Tuah Yeboah hails Judge’s directive for Quayson to cross-examine first witness himself

The Attorney General has expressed support for the warning issued by the presiding judge, Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh, in the trial of James Gyakye Quayson, the Member of Parliament for Assin North.

The judge cautioned that if Mr. Quayson’s legal team is unavailable to cross-examine the prosecution’s first witness by Monday, July 31, the MP may be compelled to conduct the cross-examination himself.

The cross-examination of the prosecution’s first witness was expected to be concluded on Friday, July 28. However, Mr. Quayson’s lawyers were not present in court on that day.

The lawyer on record, Justin Teriwajah, had written to the court, informing the judge of a three-day medical excuse provided by his doctor. The letter also sought an adjournment to a period after the legal break starting after July 31, but the presiding judge declined the request.

Deputy Attorney General, Alfred Tuah Yeboah, speaking on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, commended the decision of Justice Yanzuh. He emphasized that the cross-examination had been prolonged since July 2022 and that it was time for it to be conducted.

He added that the judge’s warning aims to ensure progress in the trial and to prompt Mr. Quayson’s legal team to take the necessary steps to cross-examine the prosecution’s first witness in a timely manner.

“PW1 [Prosecution’s Witness 1] has been in the witness box since July 12, 2022, and so for over one year, a simple cross-examination that the counsel for the accused person said was going to use two hours to do has taken us such a period.

“Today when we went to court, counsel for the accused had sent a letter to the effect that he was indisposed and was given a three-day excuse duty and we know that the court will be going on vacation by July 31 so I made a point that we cannot have a witness in the box for three legal years and so the judge in her wisdom said she will need the cross-examination of the first prosecution witness completed and so for that matter if the counsel of the accused does not show up, she may need the accused to do the cross-examination himself.”