The Office of Special Prosecutor has closed its case in the trial of the embattled Municipal Chief Executive aspirant for Juaben, Alexander Kwabena Sarfo-Kantanka.

The aspirant was charged with 26 counts of corruption in respect of public elections.

Sarfo-Kantanka is accused of influencing the conduct of about 26 assembly members who are members of the Juaben Municipal Assembly by gifting them an amount of GHȼ5,000 during an election to confirm his nomination in September last year.

Mr Sarfo-Kantanka appeared before the court on July 12, 2023, to answer the charges of corruption contrary to Section 256(1) and (2) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) as amended by Section 9 of the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Act, 2020.

During proceedings, subsequently after cross-examining the last of six state witnesses, Counsel for the accused intimated that they would file a submission of no case to answer.

The court indicated that it will give directions in response to the submission of no case on the next court date, which is October 20, 2023.

Read also: Special Prosecutor charges failed Juaben MCE nominee with 26 counts of corruption

Background

The President’s nominee is said to have assaulted one of the Assembly Members, Patrick Yeboah outside the conference room where the meeting took place.

He failed in yet another attempt to get him confirmed as the first-ever MCE for that newly created municipality, carved out of the Ejisu municipality.

The Special Prosecutor in a letter dated November 2, 2021, invited the embattled Municipal Chief Executive nominee for questioning and subsequently granted him bail.

Bailiffs of the Judicial Service were in the Juaben home of Mr Sarfo-Kantanka to serve him with the writ of summons on Tuesday, May 24, 2022 but met his absence.

Officials from the Office of Special Prosecutor and Judicial Service located him at the Juaben NPP office and served him at exactly 10:42 am paving the way for trial to begin.

Mr. Sarfo-Kantanka is the first of two high-level politicians to be investigated in the Ashanti region in connection with corruption-related election charges.

Former Member of Parliament for Ejisu, Kwabena Owusu Aduomi and a former Deputy Minister of Roads, is also under investigations for a similar offence.

He is said to have publicly admitted on television to paying cash to delegates in the constituency to confirm him as parliamentary candidate.