8 Delta Force members in court amidst tight security

There is heavy police presence at Circuit Court 2 in Kumasi, where members of political vigilante group Delta Force who aided the escape of other members are standing trial.

Numbering eight, the Delta Force members standing trial stormed the KMA Circuit Court on Thursday, April 6 and freed 13 of their members who were standing trial for assaulting the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, George Agyei. The accused defied an order by the judge, Mary Senkyere, in open court after she had remanded the 13 in prison custody.

They verbally abused her and vandalized court property, exiting through a restricted area meant only for judges. The eight were immediately arrested while a bench warrant issued by the Ashanti Regional Police Command resulted in the escapees turning themselves in. The eight are being charged with disturbances of court as captured in Section 233 of the Criminal Code and resisting arrest and rescue as captured in Section 226(1b) of same.

On Saturday, Inspector General of Police David Asante Appeatu declared war on political vigilantism, and Delta Force in particular, after he led an anti-terror unit to the Ashanti Region.

“We shall employ all legitimate means available to us including dialogue, enforcement and enactment of laws…We shall clamp down on it [vigilantism] with all the force we can marshal,” he warned.

He added: “This isolated incident by a group that who refer to itself as Delta Force in Kumasi is alien to our culture and criminal. As a law enforcement agency, we are going to pursue our goal of bringing this phenomenon of vigilantism to an end.” Monday’s case will be heard by Justice Patricia Bonsu.