PETITIONERS COUNSEL DEFLATED AS HE TRIES TO SMUGGLE DOCUMENTS TO COURT

By Felix Engsalige Nyaaba

Mr. Philip Addison, the lead counsel for the presidential election petitioners, was  yesterday  had his legal temerity deflated to the ground by the  Supreme Court  as he made a clumsy attempt to smuggle into the court of  some fresh exhibits of evidence during a re-examination on the witness.

The court  chaired by Mr. Justice William Atuguba , stamped it authority and unanimously ruled preventing Mr. Addison who was re-examining Dr. Mahamudui Bawumia,  to bring in fresh exhibits which were not  part of exhibits tendered during the witness evidence in chief and that of the cross examination by the three respondents lawyers.

According to the court, its authority cannot be dictated by any member of the counsel at the Bar and that the documents that the petitioners counsel sought to tender in had been overruled on objection by the respondent’s counsels.

The court gave the caveat when the petitioners counsel made strenuous attempt to smuggle some exhibits which were not properly labeled intro the court through the witness.

Counsel after failing several attempt to convince the court also made statement to suggest that the court was on the verge of truncating his re-examination process by stopping him from tendering documents, which in his view would assist the court to ascertain some facts in the case.

“My Lords, I think a ruling have been made on this one on our favour, so we are just tendering the documents, but this argument over the document not been mark as exhibit is not correct, my Lordship made a ruling now you are making back door to deny us the opportunity to tender this document, we are not tendering any new exhibit, “counsel cries foul.

But the court took exception and warned that it would entertain any counsel from the Bar who would want to take their authority for granted and insist of disallowing the documents to be tendered in re-examination.

The list of documents were arranged by polling station numbers, constituency numbers and code numbers , everything according to counsel except the exhibit number which the respondents said constituted  a new document.

Mr. Addison was re-examining the petitioners witness after Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, lead counsel for the third respondent had concluded his cross examination on Tuesday this week.

The re-examination per the legal procedural is an   opportunity to the petitioners counsel or otherwise the plaintiff to clear some ambiguity that the witness might have given in evidence during cross examination.

During the re-examination, Mr. Addison asked the witness to clarify some ambiguity statement he made regards to the category of allegation of polling station list that was contended in cross examination by the respondents.

The question on the category of polling station allegation was objected by the respondents and the court in a majority of 5-4 overruled the objection therefore paving the way for the witness to clarify the issues of category of allegation.

 But surprisely to the court and the respondents, Mr. Addison pulled up some list of documents seeking to tender them through the witness to confirm the allegation of the category of polling station list that was confronted on the witness during cross examination.

Following that surprise exercise by the petitioners counsel, Mr. Tony Lithur, lead counsel for president John Mahama raised objection to the tendering of the document, saying that the documents was not part of the exhibits and does not have any exhibit number accompanying it and that it was an illegal document which the petitioners seeks to smuggle into the court.

He argued that if the document was allowed to be tender it would therefore also called for the respondents to cross examine the witness on that particular and wondered whether the court was ready to grant them such opportunity.

Mr.  James Quashie-Idun and Mr.Tsatsu Tsikata, counsel for the second and third respondents respectively supported the objection raised by Mr. Lithur.

According to the two counsels tendering of the fresh documents was in clear violation of the court rules as re-examination does not allow any part to reintroduce documents which are not before the court.

 Mr. Tsikata ,  contended that the list  did not have any exhibit number , “ my Lords, the list do not have any exhibit number, it has been smuggled in, I do not think this is the way to go about this case, it would not be good for us.”

After several attempt to get the court to accept his view, Mr. Addison prayed the court to grant him leave to come back today with a properly labeled exhibit, adding it was for the interest of justice and equity.

But the court said the petitioners counsel had taken a “bad gamble” and ruled that he could not continue the re-examination today.

The court decision left Addison in a cool mood as he laments, “justice has been denied him, and he complained, my Lords, “I feel we have been denied justice through the back door, this is injustice.”

The re-examination was met with several objection by the respondents, as the petitioners counsel tried on many occasion to introduce some exhibits bordering on the further and better particular and some serial numbers exhibit which were not adequately provided during the cross examination.

The re-examination witnesses objection and counter objections which were either sustained or overruled by the court.

The case has been adjourned for today at 10:00 am

It was not clear as to who would appear today in the box between the witnesses from President John Mahama and the Electoral Commission (EC) , the first and second respondents respectively.

But indication are Mr. Johnson Aseidu  Nketiah, the general Secretary of the National Democratic Congress(NDC) and third respondent  is expected to be in the box and provide his evidence in chief for the president..