Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, has rejected claims that Chairman Wontumi's legal team was prevented from arguing pending applications before the High Court before his conviction and sentencing.

According to him, the lawyers who appeared in place of lead counsel, Samuel Atta Akyea, informed the court that their sole instruction was to seek an adjournment and not to move any of the pending motions.

Speaking on JoyNews' New Night on Tuesday, July 21, Dr Srem-Sai said assertions that the court denied the defence an opportunity to argue its applications did not reflect what transpired during the proceedings.

"The third claim that my learned friend (counsel for Wontumi, Samuel Atta Akyea) also made, that the lawyers that they sent to the court were not allowed to move the motion. Probably, again, my senior was not in court, so he probably didn't understand what happened.

"The junior that he [Atta Akyea] sent, or his colleague lawyer that he sent, said that their instruction was to take a date, to take an adjournment. That was their instruction," he said.

He added, "When a lawyer comes to you to say that my instruction is this, what he is saying is that this is the only thing I'm asking."

The Deputy Attorney-General said the trial judge declined the request for an adjournment after finding that the explanation offered by the defence was inconsistent with the court's schedule.

According to him, although lead counsel cited a prior professional engagement abroad, the court held that "he agreed to the date, so there cannot be any prior arrangement which will conflict with this".

He also questioned claims that Wontumi had been denied his constitutional right to legal representation, noting that another lawyer from the defence team subsequently indicated he had been instructed to continue handling the case after the conviction.

To Dr Srem-Sai, this demonstrated that the accused was not left without legal representation. "The lawyer who handed over to lawyer Atta Akyea said that he had been instructed to continue the case even after conviction," he noted.

The Deputy Attorney-General urged lawyers and the public to study the court's judgement before concluding the case, arguing that the appeal process—not public commentary—was the appropriate avenue for challenging the ruling.

His remarks come after counsel for Chairman Wontumi criticised the High Court's refusal to adjourn proceedings and argued that the decision contributed to an unfair trial.