Caleb Kwaku Afaglo, the former Head of Management Information Systems (MIS) at SSNIT, who was being prosecuted alongside former SSNIT boss Ernest Thompson in the now-dismissed SSNIT OBS project criminal trial, has reached an agreement with the Prosecution to enter into a plea bargain negotiation.

Afaglo is accused of securing his employment at SSNIT using fake certificates and of authoring forged documents.

He was facing seven counts, including defrauding by false pretences, securing forged documents, and authoring forged documents.

The board of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) dismissed Caleb Afaglo in 2017 after discovering that he had obtained his job with fake degrees, following his interdiction.

Addressing the court on Thursday on behalf of the accused, who is the only person remaining in the trial after the Attorney General decided to discontinue the case, lead Counsel Paa Kwesi Abaidoo informed the trial judge that his team had initiated plea bargain negotiations with the Attorney General.

He requested the court to grant at least 30 days in accordance with Section 16(5) of the Plea Bargain Act to allow them to complete negotiations with the state attorneys.

Senior State Attorney Nana Ama Adinkrah confirmed to the court that the Prosecution had indeed received a letter from the accused person indicating his intention to enter into a plea bargain.

However, she quickly added that "the right course of action is to formally inform the court of their intention to enter into a plea bargain with the Prosecution, which they have done." She also requested an adjournment of no more than 30 days to finalise the agreement with the accused.

In accordance with the Plea Bargain Act, the presiding judge, Justice Henry Kwofie, a Supreme Court Judge sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court Judge, granted the request for a plea bargain after considering submissions from both legal teams.

Caleb Kwaku Afaglo is the only accused remaining in the criminal trial that began seven years ago, which initially involved four others, including former SSNIT Director-General Dr Ernest Thompson, John Hagan Mensa, Peter Hayibor, and Juliet Hassana Kramer.

The case is scheduled to return to court on 8th May, by which time the accused person and the Prosecution are expected to have finalised and signed the plea bargain agreement.

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