The prosecution in the Buffer Stock case suffered another setback on Wednesday after the High Court halted proceedings over unsigned witness statements filed by the state.

The case involves the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food Buffer Stock Company Limited.

At the hearing before Justice Francis Achibonga, Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai informed the court that the prosecution had filed all necessary documents and was ready to proceed with the Case Management Conference.

However, counsel for the first accused person, Godfred Yeboah Dame, objected to the commencement of proceedings.

Mr Dame argued that the accused persons had been served with only one properly filed witness statement.

According to him, the remaining documents could not qualify as witness statements under Ghana’s criminal laws because they had not been signed or verified as required by the Practice Directions on Disclosure and Case Management Rules.

He further told the court that the rules require the prosecution to file and serve all witness statements and documents it intends to rely on before a Case Management Conference can begin.

Responding to the objection, Dr Srem-Sai argued that the Case Management Conference is a process and that the prosecution could still file witness statements later.

He also maintained that there was no specific rule requiring witness statements to be filed before the commencement of the conference.

But Justice Achibonga upheld the objection raised by the defence.

The judge said that although the Case Management Conference is indeed a process, it could not proceed without signed witness statements from the prosecution.

According to the court, an unsigned witness statement “has no value.”

Justice Achibonga stressed that signed witness statements are important because even if the prosecution chooses not to rely on them, the defence may still tender them in court under the rules.

He added that unsigned statements could not serve that purpose.

The judge also noted that the court had earlier directed the prosecution to file all documents it intended to rely on in the case.

He ruled that the failure to file signed witness statements meant the prosecution had not complied with the court’s order.

“In the circumstances, I am unable to proceed with the Case Management Conference,” the judge ruled.

The case was subsequently adjourned to June 9 and June 11, 2027, with the expectation that the prosecution would file properly signed witness statements before proceedings resumed.