Ashaley Botwe murder case:  Registrar ordered to furnish defence counsel with jurors’ list

The Accra High Court has ordered the court registrar to provide defence counsel for Safina Mohammed Adizatu, who is on trial for allegedly mur­dering her boyfriend, with the list of jurors in the case.

According to the court, the provision of the list should be done before the next adjourned date, February 27, 2024, and the defence counsel was ordered to follow up on that.

The court gave the order after the defense counsel for Adizatu requested for the list of the jurors.

According to Mr Samuel Alesu-Dordzi, defence counsel, the basis for his request was Act 30, which requires that an accused  person mount challenge to certain jurors for a cause.

“The Act sets out persons who qualify and those who do not qualify to act as jurors. It is our contention that the accused is unable to exercise these challenges which is available to her under the law without prior disclosure of the list of the potential jurors before empaneling takes place,” he said.

At the next sitting, the court is expected to empanel a sev­en-member jury for trial to com­mence, and Adizatu is expected to plead to the charge of murder preferred against her by the state.

Adizatu is before the High Court for her alleged involvement in the murder of her boyfriend, at Ashaley Botwe, in Accra, in July 2022.

In August 2023, the Adentan District Court committed Adizatu to stand trial at the High Court for the murder of Frank Kofi Osei, her boyfriend,who was resident in Canada, but was in Ghana for holidays.

Frank was murdered when he visited Adizatu, at her residence at Ashaley Botwe School Junction, in Accra.

Adizatu, also known as Saf­ina Diamond, has been granted GH¢500,000 bail and has been ordered by the court to report to the Ghana Police Service (Homi­cide Unit).

Meanwhile, Adizatu during the committal proceedings at the low­er court, said she was innocent.

The state is expected to call nine witnesses, including Michael Fiifi Ampofo Arku, who was ar­rested as an accomplice, but later released on the recommendation of the Attorney General.

The case of the prosecution is that on Sunday, July 24, 2022, Frank Osei, who was on vaca­tion in Ghana, visited Safina, at Ashaley Botwe School Junction, and decided to spend the night with her.

The court heard that at night, Safina, Arku and other accom­plices yet to be arrested, allegedly stabbed Osei with a knife and strangled him.

The prosecution said Safina and her accomplices allegedly cleaned Osei’s blood from the floor while the body was in the room for 24 hours.

The prosecution said Osei’s body was carried from the first floor of the Storey building down the staircase and dumped at the gate of the house where Osei had parked his Toyota Tundra truck.

Safina allegedly called the police and claimed that her boy­friend who visited her had died in her room.

When the police went to the scene, they found Osei’s body at the gate of Safina’s house, and arrested her. – GNA

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