Ghana

2020 election petition: Jean Mensa knows the truth shall make her free - Tsatsu Tsikata

Tuesday, February 09, 2021 at 12:41 PM by Mohammed Awal

- According to him, the chairperson of the EC, the first respondent in the case is running away from being accountable

- Jean Mensa and Peter Mac Manu, the campaign director of the NPP are expected to be cross-examined after the petitioner’s witnesses

- The petitioner is before the apex court to have the results of the 2020 presidential elections set aside

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Tsatsu Tsikata, the lead counsel for John Mahama in the ongoing election trial says Jean Mensa knows that the “truth shall make her free.”

According to him, she cannot evade cross-examination after signing the witness statement the first respondent, the Electoral Commission, put in in the trial.

2020 election petition: Jean Mensa knows that the truth shall make her free - Tsatsu Tsikata — Image credit: @MrJibriel|Twitter|Electoral Commission Ghana|Facebook
Source: UGC

Arguing his objection to the moves by the lawyer for the first respondent not to call any witness in the case, Tsikata said instead of the EC chair coming into the box to speak the truth, she will not want to mount the box.

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“What has been put before you is not in accordance with the rules of this court and should not be countenanced,” he told the seven-member panel hearing the case.

He insisted that by filing a witness statement, the first respondent had crossed the bridge as far as opening the examination gate for the witness.

Justin Amenuvor and Akoto Ampaw, lawyers of the respondents told the Supreme Court on Monday, February 8, 2021, that they would not call witnesses of their own.

They argued that the three witnesses called by the petitioner “have not satisfied the burden of proof” when they appeared before the court.

“So, we can’t be forced to call any witness,” Ampaw told the court amid objections from the lawyer for John Mahama, the petitioner in the case.

He further told the Court on Tuesday, February 9, 2021, that their decision should work in favour of the petitioner, and that in any event, the petitioner cannot compel them to enter the witness box to give evidence.

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A founding member of the NPP, Dr.Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe warned the moves by the lawyers for the respondents will spell doom for the country.

“I’m not a judge and I have never been a student of the law but common sense should tell you that you should judge the mood of the people,” he stated in an interview on Accra-based Starr FM monitored by YEN.com.gh.

Lawyer Kwaku Azar said the though the respondents are entitled to move for a directed verdict if in their view, the petitioner failed to meet its burden of proof production, he believes the Court must be interested in hearing what the Returning Officer in the 2020 elections has to say.

“It is also my belief that the Petitioner should be able to call the Returning Officer and treat her as a hostile witness if she chooses not to appear to defend her witness statement,” he stated.