A prosecution witness in the ongoing Sky Train trial has confirmed and produced multiple email exchanges of the Board and Investment Committee of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) that repeatedly referenced the Accra Sky Train project, despite his earlier testimony that the project was introduced only once at board level.
Yaw Odame-Darkwa, a former GIIF board member and chairman of the Audit Committee, tendered the emails during Day Four of cross-examination at the High Court in Accra, following an order by the court directing him to retrieve, verify and present the correspondence.
On day three of the cross-examination, Mr. Odame-Darkwa who is testifying for the prosecution was allowed to retrieve and confirm e-mails that were put before him by counsel for the first accused challenging his testimony that the project was introduced once at the board level.
Upon reviewing the e-mails, the witness confirmed the authenticity of at least 16 emails exchanged between July and September 2018 among board and Investment Committee members. The emails, many of which included attachments, agendas and investment memoranda, were admitted into evidence without objection from the prosecution.
Several of the emails referenced the Accra Sky Train project and were circulated ahead of scheduled Investment Committee meetings, alongside other GIIF projects such as the Safari Hotel, Woodfields Tank Farm and Mahama Hotel.
Among the documents admitted were minutes of the Investment Committee meeting held on July 31, 2018, which recorded a presentation on the Sky Train Monorail Project and noted that members expressed support for the initiative, while requesting further details before any recommendation could be made to the GIIF Board.
During cross-examination on Monday, Odame-Darkwa admitted he could not confirm whether a subsequent Investment Committee meeting scheduled for September 28, 2018, actually took place.
He however acknowledged that he did not refresh his memory with Investment Committee minutes before giving statements to investigators at the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) in March 2025 or before filing his witness statement in court.
Despite this, the witness maintained that the Investment Committee did not formally recommend the Sky Train project to the Board, insisting that his position was consistent with the committee minutes tendered before the court.
The court also admitted into evidence an extract from the 2021 Auditor-General’s report on GIIF as well as the Fund’s 2019 audited financial statements, which confirmed Odame-Darkwa’s role as chairman of the Audit Committee at the time and bore the signatures of the former Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer.
The trial involves former GIIF Board Chair Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi and former CEO Solomon Asamoah, who are facing charges including causing financial loss to the state and dissipation of public funds over a US$2 million payment made for the Sky Train project. Prosecutors allege the expenditure was incurred without board approval and without any work being done.
Proceedings have been adjourned to December 16, when the court is expected to continue with the cross-examination.
