THE REPUBLIC vs. HIGH COURT, HUMAN RIGHT DIVISION EX-PARTE: NAA OTUA SWAYNE

The applicant, Naa Otua Swayne, was the complainant and first prosecution witness in a pending criminal trial at the Circuit Court, Accra, titled The Republic v Prince Kofi Amoabeng and John Aidoo, involving charges of fraud as to thing pledged or taken in execution and abetment. After the prosecution closed its case and a submission of no case was overruled, Prince Kofi Amoabeng opened his defence and testified. Before calling his witness, he applied to the High Court, Human Rights Division, for certiorari and prohibition to quash the Circuit Court proceedings on the basis that the continuation of the criminal trial infringed his fundamental human rights and that the evidence disclosed no criminal liability. The High Court accepted that contention, quashed the entire criminal proceedings, and prohibited the Circuit Court from continuing the trial. Naa Otua Swayne then invoked the Supreme Court’s supervisory jurisdiction to quash the High Court’s decision. Portion of judgment: 'The applicant herein, NAA OTUA SWAYNE, was at the time material to this case a complainant in a criminal case pending before His Honour Judge Francis Obiri sitting at the Circuit Court, Accra...' and 'Before he could call a witness, he invoked the supervisory jurisdiction of the Accra High Court Human Rights Division...'