Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame, has succeeded in getting the Supreme Court to bring back Justice Clemence Honyenuga as presiding judge for the criminal case against former COCOBOD Chief Executive, Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni.
Mr Opuni is facing a long-drawn-out trial on the charge of causing financial loss to the state.
A seven-member review panel of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 26 voted 4-3 in favour of a decision to overturn an earlier decision by the court that prohibited Justice Honyenuga from presiding over the trial.
That was after the court upheld a review application by the Attorney-General.
The judges on the majority side were Justices Jones Dotse (presiding judge), Prof Nii Ashie Kotey, Gertrude Torkornoo and Avril Lovelace Johnson.
Justices Gabriel Pwamang, Agnes Dordzie and Amadu Tanko dissented.
The Supreme Court in July removed the judge from the case over bias claims by Opuni’s lawyers.
READ ALSO: Supreme Court removes Justice Honyenuga from Opuni trial
Lawyers for Mr Opuni pushed vigorously for Justice Honyenuga to be removed from the case because he prejudged and determined the guilt of Dr Opuni even before the accused person mounted the box.
Opuni’s lawyers had argued that Justice Honyenuga had voiced his eagerness to dispense off the case, so he could go back to his core duties at the Supreme Court.
This according to the lawyers, had been manifested in all the judge’s rulings against Mr Opuni in the ongoing case.
Eventually when Opuni’s lawyers got the Supreme Court to remove the judge, the Attorney-General, Godfred Dame, also began his own fight to reinstate the judge.
It seems the Attorney-General has won this battle in the legal showdown.
