Hearings on the Chokri Belaid assassination case kicked off Tuesday and will last till February 9, said member of the defence team lawyer Abdennaceur Laouini. The hearings will continue without interruption, he added at a press briefing held on Wednesday by the defence team of martyrs Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi. Laouini indicated that the lawyers had started their pleadings on Tuesday by hearing the accused in compliance with the Penal Procedure Code, specifying that most of the accused, detained or kept at liberty, had been present, contrary to the previous hearings during which they had refused to attend. Besides, the lawyer described Tuesday's hearing as the "hearing of truth," explaining that "today, the defence is dealing with the judicial truth with no political obstacles or obstructions from those seeking to manipulate the truth," he indicated. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has asked the citizenry to give Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), a chance as President to showcase his capability for the country. He said Dr Bawumia possessed what it took to succeed and deliver the country from its current social and economic quagmire. 'He is hallmarked by humility and the temperament requisite for the job leading the country in search of a way forward,' Mr Kufuor said. The former President made the appeal at the 'Dr Bawumia Speaks' held at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), in Accra, on Wednesday, where the Flagbearer outlined his policies and vision for the country if elected as President in the December elections. Mr Kufuor noted that, globally, there was scarcity of quality leadership that understood the current technological innovations and the geopolitics of the time. Ghana, he explained, needed a leader with vision in the current complex world who could marshal the new technologies to pick the requ isite manpower to propel the country to growth. The former President said Dr Bawumia was unique because he understood the issues of the time and had knowledge of the technologies required to solve those challenges. Mr Kufuor said: 'We happen to be living in times where the whole world is in a flux. leadership is very, very scarce, quality leadership. 'If anybody aspire to be a leader without command of the new technologies, like digitalisation and also without a deep grasp of geopolitics, I tell you, he may be a good man in terms of mastering some of the old disciplines like economics, politics and all that, but I tell you very likely they will be found wanting sooner than later.' He added that the Vice President had 'this instrument under his belt - digitalisation, geopolitics, and additionally, we have seen him perform loyally under President Akufo-Addo and has been also in the public view since he got selected as the vice presidential candidate in 2008.' Former President Kufuor also described the Vice President as a man with the right 'humility and temperament' for the job as President, and appealed to Ghanaians to give the Vice President a chance. 'Ghana has come to a crossroads and I'm serious here. It's not the normal regular politics we want, we want a leadership with vision even in the complex world I have talked about, the leader that will be able to marshal the new technologies to pick the requisite manpower,' he said. He added that: 'We must get people of competence to work with him to find our way out of the confusion our society and economy has plunged into.' Source: Ghana News Agency