An Accra High Court ordered Daniel Asiedu, aka Sexy dondon, the man being held over the murder of the late legislature, J.B. Dankwah Adu, to appear before it and open his defence.
Additionally, the court ordered ailing Asiedu to produce evidence of his ailment by furnishing it with medical records signed by an accredited medical officer.
The court said it would “close the case ” should the accused person fail to appear before the court and open his defence.
The court was informed by Ms Sophia Armstrong who held brief that the accused person was unwell and as such he could not make it to court.
“My Lady, I am reliably informed that the accused person is sick,” defence counsel said.
Ms Armstrong further prayed for abridgement of time so that a motion be heard in respect of a subpoena.
According to her, Asiedu would like to subpoena some persons before he opend his defence.
The prosecution led by Sefakor Batse, a Principal State Attorney (PSA) said one did not need a motion to subpoena a witness, adding the proper way of subpoenaing a witness could be done administratively by seeing the Registrar of the court to make those arrangements.
The court presided over by Justice Mrs Lydia Osei Marfo held that to subpoena on behalf of a party was administrative work done by the Registrar of the court and that there was no need to file a motion for same .
According to the court the request made by defence counsel had come in a very “bad faith”, adding the decision to subpoena witnesses before opening one’s defence could have been done timeously .
“Interestingly, the so-called motion was filed today, April 22, 2024 at exactly 10:10 am. Justice could not have been done this way. This case has already been before me for the past four years.
“This court would not be part of any conspiracy theory to delay the trial any further. If the lawyers knew that they did not want him to testify, they should have said so. They cannot come at 11th hour to spring this surprise on the court,” the court said.
The court, therefore, ordered the accused person to appear before it tomorrow.
Aseidu is being held on the charges of robbery and murder of the Legislator in 2016 at his residence at Shiashie Accra.
He pleaded not guilty before a seven-member jury and the court has remanded him into lawful custody.
An accomplice, Vincent Bossu, has been acquitted after a submission of no case was filed on his behalf.
