Prime News Ghana

AG’s application for court to rescind Afoko’s bail dismissed

By Prime News Ghana
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Gregory Afoko
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A criminal division of the High Court has dismissed an application for stay of execution filed by the Attorney General to halt the bail granted Gregory Afoko.

According to the court presided over by Justice George Buadi, there are no exceptional grounds in the application filed by the Attorney General to compel him to grant the stay of execution request.

He also described the arguments of the AG as being presumptive of the guilt of the accused person.

The Attorney General filed the application for the stay of execution after appealing the ruling to grant bail to Gregory Afoko at the Court of Appeal.

In their application at the high court, the Attorney General’s department argued that Afoko who is one of the persons accused of murdering the former NPP Upper East Regional chairman could abscond if left on bail. A situation they said will affect the trial.

On the other hand, lawyers for Gregory Afoko described the application as incompetent frivolous and unmeritorious on all fronts.

According to them, the bail conditions will not in any way allow their client to abscond and not face trial.

Gregory Afoko was granted the bail pending a committal hearing at the District Court and a possible trial at the High Court. Gregory Afoko was admitted to bail in the sum of GHc 500,000 with two sureties, one of who must be justified.

 

He was also ordered as part of the bail conditions to report himself to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police every two weeks.

Afoko’s trial started in 2016 and was nearing completion after the prosecution and the defence counsel closed their cases.

But on January 28, 2019, the Attorney General filed a nolle prosequi to discontinue the trial following the arrest of another suspect, Asabke Alangdi, who had been on the run.

Afoko and Alangdi were then put before the Accra Central District Court on provisional charges of conspiracy to commit murder and murder. Afoko’s family has challenged the fairness of the state’s decision to abandon the initial case against him.

They have complained about the state’s move which they maintain is unfair to their relative who has cooperated with the prosecutors.

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