The Supreme Court has thrown out an application filed by Nana Appiah Mensah, widely known as NAM 1, that sought to quash earlier rulings by the High Court and Court of Appeal directing him to open his defence in his ongoing criminal trial.
The unanimous decision delivered on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, brings to an end a series of legal attempts by the embattled former CEO of Menzgold Ghana Limited to delay the trial.
NAM 1 is facing multiple charges including defrauding by false pretences, fraudulent breach of trust, unlawful operation of a gold dealership without licence, and money laundering in connection with the collapse of Menzgold.
In 2024, the High Court, after a submission of no case by the defence, ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case and ordered NAM 1 to open his defence.
Dissatisfied, his legal team first applied to the Court of Appeal for a stay of proceedings pending an appeal against the High Court’s order.
A three-member Court of Appeal panel presided over by Justice Gbiel Suurbaareh, with Justices Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe and Christopher Archer, rejected the stay application, holding that there were no exceptional circumstances to warrant halting the trial. Prosecutors had described the move as an attempt to “overreach the court.”
Undeterred, NAM 1 escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, asking it to overturn the Court of Appeal’s decision.
On Wednesday, the apex court dismissed the application, affirming that NAM 1 must return to the High Court and open his defence without further delay.