THE Attorney-General’s Department is set to contest an appeal filed by the Founder and General Overseer of Jesus Blood Prophetic Ministry, Prophet Kofi Yirenkyi aka Jesus Onetouch, who was jailed ten years for defiling his nine-year-old biological daughter.
The case, which has suffered a long break since July as a result of the legal vacation, yesterday resumed at an Accra High Court with the assigned State Attorney, Rexford Wiredu, informing the court presided over by Justice Emmanuel Dzakpasu that he was ready to contest the appeal.
Mr. Wiredu informed the court that he had now received all the necessary documents including the statement of claim by the appellant and the record of proceedings and prayed for a short time to prepare his submission.
Counsel for the accused, Adomako Acheampong, was unhappy about the development, stating that Mr. Wiredu was just delaying the process.
According to him, Mr. Wiredu had been in possession of those documents long ago and could have prepared his submission before yesterday, saying, “Somebody is suffering in jail and you are here delaying the process”.
The judge however adjourned the matter to January 16, 2012 due to the Christmas break but ordered the prosecution to file its submission before that day for the case to proceed.
It would be recalled that Mr. Wiredu, before the break in July, arrested the judgment of the appeal which was to be delivered by Justice Dzapkasu.
Mr Wiredu had told the court the state had no records of appeal prepared in the case, arguing that it should be done before judgment proceeded. He requested the court to order the circuit court to prepare the records of appeal.
According to the state attorney, what was available to them as record of proceedings could not be said to be the records because it had no index and should therefore be structured properly.
Jesus Onetouch was some months ago slapped with a 10-year jail term in hard labour by an Accra circuit court for defilement and incest.
He however bounced back after serving five months of his jail term and filed an appeal challenging the verdict by the circuit court, on the grounds that the judge erred in delivering judgment when the defence had created sufficient doubts in the case of the prosecution.
Onetouch, in his appeal, is praying the High Court to quash the decision of the lower court because it was an erroneous decision.
