Testimony of the third accused person in the trial of some 14 persons in the murder of Major Maxwell Mahama has been expunged from the court’s records.
This is because the accused Kofi Nyame failed to continue with his evidence in chief as was agreed upon during Case Management.
He previously told the court that he threw a stone at the late Major Mahama when he was drunk but could not tell if the stone hit him or not.
When the case was called for him to continue with his testimony, his lawyers requested an adjournment to have conference with him. The court instead of an adjournment, stood the case down for an hour for the accused and his Counsel to engage.
After an hour, the Counsel still insisted on an adjournment which the court declined.
The defence then indicated to the court that they are unable to continue with their evidence in chief.
The judge, Justice Mariama Owusu, explained the implications of the third accused person exercising his right not to testify. She held that the previous testimony of the accused is untested evidence because it has not been subjected to cross-examination.
Subsequently, Justice Owusu ruled that the third accused had no evidence and struck out his previous testimony. The fourth accused Akwasi Baah was expected to open his defence on Monday, February 20, but the trial had to be adjourned to February 27 because the jury was not properly constituted.
