The high court in Accra has denied the application by a former chief executive officer of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Adjenim Boateng Adjei, to release his passport to enable him to travel out of the country.
This application follows the recent filing of fresh charges by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) against Boateng Adjei.
In April 2024, Boateng Adjei was charged with eight counts of using public office for profit and indirectly influencing procurement processes to gain an unfair advantage in awarding procurement contracts. He entered a plea of not guilty.
Following his plea, the court granted him bail and ordered the accused to present all relevant passports to the court registry.
In court on Wednesday (24 July 2024), prosecutors for the OSP opposed the request for the release of his passports.
They referenced their affidavit submitted to the court, arguing that Boateng Adjei had not provided sufficient evidence to justify the release of his passport.
The prosecution cited the case of Sedinam Christine Tamakloe, whose passport was released on medical grounds, leading to her departure from Ghana and failure to return. They contended that the application should be approved only if there are assurances that he will appear for trial.
In her ruling, the judge declared that the application for the release of the passport lacked sufficient merit. She noted that the stated purpose for travel, which was to accompany a child to the United States of America (US), could be fulfilled by another adult family member, given that the child is an American citizen, as stated in their application.
Consequently, the court dismissed the application.
The case has been adjourned to 18 October 2024 and 22 October 2024 for the completion of the case management conference (CMC).
Source: www.asaaaseradio.com
