Freddie Blay faces Attorney-General in galamsey trial

JAWS-DROPPED and the court room was momentarily enveloped in surprise when it was announced on Tuesday that the three Chinese nationals and one Vietnamese on trial as alleged accomplices of the most popular Chinese lady in Ghana, Aisha Huang, would henceforth be represented legally by the venerable lawyer cum politician, the good-old Freddie W.A. Blay.

Barrister Blay, founding partner and lead lawyer at Blay & Associates – a thriving law firm in the heart of Accra – is the immediate  past National Chair of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and would be representing the four alleged accomplices of Aisha Huang namely; Gao Jin Cheng, Lu Qi Jun, Haibin Go and Zhang Zhipeng.

All five are on trial over alleged illegal mining offenses.

They were once again denied bail on Tuesday, to reappear in court on October 24. It is anticipated that Mr. Blay would most likely be present in person in court on the new adjourned date.

At yesterday’s court sitting, Mr. Blay’s brief was held on his behalf by a young eloquent female lawyer, Lucie Ekeleba Blay, believed to be his daughter.

The five accused persons are being prosecuted by the Attorney General and Minister for Justice himself, Godfred Yeboah Dame, a fire-brand lawyer with an impressive testimonial in courtroom advocacy.

Having Godfred Dame and Freddie Blay at opposing sides on same case in same court promises to be one interesting legal case that would raise eye brows.

It would be one of the rare times the two legal brains would be disagreeing publicly on a legal issue.

Godfred Dame popped up in court on Tuesday in the company of Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor who after the hearing mentioned to journalists that he was impressed at the manner in which Attorney-General was prosecuting the suspected illegal miners.

“As you can see, the Attorney-General himself was in court and he himself is conducting this trial, prosecuting the cases in a very spirited and enthusiastic manner.

“I think it helps my work, when you have an Attorney-General who is diligent and serious about prosecution and ensuring that all perpetrators are brought to book, I think it is a big boost and I am very thankful to him for the work he is doing”, Mr. Jinapor noted.

The Attorney General announced in court that he had four witness statements and 18 pieces of evidence. He said he has a set of eight witnesses to make its case against alleged illegal miners.

Godfred Dame asked the court, presided over by Her Ladyship, Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, to allow for an expeditious trial and to hear the case on a daily basis.

He also asked the court to adjourn the case for a week to enable the prosecution to file the rest of the documents.

Justice Marfo adjourned the case to Monday October 24, 2022.