Murder of former GPHA manager...Accused demands bail fulfilment

The lawyer for the first accused person in the case of the murder of Mrs Josephine Asante has requested the trial court to compel the prosecution to act to release his client in accordance with the bail processes as granted by the High Court last month.

The Criminal Division of the Accra High Court granted the bail to Mr Christian Adjei on July 31, 2019 in the sum of GH¢200,000 with two sureties, one of which must be justified.

However, the bail is yet to be executed due to administrative hiccups on the part of the Ghana Police Service.

The bail was as a result of an application filed by Mr Adjei’s lawyer.

Mr Adjei is currently facing committal proceedings at the Tema TDC Magistrate Court.

At yesterday’s hearing, lawyer for Mr Adjei, Mr Baba Jamal, told the court, presided over by Mrs Akosua Anokyewaa Adjepong, that although his client met all the conditions for bail, the police were yet to carry out an inspection of a building located at Alhaji, a suburb of Accra, in order to grant the suspect bail.

Letter

Mr Jamal told the court that he personally served the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service with a copy of a letter written by the Registrar of the High Court on August 2, 2019 and was surprised that till date the police had not acted to release his client from custody.

He, therefore, appealed to the magistrate to direct the prosecution to act on the letter from the High Court Registrar.

The magistrate called on the prosecution to comply with the directives from the High Court, carry out the necessary inspection of the property and, if they meet the entire requirement, grant the suspect bail.

She advised prosecutors not to use administrative bottlenecks to prolong the suspect’s stay in custody.

The prosecution told the court that a copy of the case docket had been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s office for advice.

The case was adjourned to August 19, 2019.

Background

Mrs Asante, the Marketing and Public Affairs Manager of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA),  was murdered on January 13, 2019 at her EMEFS Estates home, near Afienya, in the Greater Accra Region.

Two persons — Amos Apeku, her official driver, and Christian Adjei, her houseboy — have since been hauled up in court.

The second accused person, Apeku, was granted bail by the High Court in Accra in March this year.