Accra, March 18, – An Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Francis Apangabuno Achibonga, has rejected the defence’s attempt to introduce a 2020 Bureau of National Communications (BNC) budget document in the ongoing trial of Kwabena Adu-Boahene and co-accused.
The trial, concerning the alleged misappropriation of GH¢49.1 million within the National Security framework, continued with the cross-examination of Ms Edith Ruby Opokua Adumuah, Head of Finance at the National Security Bureau and a prosecution witness.
Adu-Boahene, former Director of the National Signals Bureau, has been granted GH¢80 million bail with two sureties, one of which must be justified. His wife and a company, Advantage Solutions Limited, remain on existing bail terms.
During cross-examination, Mr Samuel Atta-Akyea, defence counsel, questioned Ms Adumuah about any missing funds in her supervision of the cybersecurity budget. She testified that she had not detected or reported any instance of theft, nor raised concerns to the Attorney-General, Police, or Auditor-General.
Ms Adumuah could not confirm whether any theft had occurred, nor could she identify the source or purpose of certain cheques, including amounts of GH¢27 million and GH¢1 million, although she acknowledged that the GH¢49.1 million was included in the annual BNC budget she prepared.
The defence sought to admit a January 10, 2020 copy of the BNC budget from the Ministry of Finance website, claiming it contained relevant figures identified by the witness. The prosecution objected, arguing that the hard copy did not comply with the Electronic Transactions Act.
Justice Achibonga upheld the objection, ruling that the document’s authenticity had not been sufficiently established and it did not qualify as an electronic transaction document.
Following the ruling, the defence requested an adjournment to obtain an appropriate version of the 2020 budget document. The court granted the request and adjourned the trial to March 24 and 25, 2026.
GHBUSS
18 March 2026
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