Charles Bissue’s judicial review attempt to quash an arrest warrant issued by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) against him has been denied.
Lawyers for the former secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) are attempting to block the court’s order to have him cross-examined.
In their plea, his attorneys contended that the warrant for his arrest should be overturned since it was acquired with malice.
The OSP designated Charles Bissue for failing to reply to the Special Prosecutor’s invitation to appear and answer questions about the continuing investigation into possible wrongdoing in the disbanded IMCIM.
He was arrested after turning himself in.
On November 8, the Human Rights Court fined Charles Bissue GH¢500 for failing to make a ruling on his appeal to prohibit the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) from investigating and prosecuting him.
The OSP reported on its Facebook page that the court has deferred the case until February 1 to give his attorneys time to make written arguments in the case.
Below is the OSP’s Facebook post.
On Monday, 15 January 2024, Charles Bissue’s lawyer was unsuccessful in seeking the court to rescind its decision to have him cross-examined.
At the last adjourned date, the court granted the OSP permission to cross-examine Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah.
This decision was made in response to an affidavit submitted by Mr. Awuah, claiming that the Office had obtained a warrant for Bissue’s arrest. A warrant he has failed to produce in court to date because it does not exist. The Court subsequently injuncted the Office from arresting Mr. Bissue for ten days.
As per the court’s directive, Bissue’s lawyer was also supposed to submit his written submissions for the case.
However, he failed to do so, citing a torn ligament as the reason, and requested additional time.
The Court has fixed 1 February 2024 by which time the lawyer for Bissue is expected to have filed his written submission and fit to be cross-examined.
