The Supreme Court has dismissed an application by former Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) Chief Executive Officer, Solomon Asamoah, seeking to halt proceedings in the ongoing Skytrain trial pending the determination of his certiorari application.
Justice Senyo Dzamefe, JSC, sitting as a single Justice of the Supreme Court, dismissed the application for interlocutory injunction on Monday, August 31, 2026, after hearing arguments from the parties last Friday.
The application was filed by Mr Asamoah, the first accused, after the High Court dismissed his submission of no case following the close of the prosecution’s case.
Through the certiorari application, Mr Asamoah is seeking an order quashing the High Court’s decision refusing his submission of no case. He subsequently asked the Supreme Court to restrain the High Court from proceeding with the trial pending the determination of the certiorari application.
He also sought a further suspension of the High Court’s orders requiring him to open his defence.
Supreme Court finds no serious case for injunction
In dismissing the injunction application, the Supreme Court held that the applicant, based on his own affidavit evidence, had not disclosed a serious case to be tried.
The Court reasoned that the matters raised by Mr Asamoah were matters properly falling within the appellate process rather than grounds for the exercise of the Supreme Court’s supervisory jurisdiction through certiorari.
The Court further found that the trial judge’s decision to rule on the submission of no case was not an exercise made without jurisdiction or in excess of jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court also held that the applicant had failed to establish what irreparable harm would be suffered if the injunction was not granted.
Skytrain trial can proceed
The dismissal of the interlocutory injunction means that the High Court proceedings will not be halted pending the determination of Mr Asamoah’s certiorari application.
The substantive criminal trial can therefore proceed as scheduled.
The High Court has set September 23, 2026, as the final extended deadline for the accused persons to file their respective defences, should they elect to do so.
The development follows a series of applications that have delayed the transition of the case from the prosecution’s case to the defence stage.
Second accused returns to Court of Appeal
The second accused, Prof Christopher Ameyaw-Ekumfi, has filed a fresh application for a stay of proceedings.
That application is scheduled to be heard by the Court of Appeal on September 1, 2026.
Prof Ameyaw-Ekumfi, a former Board Chair of GIIF, and Mr Asamoah are standing trial over allegations surrounding the payment of US$2 million in connection with the proposed Skytrain project without the requisite board approval.
The prosecution alleges that the payment was made in circumstances that amounted to criminal conduct. Both accused persons remain before the court as the case proceeds through the various stages of trial.
