[2002]DLCA1198 • June 25, 2002 • Court of Appeal
ISA vs. THE REPUBLIC
The appellant, Mallam Ali Yusuf Isa, then Minister for Youth and Sports, was charged with stealing and fraudulently causing financial loss to the State involving US$46,000 intended as winning bonuses and imprest for the Ghana Black Stars football team during a trip to Sudan in February 2001. The appellant claimed the money was placed in his green suitcase, which was lost in transit and later recovered empty. The prosecution alleged the appellant could not reasonably account for the missing funds. The appellant pleaded not guilty and raised constitutional objections to the charges and submissions of no case to answer.
read moreJUDGEMENT Brobbey JA. The judgment in this case has been composed by three separate opinions of the members of the panel who heard the case. In substance each of us deals with separate aspects of the case in detail. We have adopted this method in order to avoid repetitions and duplications. Any of us may comment on the other issues as well. Those comments and the detailed considerations should be read together before the full import of the ratio decidendi on each issue will be appreciated. The various aspects of the case are dealt with as follows: I will discuss in detail the facts giving rise to the charges and the proceedings before us including the issue of Gazette notification for the appeals, as well as the constitutional points raised in respect of the second charge. My brother Baddoo JA will discuss the aspects of the case dealing with the charges in so far that they relate to the submission that at the end of the case for the prosecution, no case was made to support th...