The High Court in Accra has dismissed an application by Gifty Oware-Mensah, former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), seeking to halt her trial and refer certain constitutional issues to the Supreme Court for interpretation.
Presiding judge Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, in a ruling delivered on Tuesday, February 10, held that the application lacked merit and that the defence had failed to establish that a genuine constitutional question had arisen to justify a referral.
Ms Oware-Mensah had challenged provisions of the Practice Direction on Disclosure and Case Management Proceedings, 2018 (C.I. 103), which require an accused person to disclose the names and addresses of their witnesses at the case management stage. Her lawyers, led by Garry Nimako Marfo, argued that the requirement infringed on the presumption of innocence guaranteed under Article 19 of the 1992 Constitution.
The prosecution, led by Director of Public Prosecutions Yvonne Attakora-Obuobisa, opposed the application, insisting that the Practice Direction was constitutional and aimed at ensuring fair, efficient and expeditious trials.
Delivering her decision, Justice Kocuvie-Tay stated that the accused had not demonstrated that “a genuine question has arisen for the matter to be referred to the Supreme Court for interpretation.” She accordingly dismissed the application in its entirety.
Reacting to the ruling outside the courtroom, lead counsel Garry Nimako Marfo said the defence team would apply for the full reasons of the decision and advise their client on the appropriate next steps.
“In regard to the application for a referral having been dismissed, we will apply for the full copy of the reasons for the dismissal and advise the client as to the way forward,” he told journalists.
He further disclosed that a Notice of Appeal had already been filed against an earlier order of the court compelling the accused to file her witness list. Additionally, a motion seeking a stay of proceedings pending the appeal has been filed.
Following submissions from both sides, Justice Kocuvie-Tay stayed further proceedings in the matter and adjourned the case to Wednesday, February 18, 2026, for hearing of the application for stay.
Ms Oware-Mensah is standing trial alongside others in connection with the alleged GH¢38 million National Service Secretariat ghost names scandal. She has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges including stealing, willfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for profit, and money laundering.
She was granted bail in the sum of GH¢10 million with two sureties to be justified. The case continues to attract public interest due to the scale of the alleged financial impropriety involved.
