Accra Circuit Court 9 judge, Ms. Afia Agbanu Kumador, has set Wednesday, 20th March 2019, to pass judgment on Ghana’s national team (Black star) captain, Asamoah Gyan’s rape, sodomy, and extortion case involving the state and 4 accused persons, namely; Osarfo Anthony (Arts/Entertainment Writer), Chris Handler (Blogger), Sarah Kwablah (Law Student), and Ekow Micah (Musician).
Daily Guide newspaper, published a story in June 2015, which alleged that Sarah Kwablah, a 21-year-old student, wants to blackmail Asamoah Gyan with a sex video involving the two parties. The story caught national attention and was met with mixed beliefs and fraught with several conspiracy theories.
Sarah Kwablah’s side of the story was however not captured in the publication. According to the paper, though they reached out to her via SMS, she failed to respond at the time of going to press.
Just after the publication, Sarah Kwablah approached Osarfo Anthony – then a writer for online media GHbase.com and gave her side of the story, which had it that, Asamoah Gyan raped and sodomized her which was caught on a CCTV in her house, but Daily Guide twisted the narrative of the story as “consensual sex” (video) to favor Gyan.
Sarah furnished Osarfo with all WhatsApp chats between Gyan and her, still pictures of her bloody naked body after the rape and sodomy she sent to Gyan – which alarmed Gyan, making him apologize for what he did, and Gyan’s WhatsApp voice notes in which he can be heard loud and clear, pleading with the girl not to let anyone see or know about what happened between them.
The site (GHbase.com) investigated and published more revelations on the alleged rape and sodomy story. Asamoah Gyan’s team contacted the site’s Editor, Chris Handler, and Osarfo, and pleaded with them to stop the publication.
The same Gyans, later, turned around to accuse Osarfo and 3 others, of conspiring to extort money from Gyan with their publications. Osarfo Anthony, Chris Handler, Sarah Kwablah, and Ekow Micah, were arrested, charged with conspiracy to extort money and arraigned before court.
Court Facts On Trial After 3 Years
The trial, which promised to be over within some few months due to eagerness, assurance, and readiness from Asamoah Gyan’s lawyer and manager to the press – to substantiate their allegation and have the accused ones convicted, has been characterized with shocking and farcical drama in court over the past 3 years.
1. The first State Prosecutor, ACP Moses Atibilla, relieved himself from the case in strange circumstances; ushering in a Police Prosecutor who also appeared in court for a little over 3 months and handed the case to another State Prosecutor after the change of government in 2017.
The current State Prosecutor, Mr. Richard Gyambibi, appeared a few times in court and vanished into thin air without any formal reason to the court. Some police prosecutors in court always held his brief.
2. The court has thrown out all evidence: chats, SMS, pictures, audio voices, and video, the prosecution tendered against the 4 accused. The evidence was described by defense counsels as fictitious, doctored, and maliciously ‘piece-meal’ to implicate the accused ones. The court, convinced after examining the evidence, struck them all out.
3. Mr. Mathew Banahene, the landlord whose house Gyan allegedly raped and sodomized Sarah Kwabla (then a tenant), testified just once and stopped going to the court. Mr. Banahene had told the media Sarah Kwablah had pleaded with him to lie to the public he heard her “screaming” when Gyan was raping her, to make her story believable so she extorts money from Gyan and rewards him with $ 20,000.
Mr. Banahene fumbled ingloriously in court, conduct, that made the defense counsels respectfully prompt the judge: “My Lord, humbly take note of his conduct. This is how false witnesses behave in the box.”
Defense counsels, Maurice Ampaw and Apanga Lamtiig, punched holes into Mr. Banahene’s wild testimony during cross-examination, describing it as “concocted.” His mouth was not sealed by the court but he stopped going to court to testify. He discharged himself.
4. The Police Investigator in the case, Richmond Ayayi, was interdicted from the police service for his involvement in an alleged 60 billion cedis gold theft. Though he claimed in his testimony that he’s still a police officer, he could not provide any evidence of reinstatement under cross-examination – till his mouth was sealed and discharged.
5. Asamoah Gyan’s manager, Samuel Annim Addo, who is the complainant in the trial, stopped going to the court over a year now. In his testimony to the court, Samuel Annim shockingly confessed that its Gyan’s lawyer, who advised him to implicate Osarfo Anthony.
6. Asamoah Gyan’s lawyer, Kissi Agyebeng, who was the believed last witness for the prosecution, after telling the judge in open court a year ago that he will be the next witness, has failed to appear in court to testify. He’s currently no more the lawyer for Asamoah Gyan.
Judge Closes Prosecution’s Case
The trial judge, Ms. Afia Agbanu Kumador, having patiently allowed the prosecution to drag the trial unduly for over 3 years, closed the case of the prosecution “suo motu” (on the court’s own authority):
“The Attorney General Officer, Richard Gyambibi, who is in charge of this case is absent; though the court has adjourned several times to enable him to come to court to continue prosecuting this matter.
“The PW3 (Landlord) who is in the box, failed to avail himself in court for further cross-examination. His evidence is hereby expunged from the records. The court ‘suo motu’ closes the case of the prosecution because despite the substantive prosecutor and the witness having been given several opportunities to come to court to prosecute this matter, they have failed to do so. The case of the prosecution is hereby closed.”
Defence Counsels’ Remarks
All 4 accused, instructed their lawyers to file a submission of no case – which was done, presented, and accepted by the trial judge. According to defence lawyer, Maurice Ampaw;
“All the accused ones did not commit any crime and so this whole trial is a waste of the court’s time, my time, my client’s time, and all who followed this case’s time! Prosecution has not been able to establish any case against any of the accused because the accused ones did not commit the alleged crime in the first place! They are all innocent from day one!
“Prosecutor, complainant, and witnesses have all ran away (laughed)! We were always present in court – daring them to face us! We were fully prepared for this trial but they ran away. I knew they will run away because they have no case.”
He added that, “There’s no need to open any defence. It will be a waste of time for the court and my clients. We want the court to pass judgement based on the submission of no case we submitted. The court accepted it and the judge has written her verdict. The press and all those who want the truth, should be in court to listen to the ruling. Thank you.”
Judge Sets Date For Passing Judgement
Come Wednesday, 20th March, 2019, Accra Circuit Court 9 will see the trial judge, pass verdict for all and sundry to know whether the suspects are guilty or innocent.
