KKD ACCUSER CANT WITHDRAW...READ WHY??

The lady who accused ace broadcaster Kwesi Kyei
Darkwah (KKD) of rape could be subpoenaed to
testify against her accuser, despite her
unwillingness to pursue the case.
Lawyer John Ndebugri told Joy News since rape is
a criminal case and classified as a non-bailable
offence, the lady at the centre of the rape case
has no power to withdraw the case. Her interest
is no longer paramount but the state, he stated.
Ewuraffe Orleans-Thompson purportedly wrote a
letter to the Attorney General copied to the
Chief Justice, requesting a withdrawal of the
case from court.
In the letter, Ewuraffe cited the huge media
frenzy over the matter for her decision to
withdraw the case from court.
Though state prosecutors have expressed doubts
over the authenticity of the letter supposedly
written by the lady, the Human Rights Court
Thursday morning granted KKD bail on
humanitarian grounds.
KKD has been charged with rape after the 19-
year old lady accused him of assaulting her in a
hotel bathroom last month. He has spent about
three weeks in police custody.
State prosecutors who opposed the bail have
strongly indicated their resolve to pursue the
case in court.
Mr. John Ndebugri was surprised by the decision
of the court to grant KKD bail, quoting Section
96 of the Criminal Procedure Code with regards
to non-bailable offences, stressing that the law
does not give any discretion to the court.
He urged the prosecutors to go ahead with the
case using Ewureffe’s statement to the police
because that statement, he suspected was not
given under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Mr. Ndebugri explained, “The Attorney General
can proceed with the case and call her as a
witness.If she refuses to come, they will serve
her subpoena notice to come to court. If she
refuses to come [once more], she will be
arrested and then charged with contempt of
court and dealt with according to what the
court decides.
“If she appears and decides not to cooperate,
the prosecution can apply to the court to
declare her a hostile witness, and then when the
court has upheld that application then the state
will cross-examine her. She is no more a witness
of the state, she is an adverse witness. The state
will cross-examine her and tender her
statement as evidence.”
However, the Attorney General, Mr. Ndebugri
noted can file an application of nole prosequi to
discontinue the case.
In the morning, Joy News’ Anny Osabutey was in
court and reported what transpired there.
Before the bail application could be heard by
the court, lawyer for KKD, Tony Forson officially
informed the court about a letter from the
alleged rape victim, Ewerueffe Orleans
Thompson.
The letter, according to Tony Forson, was
written by the victim to inform the Attorney
General she was no longer interested in assisting
the police prosecute the case. But the state
prosecutor Cynthia Lamptey raised questions
about the authenticity of the letter.
The two lawyers switched attention to the main
case by opening their arguments. Mr. Forson
showed a medical report to back his submission
that Mr. Kyei Darkwah’s medical condition is not
good and that his environment could be fatal.
According to him, he was attending
physiotherapy sessions and should he be granted
bail, will make himself available to the
magistrate court where the substantive case is
being held. But the state prosecutor Cynthia
Lamptey was opposed to the bail application.
Ms. Lamptey maintained that the current
medical status of the accused was not as a
result of his detention. She argued that KKD
should be sent to the hospital for the necessary
medical care. To support her argument, she
referenced a case between One Oko verses the
Republic in the 1970s, where the accused was
denied bail on similar grounds.
After hearing the arguments from the two
parties, the judge, Kofi Essel Mensah, granted
KKD bail on what he called “humanitarian
grounds”.
He set the bail conditions: Twenty Thousand
cedis with two sureties. He said the case cited by
the state prosecutor cannot be supported
especially in this democratic dispensation. He
said the Oko verses Republic incident took place
under a military regime, which had no respect
for the rights of its own citizens.
Judge Essel Mensah said the country now
subscribes to human rights laws and it is the
duty of the state to uphold those rights, while
protecting the liberties of persons accused of a
crime. He described as ‘unfair’, attempts by the
state to seek refuge in the law by insisting the
offence is not bailable.