The second defence witness, Mr. Samuel Torbi, a well known cocoa farmer based in Assin Fosu has challenged the Director of Public Prosecution, Yvonne Atakora-Obuobisa to crosscheck from COCOBOD’s own records to confirm whether he has been truthful in his accounts to the court or not.
Samuel Torbi has told the court that he and other cocoa farmers were introduced to liquid fertilizer including Lithovit and were trained on their application by the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of COCOBOD.
The witness who is the chairman of Cocoa Cooperative in Assin Fosu in the Central Region with over 33 acres of cocoa farm, has been testifying about the efficacy of the Lithovit liquid fertilizer, a product he called “messiah”, which application he said helped him to double his cocoa beans. He also showed evidence of how his production declined during the seasons that he applied other fertilizers.
His testimony was given in the trial of former COCOBOD Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Opuni and businessman Seidu Agongo at the High Court in Accra presided by Justice Clemence Jackson Honyenuga on June 2.
Among the 27 charges that the state levelled against the accused persons is causing financial loss to the state, but Mr. Samuel Torbi’s testimony contradicts prosecution’s claim that Lithovit liquid fertiliser was a worthless product that did not give the state value for money.
Under cross-examination on June 2, Director of Public Prosecution Yvonne Attakora-Obuobisa told the witness his claim that he only attracted the high yield when used Lithovit liquid fertilizer was false.
But the witness pointed out that aside his own accounts in court, there are records at COCOBOD to collaborate his claims.
“My Lord it was Lithovit. I am explaining that we farmers do not keep our records well and if anything at all our information can be gotten from the CHED office. So I applied litovit liquid fertiliser for whole of 2015 and 2016. So if you go to COCOBOD, they can tell you the number of times I used Lithovit. I will always give glory where glory is due.”
Mr. Torbi further stated, “My Lord what DPP is saying is not true, what I am saying is the truth. Because I have already told the court where exactly to verify the truth about my passbook from and so I am telling this court that I am not lying.”
COCOSHE CARD
The witness has tendered in evidence his Ghana Cocoa, Coffee and Sheanut Farmers Association (COCOSHE) card to prove that he is a recognized farmer.
But according to the prosecution, because the back of the card doesn’t bear his signature, but that of the one issuing it, his claims that the card is his is also false.
“My Lord the card is my card,” Mr. Torbi insisted.
Meanwhile, whilst the witness, Mr. Samuel Torbi was still testifying for Dr Stephen Opuni at the High Court in Accra, officials of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG), the scientific division of COCOBOD, called him to seek permission to use his cocoa farm for field trial of fertilizer. He has since released 8 acres to CRIG which is being used for the experiment.
Read excerpts of June 2 proceedings
Q: you have also tendered in this court your cocoshe card which you signed and which was admitted as exhibit 106.
Ans : yes my lord
Q: Mr Tobi, take a look at these three documents, now your signature on your amended witness statement is different from your signature on the cocoshe card and are also different from purported signature on your passbook. Is that not so?
Ans: my Lord it not so because the cocoshe card was signed at the head office and I was not the one who signed it.
Q: you said you signed the cocoshe card at the head office.
Ans : My Lord the cocoshe card was signed by the chief farmer and was brought to us.
Q: so the the cocoshe card you brought to this court does not bear your signature but another person.
Ans : yes my lord
Q: the cocoshe card then does not belong to you because it doesn’t bear your signature but another person’s.
Ans : my Lord the card is my card.
Q: Now the signature in your witness statement is also different from the passbook.
Ans : my Lord the signature in my passbook is my signature which I signed in 2012.
Q: yes your signature in 2012 is different from the witness statement.
Ans : my Lord it could be so because when I was at the junior high school, I used my name Samuel kwaku Torbi, so when I completed school and could not continue and entered into farming, that was the signature I used and later on I changed it, so the signature in my witness statement is what I use now.
Q: Mr Torbi, you told this court that the PC made a mistake when he was writing your name in your passbook. Is that so?
Ans : That is so my lord.
Q: so can you tell the court the name that was in the passbook before it was changed to Samuel Torbi?
Ans : My Lord I can tell. My lord he wrote Sampson Torbi and I told him my name is Samuel and not Sampson and so he corrected it.
Q: Mr Tobi, you are not being truthful to this court because the R,O ,C K,S,N and that will mean Rockson and not Samuel.
Ans : my Lord I am telling the truth, I was brought up to tell the truth. The PC who wrote my name is Still alive and I can show where he is for the court to ask.
Q: sir, the name in the passbook is not yours because the name has been changed from Rockson to Samuel and the signature in your passbook is different from the one in your witness statement.
Ans : my Lord I am explaining to the court that what witness is saying is not true. My lord with the cocoa farm I have in the Central Region if three farmers are to be selected from the Assin Fosu district, I will be first or second and so I cannot take someone’s passbook to be mine. I will further say that before you are given a passbook, the Clerk will send your name. The cocoa Clerk will send the names of farmers who need the passbook before the passbooks are issued to them. So if the PC makes mistakes in your passbook whiles filling it, you will not be issued a different passbook and so those mistakes must be corrected in the book. My lord most farmers do not see the mistakes that are made but I am a little educated so when I saw there was a mistake in my name I told the Clerk to change. I initially asked the PC to give me a new passbook but he refused because there is a unique code which identifies the district so he will not be able to get me a new one till the next year. The code on the passbook is CR126364 .There is no one in the Assin Fosu district, there is no farmer that harvest more cocoa than me and if there is doubt, my passbook can be taken back there if there is anyone called Samuel Torbi apart from me or anyone who is called her so-called Rockson Torbi.
Q: if this passbook which is so important to cocoa farmers belonged to you, Samuel Torbi you would ensured by now that you would have been issued a new passbook with your name correctly written in it and with the erasure as we have it now.
Ans : my Lord I am explaining to the court that the errors that were made in writing my name in the passbook, because the passbook belongs to me, I told him to correct it. The reason why farmers wanted to be issued with passbook was to get scholarship for our wards. My lord what I am saying is that when we the farmers want scholarship, we find it difficult to get and when passbooks are issued to farmers in the community there is no further issuing of passbook. My lord you cannot just get up and say your passbook should be changed because it is not a book that can be bought from a bookshop. As I speak now in this court, from 2019 till date, there has not been issuance of passbook to farmers. So I am reiterating that this passbook is my property and it belongs to me.
Q: you tendered this distribution waybill.
Ans : yes my lord
Q: what is the date ?
Ans : 11th February, 2016.
Q: on 11th February 2016, can you tell the fertilisers and the amount you got?
Ans : my Lord I received 12 bottles of fertiliser.
Q: Mr Torbi, you have deliberately left out in your evidence before this court fertilisers you received apart from Lithovit fertiliser as exhibit 111 shows you received fertilisers other than Lithovit.
Ans : That is not true my Lord, I didn’t write this receipt so what I was given is what is on it.
My Lord there is only one fertiliser on exhibit 111, the other one written there is called Akate master. It is a pesticide and not fertiliser.
Q: what is the quantity of Akate master you got?
Ans : my Lord 48 litres
Q: so with the Lithovit, did you receive 12 bottles or 12 litres.
Ans : my Lord I received 12 litres which we call 12 bottles.
Q: so did you also get 12 bottles of Akate master?
Ans : my Lord I received 48 litres as we call it bottles.
Q: I further put it to you that the yields also in January, March and April 2016 were also not affected by Lithovit.
Ans : my Lord it was Lithovit that gave me that high cocoa yield. My lord because of my truthfulness, I first came to this court to give my evidence. On the second time I have have to come, I felt sick and was admitted at Ridge hospital. While I was there, the district officer Mr. Afram called me to release 8 acres of my land for field test and trial. I was discharged on Friday and when I got to Assin fosu on Saturday, I was called by the district officer on Sunday that the CRIG officers will be coming on Monday but I told him I wasn’t feeling well but I later obliged. My worker went with them and I released 8 acres for the test. As a result of the truth I speak and my truthfulness, that is why the trial took place in my farm. This is because COCOBOD believes that I will never lie. My lord on the Tuesday, I received a call again from Mr Afram that some auditors are coming so they need me. I wasn’t feeling well but I hired a taxi and went. When I got there the auditors said they have seen what they wanted to see. My lord, the manufacturer of litovit is not my brother or friend for me to come to court and lie in his favour.
Q: in paragraph 10 of your amended witness statement, you attracted the high yield only in 2015/2016 to the 12 litres of Lithovit liquid fertiliser which you received in February 2016 which shows that your highest yield you got was not attributed to Lithovit.
Ans : my Lord it was Lithovit. I am explaining that we farmers do not keep our records well and if anything at all our information can be gotten from the CHED office. So I applied litovit liquid fertiliser for whole of 2015 and 2016. So if you go to COCOBOD, they can tell you the number of times I used Lithovit. I will always give glory where glory is due.
Q: I am putting it you, you deliberately wrote litovit liquid fertiliser against your highest yield while in fact that is not so.
Ans : that is not so my lord. I am surprised she is saying that.
Q: Mr Torbi, in 2013 ,you were adjudged the national Best young cocoa farmer.
Ans : my Lord that is so.
