By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The embattled former secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Mr. Charles Bissue is said to be hot as his judicial review application seeking to quash an arrest warrant obtained by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) against him has been unsuccessful.
Lawyers for the former secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) are seeking to stop the court’s directive to have him cross-examined.
In their application, his lawyers claimed the warrant for his arrest should be quashed because it was obtained based on malice.
Mr. Bissue was declared wanted by the OSP for failing to respond to an invitation from the Special Prosecutor to appear and answer questions regarding the ongoing investigation into suspected corruption within the dissolved IMCIM.
He was subsequently arrested when he turned himself in.
On November 8, 2023, the Human Rights Court slapped Mr. Bissue with a Ghc500 fine over what it said was his failure to take a decision on his case, seeking to stop the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) from investigating and prosecuting him.
In a post on its Facebook page, the OSP announced that the court has adjourned the case to Thursday, February 1, 2024, to allow his lawyers time to file his written submissions on the case.
Below is the OSP’s Facebook post:
On Monday, 15 January 2024, Charles Bissue’s lawyer was unsuccessful in seeking the court to rescind its decision to have him cross-examined.
At the last adjourned date, the court granted the OSP permission to cross-examine Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah.
This decision was made in response to an affidavit submitted by Mr. Awuah, claiming that the Office had obtained a warrant for Bissue’s arrest. A warrant he has failed to produce in court till date because it does not exist. The Court subsequently injuncted the Office from arresting Mr. Bissue for ten days.
As per the court’s directive, Bissue’s lawyer was also supposed to submit his written submissions for the case.
However, he failed to do so, citing a torn ligament as the reason and requested additional time.
The Court has fixed 1 February 2024 by which time lawyer for Bissue is expected to have filed his written submission and fit to be cross-examined.
