For the second time, Lawyers of Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Limited have filed two separate applications with one of them asking the judge to recuse himself.
Justice Clemence Honyenuga, Justice of the Supreme Court, is the presiding judge in the case in which Dr. Opuni and two others are charged with causing financial loss to the state to the tune of GHc217 million.
On June 3, 2021, even before the judge would direct that counsel for Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni start their defense and respond to the 27 counts brought against him, the judge informed that he had seen two petitions from the accused people. One of which he said was recusal application filed against him, to recuse himself from the case.
“In light of the filing of an application to disqualify me from hearing this matter and the pending hearing of a repeat application,” Justice Honyenuga stated, “this case is adjourned until June 9, 2021, for the hearing of the motion.”
Sammy Gyamfi, the National Democratic Congress’s National Communications Director, in speaking to the media after the court session stated that some statements made by the judge prompted the actions of their counsel.
Apart from the application for the judge’s recusal, Lawyers of Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Limited have submitted a second request for a suspension of proceedings until the outcome of an appeal against the judge. This is the second time the defendants have requested that the judge disqualify himself from the trial.
After hearing from the parties, the court set June 9 for the hearing on the application against the judge.
