The judge hearing the Alhaji Issah Mobila Murder case has ordered the immediate transfer of two of the suspects into prison custody. The suspects were being held by the Military Police but the judge said he was only enforcing an earlier order given by the Tamale high court. When the case was called this afternoon, the judge was not happy that the military still had custody of the suspects despite an earlier warning to the military authorities to hand them over to the investigator for onward transfer to the prison. Justice Senyo Dzamefe spared the two Military Police personal who brought the suspects to court, saying he would have sited them for contempt for disobeying his earlier order. The soldiers explained that their superiors had told them they had to complete some processes before they could transfer the suspects into the custody of the prisons service. Earlier, Principal State Attorney Penelope Ann Mamattah told the court that she had overheard the defense attorney, Thaddeus Sorry advising the military escorts to disobey the judge’s order to have the suspects detained in prison custody. But both the lawyer and the soldiers denied that such a thing took place. The judge however still cautioned all parties about the nature of commentary they make on the case outside the courtroom, especially to the media. He also raised issue with the Daily Guide newspaper for publishing his picture; something he says is not done especially since the case is a criminal one. Judge Dzemefe later set January 19th 2011 for a ruling on the following issues: whether a new jury should be empanelled following the return of one of the jurors who fell ill and had to be replaced; whether the trial should start afresh because the judge has been elevated to the Appeals Court and whether the old jury be brought back to continue with the trial. So far the prosecution has provided 7 witnesses and is left with one more witness. Defense lawyer, Sorry has filed an application at the Supreme Court to decide whether the judge after being promoted to the Appeals Court is still qualified to hear the case. Mr Sorry wants a fresh trial since he has also accused the judge of bias. Source: Joy News/Ghana