A-G refutes claims on Charles Antwi’s incarceration
The Attorney General (A-G) has refuted claims that it deliberately sent Charles Antwi, the gun-wielding man who confessed to having an intention to kill the President, to the Accra Circuit Court to be jailed.
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The A-G said the 36-year-old man was rather put before the court by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for him to be remanded to enable the security to conduct further investigations.
“Unfortunately instead of remanding Antwi, the circuit court rather sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment,” the A-G stated.
Conviction
Antwi was arrested by the BNI on July 26 at the Ringway Gospel Assemblies of God Church at Osu in possession of a loaded locally made gun.
He was later put before the Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Justice Francis Obiri where he pleaded guilty for possessing firearms without lawful authority, contrary to Section 11 of the Arms and Ammunition Act, (1997) NRCD 9.
Antwi was therefore convicted and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on his first appearance before the court.
Appeal
However last Thursday, both the A-G and the counsel for Antwi, Mr Francis Xavier-Sosu, filed a notice of appeal and a certiorari respectively at the Human Rights Court to challenge Antwi’s conviction and sentence.
While the A-G is praying the High Court to set aside the decision of the circuit court and order Antwi’s re-trial, the counsel is asking the court to quash all the charges against Antwi, as well as his conviction and sentence.
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At the sitting of the Human Rights Division of the High Court, the acting Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, told the court that the A-G least expected Antwi’s conviction and sentence, since he had only been sent to court for the first time to be remanded.
Her submission came after the court, presided over by Mr Justice K. A. Okwabi, had asked whether it was not the “Republic” that sent Antwi to the circuit court for him to be jailed 10 years.
According to Mrs Obuobisa, the A-G had already filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal to set aside Antwi’s conviction.
“The appeal process has begun at the Court of Appeal, which has asked us to submit a written submission by September 3, this year,” she stated.
Reaction
However, the Human Rights Court said it was impossible for two cases or systems to be pending at the same time at the Court of Appeal and the Human Rights Court.
The court added that the A-G had already filed an affidavit in opposition to the certiorari filed by Antwi’s counsel.
When it enquired from the counsel if he had been served with the affidavit he answered in the negative.
The court, therefore, asked him to obtain a copy of the affidavit from the A-G to enable him to study it before the next adjourned date on August 25, 2015.