence was his target and excellence he hit.
With the same fervour, dedication and commitment, young Seidu took his trotro mate job to dizzying heights.
He was on to a good start – thanks to his toughness and rugged audacity to succeed.
He then took things a notch higher. “I was the very first person to set up a communication centre at Burma Camp”, he said with well-deserved pride, recalling: “People queued to speak to their soldier relatives abroad at my booths. It was very successful”.
“By the grace of God, no enterprise I establish ever fails; it’s just that I don’t get the right people to run them. It’s the same for all business owners in the whole of Ghana. Businessmen are struggling and suffering to get honest, decent managers and workers but don’t get them.
It’s difficult because all that those people think about is what my family and I have and how they will mess it up, without thinking that the better you run my business, the more experience you gain to run yours in the future”, the media mogul bemoaned.
But it would take him quite some doing before his bank and media forays.
“Real businessmen have humility and are able to do even the dirtiest and lowliest of jobs but in our part of the world, businessmen are all about showing off with big cars, among others, so, they make the concept of business look different”.
Far from being a show-off and keeping his eyes on the ball, Seidu Agongo turned his attention to even much bigger things.
“While at the Burma Camp, I loaned the proceeds from my communication centre business to the soldiers at a 30-per-cent interest rate because I didn’t know what to do with the huge profit. I did very well with that business, too”.
“From there, I went into rice, sugar and tin tomatoes trading at Nima. I created the bustling business environment you see at Nima today by virtue of my business. I attracted people to Nima to trade. Everyone knows me at Nima as ‘Seidu the Rice Seller’.
I could sell GHS4 million worth of rice in a day. You can ask Olam, Stallion and others. Banks were unable to count my money and, so, they did what they could and returned the following day to continue counting the money”.
“I drove trailer trucks myself to go and cart rice to sell. I could bring 20 to 30 containers of oil to Nima. The whole of the Nima Roundabout gets clogged with human and vehicular traffic just because of my trading activities there. I’ve done a lot of work in my life but my philosophy is the work must impact the lives of people positively”.
“The rice brands I sold were mostly imported brands from Thailand and USA. I only sold foreign rice. So, it meant we were creating jobs for those countries anytime we consumed their rice. It wasn’t meaningful to me because I believe money must be made in a satisfactory way to help other people but not through any means at all, irrespective of the consequences”.
“So, I began searching for institutionalised businesses protected by government regulations to establish more businesses. That’s what got me to set up Heritage Bank. Such businesses can outlive me and last for decades because they would have had protection from government regulatory institutions”.
Heritage Bank Limited, which he said “was doing well” even when it was collapsed by the Bank of Ghana, was one of those institutionalised businesses.
Ironically, it didn’t get to enjoy the regulatory protection that had attracted Mr Agongo to venture into such waters. The giver of the protection killed the seeker of that protection.
“The success of every bank depends on the kind of board members you have: are they people you want to control, or do you want them to use their knowledge and expertise to run the institution independently of you? I didn’t want remote-controlled board members. I wanted people who could look me in the face and tell me the truth, so, I had very good board members.
For instance, the late Prof Kwesi Botchwey was the Board Chair. Also, Mr Benson Nutsukpui, a former President of the Ghana Bar Association, a very respectable person who won’t allow anyone to dent his reputation, was a member of the board”.
Despite the bank’s death, Mr Agongo’s toughness isn’t shaken one bit. “I came into this world to experience life, not to avoid it, so, I am always prepared for whatever happens. If I can help the situation, I would do everything possible to salvage what I can and leave the rest to God, but if it is beyond me, I just leave it all to God to deal with”.
“I don’t want to go too much into the Heritage Bank matter”, he pleaded, explaining: “Because up till now, I haven’t been given any letter about why the bank was collapsed but, maybe, the regulators know why that happened. Apart from the announcement of the bank’s collapse in the media, I never had any official correspondence to that effect. I don’t fault anybody because every misfortunate has a purpose. So, I don’t question God about anything that happens. He knows best”.
Rather than worrying about the millions of dollars he lost following the collapse of the bank, Alhaji Seidu Agongo – very typical of his philanthropic nature – is more concerned about the fate of his workers who suddenly lost their jobs.
“I was worried about the bank’s collapse because my workers who had families and dependents lost their jobs and livelihoods suddenly just because of the decision of the central bank to collapse the bank. So, the human aspect of it really breaks my heart but I leave it all to God, He knows best”.
“It’s unfortunate that the major reason that motivates certain actions of the typical Ghanaian is short-sightedness. Even animals protect each other, so, to collapse banks suddenly without thinking of the repercussions on the workers and their families and dependents were heartbreaking for me.
I strongly believe that any action that would have a rippling effect on a lot of people and their lives and livelihood must be well-thought-through otherwise, the life of the person taking the action will even go in the reverse direction. Institutions must not act willy-nilly but I believe God is king”.
Mr Agongo, a young tough shoeshine boy and trotro mate, who now employs and pays an “uncountable number of workers”, said: “Even if Heritage Bank doesn’t bounce back, something bigger than it will come up because I have vowed to sacrifice myself to the service of the nation by doing something special for this country – something that will make you proud to be a Ghanaian; not material things like cars, etc.”
As for his media empire, which consists of nine radio stations across the country, a TV station and a news portal, Mr Agongo said he sought to use them to correct the waywardness of the country.
“I saw Ghana as going wayward. Not that I disrespect anybody. So, I wondered how I could get a medium through which well-meaning Ghanaians and I could speak to the masses. I feel my media houses have achieved only 3 percent of the vision for which I set them up. They are region-based and the objective for setting them up was for them to own the regions and impact the lives of the people in those parts of the country but I don’t see much of that”.
“I don’t dictate to my radio stations what to say and not to say. Even if I’m in the news for a bad reason, I won’t stop them from reporting on it”.
What Drives His Business Success?
“Every successful businessman must be humble enough for even his security man to be able to approach him with new ideas because as a businessman, whatever people tell you is important since all knowledge is not in one person’s head”, Mr Agongo, who rises for work every 3 am, said.
“One thing about Ghanaian businesspeople is that they like to show off. They buy the latest cars and chase everything in skirts but money is spiritual, it doesn’t like to be messed about with. And God has already planned everything in the Universe, so, all you have to do is find your place in it and fit in because we’re insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
So, there are so many factors that lead to the failure of businesses in Ghana. Even government policies are a factor as well as hatred, jealousy, the proverbial ‘pull him down’ syndrome and stereotypes – Who is he? Where’s he from? How can a northerner, whose kin and kith are known to be fufu pounders, security guards and farm hands, own a radio station? Are you God? You are not God. It’s all hatred”.
“[Barack] Obama, from Kenya, rose to become the US President. As we speak, a Briton of Indian ancestry is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It means you can’t, in the slightest way, alter God’s plan, so, shut up and be in your corner and do what you can and leave the rest for God. But, sometimes, we try to interfere with God’s plan. So, for success, there must be a change in mindset. You must go through the process rather than chasing overnight success”.
“Once you go through the mill and you establish yourself, it is difficult to bring you down”.
Attitude of The Ghanaian Worker
“If care is not taken, it may get to a time that no businessperson would establish any jobs because the attitude of the average Ghanaian worker is bad and appalling. Every business is like an infant. It needs nurturing. But Ghanaian workers don’t think about the job but rather what they would get from it. We need to prioritise things.
First of all, you can’t make money without putting in efforts that would result in money as the outcome. You have to use the strength, wisdom and knowledge God had gifted you with to make the things you want manifest because God didn’t give anybody money to come onto this earth. If He wanted it so, He would have designed it so.
But He gave you wisdom, knowledge and strength to work and, so, if somebody has employed you to do a certain job, care about the job: what can I do to make it better? What are some of the weaknesses? What level do I want to take this job in the next two years?
Once you think that way, money has no choice but to come. Every business evolves but a typical Ghanaian worker is all about the money. Even when you express gratitude, they wish it could be money. So, you should be able to gauge the stage of the business and tie it in with your demands and expectations because there is no free lunch. It’s a two-way affair: you can’t get what you don’t create.
What Gives Him Satisfaction
I’m satisfied when I am able to help a lot of people and families to realise their dreams. At the end of the day, that is what matters. It’s not about the car you drive or the plane you fly in. all that is vanity. But if I am able to help one million people and their families and dependents, at least that would reduce poverty and suffering. There are some brilliant students from poor homes who would have gone to waste had I not adopted them or intervened one way or the other.
Is Ghana on the right path
I feel Ghana has never been on the right path even from Nkrumah’s regime. I won’t talk about only this leadership. I feel Nkrumah, Kufuor, Jerry Rawlings, Atta Mills, this leadership [Akufo-Addo], we’ve not been under any right leadership because Ghana has no structures. If you are a president, it is only the structure that protects you. The structure makes you the commander of the Ghana Armed Forces.
If your structures are not right, what do you think we can achieve? There are no structures. Institutions are not right. You can’t achieve anything. Forget it. So, businesses will keep collapsing. The institutions are not strong. The judiciary is protected by the institutions; if it’s weak, nobody would want to be a judge. The presidency is protected by an institution if it’s weak … If a businessman is coming from Singapore or America, he looks at the institutions, not the presidency.
That is it. And, since Nkrumah’s time to date, institutions are not working. Let me be very frank with you, I’m coming from America to invest $100,000 in Ghana. I will be looking at the institutions, not the presidency because the president will be gone in eight years, maximum but how is our police system working, how is our military working, how is our judicial system working, how is our labour system working? It’s the institutions that protect your investment.
So, that is why people who amass wealth in government become paupers after leaving office in about five years because the structures are not there to protect him but if you look at somebody like Donald Trump, his father was into real estate and he still benefits from that inheritance.
So, if the institution doesn’t work, discretionary actions take over. Institutions protect growth, protect businessmen, protect investments, protect even succession plans, so, trust me, you can’t get one 100-year-old business in Ghana because we don’t have the institutions to protect them to grow to that extent.
Even wills can be manipulated. So, since Nkrumah’s time to date, if those things are not sorted out, we are just wasting our time. I’m a realist. The sad story is that once the institutions and the structures are not working well, we are all behaving like mosquitoes.
Favourite Quote
‘Time will eventually expose you’. And, so, time did expose Mr Agongo to the world as a strong-willed businessman who weathers whatever storms fight his progress and shrugs off hurdles.
But, perhaps, time, has more to expose than the Agongo we see now, for ‘vindication lies within its womb’.
Mr. Sam Codjoe, the defence lawyer for the ex-CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Stephen Opuni, has strongly argued against a suggestion by Chief State Attorney Evelyn Keelson, that his client, who, recently, had four surgical operations on his left eye, and, as a result, has been given a six-week excuse duty by his medical doctor from participating in any stressful activities, should be made to continue sitting in his trial regarding the GHS271 million financial loss case, virtually.
In his view, granting that request by the chief state attorney will be taking Ghana to the “Dark Ages”.
Four separate surgeries on his left eye compelled Dr. Opuni to miss the resumption of his trial on Tuesday, 11 October 2022, after a two-month break.
Dr. Opuni, the first accused person, is being tried with private businessman Seidu Agongo, the second accused person, in connection with the prosecution’s assertion that they caused the state to lose some GHS271 million in a fraudulent procurement of Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser from the latter’s agrochemical company, Agricult, the third accused person.
They have all pleaded not guilty to the offences and are on a GHS300,000 self-recognisance bail in the more-than-four-year-old trial.
During the hearing on Tuesday, Dr. Opuni’s lawyer informed the court, presided over by Supreme Court judge Clemence Honyenuga that his client had been given a six-week excuse duty by his doctor so he could stay away from all activities that risked straining the surgically operated eye to enable proper healing.
“My Lord, the first accused [person] is not in court today due to the fact that he’s had surgery on his eye and we have given this court a copy of the medical report indicating that he has had four different surgeries on his eye. My Lord, as contained in the medical report, he’s been given a six-week excuse duty to enable the left eye to heal. My Lord, this is the reason why he is not present in court,” Mr Codjoe explained.
He added: “And my Lord, yesterday [Monday, 10 October 2022], I showed the prosecution a copy of the medical report but because it is a confidential document, which is, it contains details of the exact surgery, so, I informed my learned friend of the exact surgery, so, I did not give them a hard copy of the actual medical report because of the confidential nature.”
“My Lord, this explains the absence of the first accused [person] in court and my Lord, as a result of his absence due to ill health, we pray that this court adjourns this case to the end of the six-week period commencing from the 23rd day of September 2022,” he pleaded.
He indicated: “My Lord, the basis of our seeking this adjournment is because the first accused person, in the exercise of his constitutional rights under Article 19(3) of the 1992 Constitution, wants to be present during the trial. Unfortunately, he’s unable to because of ill health.”
Mr Codjoe, thus, prayed the court to adjourn the matter to a time after the expiration of the six-week excuse duty, “in accordance with this constitutional provision,” which, he noted was interpreted in the case of George Bonson, alias Benjillo v the Republic.
In a rebuttal, chief state attorney Evelyn Keelson argued: “My Lord, the first accused person, who is on bail, is required to be present in this court, as undertaken in his bail conditions. My Lord, we have seen a medical report indicating that the first accused [person] has had surgery on his left eye; and in that report, the medical director has indicated that he needs six weeks to rest the eye for proper healing.”
“Respectfully, my Lord, this statement by the medical director is not binding on this honourable court. My Lord, the medical director did not indicate the basis for the six weeks he has indicated in the report. My Lord, under section 169(2) of Act 30, this honourable court cannot adjourn this matter for more than one month; and has already indicated that this court is not bound by the report, I pray that the court invites the medical director to give further and better particulars to his request for the first accused [person] to be excused for six weeks,” she went on.
She also proposed: “My Lord, in the alternative, this court can sit virtually to accommodate the first accused [person]. Indeed, my Lord, during the vacation, we were sitting virtually and it worked very well.”
Mrs Keelson also said: “My Lord, I want to state that nobody has taken away or seeks to take away the first accused person’s right under article 19(3) to be present at his trial. The first accused person is on bail and is at liberty to attend the trial.”
Citing the same case referred to by Dr Opuni’s lawyer to counter a point made by the defence team, Mrs Keelson said: “My Lord, these matters were clearly explained in the case my learned friend cited; the Benjillo case, so, my Lord, it is, therefore, our submission that this court, in the exercise of its discretion, can proceed with the case without infringing Article 19(3) since, as I have stated, the doctor’s opinion for the accused person to stay away for six weeks, is not binding on this honourable court.”
In her view, “My Lord, this court can grant the accused person some days but certainly not six weeks as suggested by the medical doctor, especially when he is not admission.”
However, Mr Codjoe counter-argued that the reasons for the six-week excuse duty were stated in paragraph 2 of the medical report contrary to the assertion by the chief state attorney, who interrupted and insisted the reasons had not been elaborated by the medical director and wondered where Dr Opuni’s lawyer was reading the alleged reasons from.
Mr Codjoe noted that though his team had no objection to the proposed summoning of the medical doctor before the court, it was “most unfortunate” for the chief state attorney to suggest that the first accused person, who is “not supposed to sit” and is “not supposed to engage in any activity which will put stress on his left eye, sit in a virtual trial and lie down in a virtual trial. My Lord, this is most unacceptable even in military regimes.”
“My Lord, even under section 170(2) of Act 30, once the person is ill and the court is satisfied that the person is ill, which can only be done through a medical report and not by a physical examination by the chief state attorney, the court grants an adjournment,” he further argued.
Mr Codjoe noted: “My Lord, by this section, it does not limit this court to the period of adjournment and my Lord, we submit that insofar as the person is ill and recovering from surgery on his eye, then the court should grant the adjournment for the accused [person] to recuperate.”
Adjourning the matter, he noted, would not be unusual in the circumstance.
“My Lord, I would add that this court will not be doing anything unreasonable or illegal, in that, the attorney general’s department, as recently as August of this year, adjourned the Ato Forson case, for very good reasons, to January.”
“My Lord, the final point is the suggestion by the prosecution that in spite of the fact that the first accused [person] is ill, the court should still put him on trial. This will take us to the Dark Ages of Ghana when we didn’t have a Constitution and/or a democracy,” he told the court.
The lawyer for the second and third accused persons, Mr Emmanuel Kumadi, said: “My Lord, respectfully, we associate ourselves with the submission by counsel for the first accused person, especially where some of the offences for which the accused persons are standing trial before this honourable court, is based on conspiracy. My Lord, it’s our humble submission that the presence of the first accused person will be needed for the continuation of the case, especially when he did not elect not to be present.”
After hearing both sides, Justice Honyenuga said: “Looking at the circumstances of this case, it is my view that in order to clear any controversy or doubts about the medical report before this court, I will order the medical director … to appear before this court with all the records on the first accused [person].”
“The Registrar of this court is to ensure that this order is served on the said medical director per his address as stated on the medical report. In the circumstances, I will adjourn this matter to Monday, the 17th of October 2022 at 10 a.m.”
Captain (Rtd) Prince Kofi Amoabeng, the founder of the now-defunct Unique Trust Bank, has spoken out about how the banking sector clean-up exercise has affected his financial and personal life.
He claims that the demise of UT Bank and its consequences led him to sell off his mansion in order to keep from going bankrupt.
The former head of the UT bank revealed that he currently only had one pair of shoes and a watch to his name in an interview with Accra-based TV3.
“I have one watch and one shoe. So, I do not need much money. I don’t have to have a lot of money to enjoy life. I’m very comfortable. I live in an apartment. I sold my mansion to reorganise myself and for me not to go broke.”
“I’m not too much worried about people like me but I am worried about people who need validation and get so corrupt and do all sort of things that impacts the country and the younger generation negatively,” he added.
Following a recent image which went viral on social media, Prince Kofi Amoabeng said philanthropist and businessman, Seidu Agongo, offered to extend his benevolence to him when he appeared in images wearing an unusually scruffy beard.
The image however forced social media users to raise concerns over the health and well-being of the former UT bank founder.
Mr. Thomas Amo Amankwaa, a renowned cocoa farmer in Berekum has made a passionate appeal to government to reintroduce the supply of Lithovit liquid fertilizer to farmers.
According to him, the years that lithovit was supplied to farmers by CHED of COCOBOD, they recorded bumper harvest.
In his case, for instance, his production jumped from 1,600kg of cocoa beans to 4,600kg when he applied Lithovit liquid fertilizer during the 2015/2016 cocoa season.
Mr. Amo Amankwaa has been testifying in the trial of former COCOBOD Chief Executive Dr Stephen Opuni and businessman Seidu Agongo who have been accused of, among others, causing financial loss to the state. It is the case of prosecution that Lithovit liquid fertilizer purchased under the tenure of Dr. Opuni was a waste of resources, because the state did not get value for money.
The state called seven witnesses but none was a farmer to testify to the efficacy or otherwise of Lithovit when it was applied on his or her farm.
Dr. Opuni in his defence has called three witnesses so far with two being cocoa farmers.
Mr. Amo Amankwaa, who is the third defence witness has four different cocoa farms: Two of the farms are located at Subronou in the Ahafo region: one at Biadian covering an area of 13.6 acres; there is another one at Yaakrom in the Dormaa West District and covers an area of 21 acres.
The witness is the second cocoa farmer to have so far testified in the over four-year trial, and have all testified in favour of the accused persons. Whilst the first described Lithovit as a “messiahâ€, Mr. Amankwaa calls it a “great saviourâ€.
Being cross-examined by lawyer Nutifafa Nutsukpui, who is holding brief for Benson Nutsukpui, on Thursday, May 26 at the High Court in Accra, the witness asserted that based on personal experience, the efficacy of the Lithovit liquid fertilizer was way above other fertilizers he and his colleague farmers applied on their cocoa farms.
He recounted the frustrations of cocoa farmers when government stopped supplying them Lithovit, and appealed for it to be brought back.
“My lord, we went to CHED office to demonstrate for the litovit fertiliser to be brought back because it helped us.The COCOBOD officials told me that this will not have any effect and that if we want we can go to radio stations, and so I went to Akonoba FM in Sunyani, Chris Fm in Berekum, Ahenfo fm in Berekum and Shalom FM in Berekum to appeal to the government to bring back Lithovit fertiliser because it helps give us good yield in our cocoa farms.
“My lord, I am here not because of anything but to plead with the government to bring back Lithovit fertiliser because it really helped us.â€
Mr. Amankwaa has since tendered in evidence his passbook which contains details of all products received and the quality of cocoa produced by him as well as other information from Licenced Buying Companies.
The former COCOBOD Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Opuni and businessman Seidu Agongo as well as Agricult Ghana Limited, are facing over 25 charges, including defrauding by false pretences, willfully causing financial loss to the state, corruption by public officers and contravention of the Public Procurement Act.
