Rawlings' aide in court for threat of death

Victor Emmanuel Smith, an aide to Former President Jerry John Rawlings, was on Friday put before an Accra Circuit Tribunal charged with issuing threat of death. He pleaded not guilty and was granted 50 million cedis bail by Mr Imoru Ziblim to appear again on 24 April.

Counsel for the accused, Dr Josiah Aryeh and Wahid Iddrisu, prayed the court to grant the accused self-cognisance bail since he was known and would appear on any day ordered by the court. However, the prosecution objected to this because of the seriousness of the charge, which is a second-degree felony.

Dr Aryeh also stated that the time the court sitting because the time was 1330 hours when they were expected to close. However, Mr Ziblim dismissed the argument saying statutorily there was no specific period allowed for courts to sit.

Prosecuting, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr Patrick Sarpong told the court that on 18 March, the accused and Mr Abrampah Mensah, interim president of the Action Forum of the National Democratic Congress, wrote a correspondence to be handed over to Mr Kweku Baako Junior, Editor of the Crusading Guide newspaper and Mrs Margaret Amoakohene, a social commentator and lecturer at the School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana that they would not sit down unconcerned over their criticism of the former president.

He said the accused also warned that if the victims failed to stop their criticisms after receiving the letters, members of the Action Forum would be given pick-up vehicles to track them down and crash them. The Prosecutor said the accused further stated that should these steps to silence the two fail they would devise other means to kill them.

DSP Sarpong said Mr Mensah, who is a witness in the case, was alarmed and revealed the plot to a friend and handed the letter to him. This friend in turn gave it to Mr Baako Jnr, who informed Mrs Amoakohene. The Prosecutor said when the accused was arrested he admitted being the author of the threatening letter.