The High Court in Accra has dismissed an application by former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware-Mensah, seeking to halt her criminal trial and refer constitutional questions to the Supreme Court.
Presiding judge Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay ruled on Tuesday that the request lacked merit, holding that the defence had failed to establish that a genuine constitutional issue had arisen to justify the referral.
Ms Oware-Mensah had challenged the Practice Direction on Disclosure and Case Management Proceedings, 2018, arguing that provisions requiring an accused person to disclose the names and addresses of intended witnesses at the case management stage violated the presumption of innocence guaranteed under Article 19 of the 1992 Constitution.
Her lawyers, led by Garry Nimako Marfo, contended that compelling such disclosures placed an unfair burden on the accused and undermined constitutional protections.
The prosecution, led by Director of Public Prosecutions Yvonne Attakora Obuobisa, opposed the application, maintaining that the Practice Direction was constitutional and intended to ensure fair, efficient and expeditious trials.
Delivering her ruling, Justice Kocuvie-Tay said the defence had not demonstrated that “a genuine question has arisen for the matter to be referred to the Supreme Court for interpretation,” and accordingly dismissed the application.
Following the decision, Mr Nimako told the court that the defence would apply for the full reasons behind the ruling before advising their client on the 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 said.
He disclosed that the defence had already filed a Notice of Appeal against an earlier order compelling the accused to submit her witness list, and had also filed a motion seeking a stay of proceedings.
Justice Kocuvie-Tay subsequently stayed proceedings and adjourned the case to February 18, 2026, to consider the stay application.
Ms Oware-Mensah has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including stealing, willfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for profit and money laundering, in connection with the alleged GH¢38 million National Service “ghost names” scandal.
She remains on GH¢10 million bail.
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