Afoko bail reversal 'height of injustice' - Sosu

A human rights lawyer, Mr Francis-Xavier Sosu, has described a High Court ruling rescinding the bail granted Mr Gregory Afoko, a suspect being tried for the murder of the governing New Patriotic Party’s Upper East regional chairman, Adams Mahama, in 2015 as disappointing and an affront to the rule of law.

An Accra High Court presided over by Justice Merley Wood, on Monday, 15 July 2019 quashed a bail granted by another High Court judge, Justice George Buadi in March this year.

Although the suspect met all the bail conditions, the state ignored the court’s ruling and continued to hold the suspect in custody for about three months.

The state, represented by Marina Appiah Opare, on Monday prayed the court to rescind the application arguing that given the circumstances of the charges and punishment, Mr Afoko, if granted bail, will not appear for the trial.

The court granted the state’s request and reversed the bail, a decision that has sparked public rage with some critics questioning the government’s rule of law credentials.

Reacting to the development, Mr Sosu told Class News in an interview that the court’s decision was worrying.

He said: “I’m completely speechless, this is the height of injustice, and, for me, this is very worrying. When you look at the circumstances around the bail of Gregory Afoko and the refusal of the state to allow him to enjoy his freedom, as has been ordered by the court and the fact that when the bail was not granted the state appealed against the bail that was granted and sought to appeal the bail through an application filed at the high court…this matter is a bit problematic; it is very worrying.”