Grant Dr Mac-Palm bail - MP
The Member of Parliament for Kpando, Mrs Della Sowah, has called on the Chief Justice and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to, as a matter of urgency, grant bail to Dr Frederick Yao Mac-Palm, one of the main suspects arrested in the alleged attempted coup on the government.
She said the already protracted delay in investigating the case and the unwillingness of the State to grant some of the accused persons bail was seriously affecting a lot of people.
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“I wish to emphasise that I am not against the decision by the government to prosecute people who fall foul of the law. However, as per our laws, suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction,” she said.
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Rule of law
In a statement signed and issued in Parliament yesterday, Mrs Sowah said: “What I am calling for is to curtail the abuse of the fundamental right to bail of Dr Frederick Yao Mac-Palm and others.
“Let us be guided that when the 1992 Constitution demands rule of law, it means rule of law in all matters and not to some minus others,” she said.
Pressure
According to Mrs Sowah, as the elected representative of Dr Mac-Palm, she had been compelled to release the statement due to the enormous pressure she had come under since the arrest and unlawful detention of Dr Mac-Palm six months ago.
She said her office had been inundated with petitions and cries by family members of the suspect, including his aged mother, Madam Adjo Bulla, his friends and the many dependants of the benevolent medical practitioner in Kpando.
The MP said on Friday, September 20, 2019, a team of government security operatives carried out an operation in Accra which led to the arrest of Dr Mac-Palm, the Medical Director of the Citadel Hospital, and others for allegedly plotting to overthrow the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.
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Contravention of law
Mrs Sowah said on Sunday, September 22, 2019, she herself was at the Citadel Hospital and a large contingent of officers with dogs and equipment came to conduct a search on the premises.
“With the reputation of the security agencies in Ghana, one would have thought that they were going to do a quick job.
“Sadly after six months, according to the security agencies, investigations are still allegedly ongoing and Dr Mac-Palm is still being held in police custody, very much in contravention of the relevant laws in this country,” she said.
Infringement of rights
Mrs Sowah recalled that a senior police officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Benjamin Agordzo, who was also being held by the police in connection with the same case, was recently released on bail, yet Dr Mac-Palm was still being detained.
“Unfortunately, the very courts that distilled the law on bail for suspects and accused persons have continued to deny Dr Mac-Palm his bail, a clear infringement of his constitutionally guaranteed human rights.