The criminal trial involving Abdul-Wahab Hanan Aludiba has taken a new turn after the High Court ordered the prosecution to amend portions of its charge sheet following an objection by defence counsel, Godfred Dame.
The ruling was disclosed by NPP communicator Awal Mohammed in a Facebook post, where he said the trial, which was expected to commence with the prosecution calling its first witness, was interrupted after Mr. Dame challenged the validity of parts of the charge sheet.
According to Awal, Mr. Dame argued before the court that the charge sheet contained constitutional defects, insisting that such defects could be challenged at any stage of the proceedings, regardless of whether they had been raised during the Case Management Conference.
The Deputy Attorney-General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, opposed the application, arguing that the defence ought to have raised its concerns during the Case Management Conference rather than on the eve of the trial.
However, the trial judge, Justice Francis Apangabuno Achibonga, upheld part of the defence’s objection. Instead of dismissing the entire 20-count charge sheet as requested by Mr. Dame, the court directed the prosecution to amend Counts 9 and 14.
The court subsequently adjourned the case to Wednesday, July 29, 2026, for the prosecution to present the amended charge sheet before proceeding with the testimony of its first witness.
Despite securing an order compelling the prosecution to revise parts of the charges, Awal said Mr. Dame was dissatisfied with the ruling because the court declined to strike out the entire charge sheet.
According to Awal, the former Attorney-General intends to appeal the decision in a bid to have the entire charge sheet set aside.
Awal further claimed that the defence’s legal strategy had continued to shape the course of the proceedings by compelling the prosecution to make changes before the trial could begin.
The prosecution has yet to publicly comment on the ruling or indicate whether it will challenge any aspect of the court’s decision.
