As Court Strikes Out Hearsay Evidence
By Prince Ahenkorah
Seven years after the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service cleared former Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue, of wrongdoing in the widely publicized “Galamsey Fraud” exposé by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, a fresh development in court has dealt a significant blow to the prosecution’s case.
The High Court in Accra has struck out 24 paragraphs from the witness statement of a key prosecution witness in the ongoing corruption trial involving Mr Bissue and two former officials of the defunct IMCIM.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay on June 9, 2026, followed objections by lawyers for the accused persons, who argued that portions of the testimony constituted hearsay evidence.
The witness, Benjamin Adjapong, an undercover investigator with Tiger Eye P.I. and a member of the team behind the “Galamsey Fraud” investigation, had submitted a 53-paragraph witness statement as his evidence-in-chief.
However, the court upheld objections to 24 paragraphs, ruling that they contained information the witness did not personally observe but had allegedly obtained from third parties. As a result, those portions of the statement cannot be relied upon during the trial.
The struck-out paragraphs contain allegations relating to conversations, arrangements and actions involving the accused persons and other individuals connected to the undercover operation.
The court held that the contents amounted to hearsay and therefore failed to satisfy the legal requirements for admissibility as evidence.
The latest development revives public attention to the findings of the CID investigation conducted in 2019 following the release of the “Galamsey Fraud” documentary by Tiger Eye P.I.
In the documentary, Mr Bissue was alleged to have been involved in corrupt dealings aimed at facilitating mining activities for ORR Resources Enterprise, a company presented as seeking to bypass official procedures to obtain mining permits.
Following the publication of the exposé, Mr Bissue stepped aside from his position and made himself available for investigations.
After months of investigations, the CID concluded that Mr Bissue had not circumvented the established procedures of the IMCIM to favour ORR Resources Enterprise.
According to the police report, investigators found no evidence that Mr Bissue or any of the other suspects had committed any criminal offence.
The report further noted that the CID’s investigations relied on documentary evidence and other available sources but indicated that Tiger Eye P.I.’s lead investigator, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, did not avail himself to assist with the police investigations and did not provide the unedited version of the documentary footage.
The CID also stated that a key witness identified as Yaw Ben failed to assist investigators in substantiating allegations of bribery against the suspects.
Investigators further concluded that the documentary was not a true reflection of events involving Mr Bissue and ORR Resources Enterprise.
Consequently, the CID exonerated Mr Bissue and the other individuals implicated in the exposé.
Despite the CID’s findings, Tiger Eye P.I. had earlier petitioned the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) on February 27, 2019, and submitted materials relating to the investigation, including unedited footage.
The OSP subsequently commenced its own investigation, which culminated in criminal charges against Mr Bissue and two other former IMCIM officials.
Mr Bissue is currently standing trial alongside Raphael Mensah, a former Systems Manager of the GalamStop software platform, and Dr Naa Dedei Tagoe, former Project Coordinator of the IMCIM.
Mr Bissue faces six counts of corruption and abuse of public office for profit under the Criminal Offences Act.
The two co-accused persons have been charged with abetment of corruption and use of public office for profit.
All three accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial continues on June 11, 2026, when the court is expected to hear further testimony in the case that has remained one of Ghana’s most closely watched anti-corruption prosecutions since the release of the “Galamsey Fraud” exposé in 2019.