An Accra circuit court has, for the second time, warned that the court would not entertain any delay in the sodomy case involving Dr. Sulley Ali Gabass, a medical practitioner at the Effia-Nkwanta Hospital in the Western Region.
Mrs. Rita Agyemang-Budu, the presiding judge of the court, on Monday cautioned the prosecution and lawyers of Dr Gabass to desist from unnecessarily delaying the case.
This follows the inability of the counsel for the accused to move a motion for stay of execution, due to a plea by State Attorney, Esi Yankah, asking for a copy of the court’s ruling on the application of ‘no case’ by the defence counsel.
According to Ms. Yankah, the defence counsel did not attach the ruling to the motion of stay of execution, which was served on the Attorney General’s Department because he assumed it was not readily available at the court registry.
The judge noted that the case had been ongoing since November last year, and she would do everything possible to ensure an expeditious trial.
The court adjourned the case to Wednesday, May 20, for the motion to be moved.
At the court’s sitting on May 13, the judge said she would not tolerate any lackadaisical attitude and delay of the case. That was when lawyer for the accused, Fixon Owoo, who held brief for John Benson, told the court that they had filed a notice of appeal on May 12, to be moved on Monday.
The court, on May 7, dismissed an application of ‘no case’ filed before it by counsel for Dr. Gabass, and ordered for the opening of their defence on May 13, which they failed to comply.
Five witnesses, including the victim and Manasseh Awuni Azure, the journalist, who first published the story, which led to the arrest of the accused and his subsequent prosecution, testified as first and second prosecution witnesses respectively.
The other witnesses were the investigator, Dr. Nii Aryee, a surgeon at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, who diagnosed the victim after an anal fistula and anal rectal abscess surgical operation and the victim’s father.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Idan Derry, prosecuting earlier, told the court that the accused between October 2013 and April 2014, sodomised the teenager five times at Kasoa in the Central Region and Alajo in Accra.
He said the victim was a student at Kasoa while Dr. Gabass was a medical practitioner at the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Takoradi.
Dr. Gabass was said to have encountered the victim on Facebook in September 2013,where became friends and later established contacts on phone and online.
He told the court that in October 2013, Dr. Gabass arranged and met the victim at the Kasoa New Market area and had anal sex with him in his car in front of a bank.
On December 28, 2013, at about 7 p.m., he again met the victim at Kasoa and had sex with him after which he gave him a Samsung Galaxy phone and GH¢20 which he initially turned down, but was coerced to accept later.
The victim later fell sick and informed Dr. Gabass who prescribed paracetamol for him.
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