It has been confirmed in court that Dr. Franklin Manu Amoah, a key state witness in the ongoing trial of former COCOBOD boss and two others, rather blatantly sidestepped laid down procedures at CRIG whilst he was the Executive Director when he prematurely issued the first certificate on lithovit foliar fertlilizer.
It has also come to light that, that unilateral action by the state witness has ironically been a source of power, fueling prosecution’s case over the years.
What appears to have blown the mind of the court was how Dr. F.M. Amoah signed that certificate, when he had not received any directive from former COCOBOD Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Opuni, asking CRIG to follow the necessary procedure for the issuance of certificate to Agricult Ghana Limited, producers of lithovit foliar fertiliser.
The High Court in Accra, in fact, got to know in all certainty on Monday, February 5, 2024, that Dr. F.M. Amoah signed the said certificate for lithovit seven clear days before the CRIG copy of the letter from COCOBOD, to start the issuance process, was even received.
The former COCOBOD Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Opuni and businessman Seidu Agongo as well as Agricult Ghana Limited, have been facing 27 charges, including defrauding by false pretense, willfully causing financial loss to the state, corruption by public officers and contravention of the Public Procurement Act in the purchase of Lithovit liquid fertiliser between 2014 and 2016.
But the current Deputy Executive Director of Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) in charge of Cocoa and Cola, Dr. Richard Adu-Acheampong, who was also at the helm of affairs when Dr. F.M. Amoah was said to have circumvented procedures at CRIG, has testified in court on Monday, February 5, 2024, with further revelations.
As it has previously been played out in court, with the state largely latching onto, Dr. Opuni was portrayed as unduly fast-tracking the certification of lithovit to benefit Seidu Agongo’s Agricult.
But hand written minutes on a letter in the custody of CRIG have rather exposed the first prosecution witness, Dr. F.M. Amoah, of signing the certificate for lithovit foliar fertilizer without authorization.
CRIG’s official record indicates that a letter that was dated 21st January 2014 from Dr. Opuni in his capacity as the COCOBOD Chief Executive to Agricult, copied to CRIG to communicate COCOBOD’s approval for CRIG to consider issuing certificate on lithovit foliar fertilizer, was received and stamped by CRIG on January 29, 2014.
But CRIG’s copy of the letter, which was hitherto hidden from the court but eventually tendered through Dr. Adu-Acheampong, who was subpoenaed by counsel for Dr. Opuni, revealed that Dr. F.M. Amoah was advised against issuing the certificate until a request was made by Agricult, which was the norm.
However, unknowing to members of the Committee for Testing Chemicals and Machines (CTCM) clothed with the power to authorize the executive director of CRIG to sign any certificate for a product, Dr. F.M. Amoah had already signed the certificate for Lithovit foliar fertilizer even before he asked the team of scientists at CTCM to work on it. This action by Dr. F.M. Amoah made nonsense of the CTCM’s advice, and neither did it occur to him to withdraw the certificate he prematurely signed, but he went ahead to work with it on the blindside of the committee made up of eminent scientists.
The court presided over by Justice Aboagye Tandoh heard that Dr. F.M. Amoah signed the certificate on 22nd January 2014, meanwhile the letter from COCOBOD addressed to CRIG was received and stamped at CRIG on 29th January 2014.
Dr. Richard Adu-Acheampong giving his evidence in chief was asked to take the court through CRIG’s copy of the letter, now marked exhibit 131.
“The first minute is from the executive director [Dr. F.M. Amoah] to the chairman of the CTCM, it reads ‘referred for your information and necessary action’, this was on the 29th of January 2014,” he told the court.
He added, “The second minute which is minute numbered three was addressed to me and it reads, ‘please, provide certificate if requested for by Agricult company limited’. This was on the 30th of January 2014. The letter got to me on the same day.”
“After this letter got to you did anything happen”, lawyer Samuel Codjoe, lead counsel for Dr. Opuni, asked the 10th defence witness.
Dr. Adu-Acheampong replied, “Yes my Lord, I checked if there was a request from the company for the certificate, and there was no request. So I minuted the letter back to the chairman. My Lord this is what I wrote, ‘an official request for a certificate on lithovit has not been received from Agricult company limited. Let’s wait until they have made a request to the executive director’. I signed on the same day 30th of January 2014. My Lord this is the fourth numbered minute from me to the chairman of the CTCM. The next minute which is minute numbered five, was from the chairman to the executive director.”
The witness further pointed out, “Minute fives [from the chairman of CTCM] states, ‘we are awaiting the formal request from Agricult company limited to issue the certificate please’. This was dated 31st of March 2014.”
When the letter was sent back to Dr. F.M. Amoah with the minuted response from the chairman of the CTCM, Mr. A. Y. Akrofi, Dr. F.M. Amoah on 2nd April 2014 indicated on the letter again that “minute five noted. No objection please”.
“And from the minute what Dr. F.M. Amoah did not object to was that, if the company request to the CTCM you will issue the certificate,” Counsel for Seidu Agongo, lawyer Benson Nutsukpui asked the witness, to which he responded, “Yes my Lord”.
“Nowhere in all the minutes Dr. F.M. Amoah had indicated to the CTCM that he had already issued the certificate,” he was further asked. The witness answered, “Not by this letter”.
What is currently begging for answers is why Dr. F.M. Amoah signed the certificate days before he even received official communication authorizing him to consider the issuance of the certificate; it is also mindboggling why the Executive Director who was supposed to know better would ignore laid down procedures to sign the certificate without a request from any company, which is the normal practice, nor wait for the advice of the CTCM, but conveniently shifted blame on Dr. Opuni when he, Dr. F.M. Amoah, testified in court in 2018.
Meanwhile, there is no indication that Dr. Stephen Opuni will mount the witness box to testify in the case against him after the overwhelming evidence by the 10 witnesses which observers including legal luminaries believe exonerate him of all the charges. Interestingly, whilst the 7 state’s witnesses crumbled under cross examination, the prosecution has failed to discredit or contest the evidence presented by Dr. Opuni’s witnesses so far.
Find excerpts of Monday’s proceedings below
Q. What is your name
A. My name is Richard Kwame Adu-Acheampong
Q. Where do you reside
A. I live in New Tafo Akyem in the Eastern region
Q. What is your occupation
A. I’m a research scientist
Q. At where
A. At the cocoa research institute of Ghana (CRIG)
Q. Can you tell this court your educational qualification
A. I had my O Level at Kadjebi in 1987. I have my A level at St. Peters secondary at Nkwatia. I had my Bsc in agriculture from the university of Ghana. I did my masters in entomology also at the University of Ghana. Then I had my PhD in biology from the Imperial College, London
Q. When did you start working in CRIG
A. I was employed in September 1997
Q. As what
A. Research scientist and entomologist
Q. Have you worked in CRIG throughout your time, ie since 1997
A.Yes my Lord
Q. Can you tell this court the various positions you have held in CRIG
A. my first promotion was senior research scientist it was around 2011, my second promotion to principal research scientist was in 2016, and to deputy executive director in charge of cocoa and cola in December 2020
Q. In 2014, specifically in January what was your position in CRIG
A. I was a senior research scientist
Q. Did you belong to any other committee
A. Yes my Lord
Q. What are the names of the committee
A. One of them was the committee for the testing of agrochemicals and machines CTCM
Q. What were the functions of CTCM
A. The CTCM basically looks at reports from testing divisions
Q. How do you look at the reports
A. We basically look at the methodology and typographical errors in the report
Q. In 2014, do you remember who was the head, ie.executive director of CRIG
A. My Lord the executive director at the time was Dr. F. M. Amoah
Q. Can you have a look at exhibit C, letter dated 21st day of January 2014. Have you seen this letter before
A. Yes my Lord
Q. When was the first time you saw this letter
A. The first time I saw it was the 30th of January 2014.
Q. Under which circumstance did this letter come to your notice
A. My Lord the chairman of the CTCM had minuted it to me
Q. Who was the chairman of the CTCM at the time
A. The chairman at the time was Mr. A. Y. Akrofi
Q. You said he minuted it to you
A. Yes my Lord
Q. Why did he minute this letter to you
A. The chairman was going on leave so he minuted it to me to provide the certificate on the chemical if the company applied and requested for the certificate
Q. Did you do anything
A. My Lord this was on 30th January 2014, I checked but there was no such request or application for the certificate from the company, so I minuted it back to the chairman, my Lord on the same day.
Q. After you minuted it back to the chairman on that 30th day of January 2014, did anything happened
A. My Lord that is all I knew about the matter in question
Q. You have a copy of the letter dated the 21st day of January 2014 which contains the minutes from the chairman and yourself isn’t it
A. Yes my Lord
Q. Where did you get a copy of this letter
A. From the files at CRIG
Codjoe, we want to tender through him
Prosecution: we have no objection
Benson: my Lord I have no objection
Court: admitted and marked exhibit 131
Q. Dr. Adu-Acheampong. How many minutes are on the letter
A. Five minutes my Lord
Q. Can you tell us by taking each minute at a time and explain what each is
A. The first minute is from the executive director to the chairman of the CTCM, it reads referred for your information and necessary action, this was on the 29th of January 2014
Q. Can you tell us what this means as a member of the CTCM
A. We are to take action on the letter
Q. Tell us the second minute
A. The second minute which is minute numbered three was addressed to me and it reads, “please, provide certificate if requested for by Agricult company limited”. This was on the 30th of January 2014. The letter got to me on the same day.
Q. After this letter got to you did anything happen
A. Yes my Lord, I checked if there was a request from the company for the certificate, and there was no request. So I minuted the letter back to the chairman. My Lord this is what I wrote “an official request for a certificate on lithovit has not been received from Agricult company limited. Let’s wait until they have made a request to the executive director.” I signed on the same day 30th of January 2014. My Lord this is the fourth numbered minute from me to the chairman of the CTCM. The next minute which is minute numbered five, was from the chairman to the executive director.
Q. What does minute five states
A. Minute fives states, we are awaiting the formal request from Agricult company limited to issue the certificate please,. This was dated 31st of March 2014.
My Lord that would be all for the witness.
Cross examination by Benson Nutsukpui
Q. Sir exhibit 131 is the CRIG copy of exhibit C, that is correct
A. Yes my Lord
Q. And the CRIG copy which is Exhibit 131 was received at CRIG on 29th of January 2014
A. Yes my Lord
Q. Indeed, CRIG stamped and dated when it was received at the top of the letter, that is correct
A. Yes my Lord
Q. Please look at the top right corner there is 52 circled
A. Yes my Lord
Q. It is true that that 52 represent a exact position at a particular file
A. It is a filing system at the administration
Q. Sir, minute two was written by Dr. F.M. Amoah, that is correct
A. Yes my Lord
Q. That is dated 29th of January 2014, that is correct
A. Yes my Lord
Q. And from minute number 4, is what you signed
A. Yes my Lord
Q. And Mr. Akrofi’s response to you is to please provide certificate to Agricult if requested
A. Yes my Lord
Q. At this stage Mr. Akrofi did not raise any other issues on the letter that was minuted to you, that is also correct
A. Yes my Lord
Q. Indeed the only issue you had as the acting chairman of the CTCM was that there was no official request from the company
A. Yes my Lord
Q. Have you seen the minute at the right top corner, number two
A. Yes that is another two
Q. And it was minuted and signed by Dr. F. M Amoah
A. Yes my Lord
Q. What did that minute say
A. My Lord it reads “minute five noted. No objection please”
Q. Sir what is the date of that minute
A. What I have here is 2nd April 2014
Q. And from the minute what Dr. Amoah did not object to was that, if the company request to the CTCM you will issue the certificate
A. Yes my Lord
Q. Nowhere in all the minutes Dr. Amoah had indicated to the CTCM that he had already issued the certificate
A. Not by this letter
Q. Do you know Mr. Seidu Agongo
A. I have heard the name, and I think we met at the arbitration
Q. Was that the first time you met at the arbitration
A. yes my Lord
Q. It is true that all the time you were dealing with the processing or any form of transactions in respect of issuing of the certificate for lithovit, you never met Mr. Seidu Agongo
A. No my Lord
Q. Normally the CTCM would give out the formulation which is to be embossed on the certificate that is correct
A. My Lord all that I know the CTCM will emboss the composition and trade name. This was the case in the past, now we have additional information we add
Q. All I want to find out is that, it is the CTCM that will give the final okay, the certificate to be issued to the executive director, that is correct
A. That is correct
Q. Look at exhibit D, It is the certificate signed by Dr Amoah
A. Yes my Lord
Q. You the acting chairman did not provide what was embossed on it
A. Yes my Lord
Cross examination by Prosecution, Evelyn keelson
Q. Dr. Adu-Acheampong, on exhibit 131, Mr. Akrofi was the chairman of the CTCM
A. Yes my Lord
Q. How did you become the acting chairman on exhibit 131
A. Mr. Akrofi was going on leave and I was the senior most person on the committee
Q. Exhibit 131 and exhibit C were both signed by the then chief executive, Dr. Stephen Opuni, it’s that not it
A. Yes my Lord
Q. Both letters were written on 21st January 2014
A. Yes
Q. Both letters were addressed to Agricult Ghana ltd, is that not so
A. That is so
Q. Both letters communicated the management of COCOBOD’S approval to CRIG recommendations on the product. Is that not so
A. Yes my Lord
Q. There is nothing in all the minutes that you read to the court on exhibit 131, disputing the report from CRIG to COCOBOD
A. My Lord I did not write that report so I wouldn’t know
Q. The minutes you read and explained to the court, I’m putting it to you that there is nothing in those minutes challenging the report on Lithovit from CRIG to COCOBOD, is that not so
A. My Lord these minutes are in relation to the issuannce of certificate
Q. Look at exhibit D, you told the court under cross examination that you don’t know anything about exhibit D, is that not so
A. That is so