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Crime & Punishment of Sunday, 13 August 2023

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Attorney General files appeal, secures bail for man convicted for insulting police officers at Kasoa

Joshua Amankwa was charged and arraigned before court without notice to the Attorney General play videoJoshua Amankwa was charged and arraigned before court without notice to the Attorney General

The Attorney General (AG), Godfred Yeboah Dame, has taken significant steps to address the case of 25-year-old Joshua Amankwa, who was arrested by police officers in Kasoa Walantu for insulting them following a routine search.

The AG successfully secured bail for Joshua Amankwa, who was convicted of verbally assaulting police officers while conducting a search on him and fellow passengers in a cab, where no incriminating items were found.

The incident occurred on 30 July 2023, resulting in Joshua Amankwa's subsequent arraignment at the magistrate court in Akweley, Kasoa. He was charged with Offensive Conduct under section 207 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), based on the complaint filed by police officers from the divisional operation unit in Kasoa.

Surprisingly, Joshua Amankwa was convicted without any prior notice or consultation with the Attorney General's department for advice. Upon learning of this conviction, Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame took swift action. The AG according to a report by Asaaseradio.com has instructed the Central Region office of the AG's department to appeal against the conviction and secure bail for the convicted individual while the appeal process is underway.

As a result of these efforts, Joshua Amankwa has been granted bail. The Attorney General's department is actively working to serve the court's bail order to the police. Furthermore, the AG's department intends to proceed with the appeal, seeking to overturn Joshua Amankwa's conviction.

The incident leading to Joshua Amankwa's arrest involved police officers stationed at the Divisional Operation unit in Kasoa conducting a routine stop and search on a taxi cab along the Kasoa-Nyanyano main road. Despite finding nothing incriminating on the passengers, including Joshua Amankwa, he reacted with aggression and hurled insults at the officers. He used derogatory language, including calling the officers "foolish people" and making threats related to their work.



Additionally, Joshua Amankwa's response escalated to invoking deities and placing curses on the officers.

This led to his 12 months sentence by His Worship Stephen Ofori Akrasi, the presiding Magistrate

GA


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