The Ghana Bar Association (GBA), says it is gravely displeased about the decision of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) to flout a court order that granted bail to the three former South African police officers who have since been repatriated.
In a statement that was signed by its National President, Benson Nutsukpui, GBA said that it “condemns that conduct in no uncertain terms.”
“The BNI by sending the accused persons to court, had in law surrendered their custody to the court to decide on whether to remand them (and if so, into which custody) or to grant them bail… By removing them from the court premises without allowing them to begin the process of fulfilling their bail conditions, the BNI acted in flagrant breach and disrespect of the Constitution.”
[contextly_sidebar id=”naJ6VX3BfhONoG7T6PubxB79uqk3D7Ob”]GBA also stated in the statement that such acts risk bringing chaos into the country.
“The GBA notes that any system that allows an individual or institution to disobey orders made by a court of competent jurisdiction simply creates room for anarchy, chaos and lawlessness. This certainly has no place under the 1992 Constitution of Ghana,” it said.
“It is for these reasons that the GBA views the flouting of the bail orders of the Circuit Court, Accra, as a threat to the rule of law and condemns that conduct in no uncertain terms.”
The GBA is therefore asking “the citizenry, institutions and agencies to follow due process and show adequate respect to the various institutions and bodies created under our 1992 Constitution.”
The three former South African police officers, Major Ahmed Shaik Hazis (rtd), Warrant Officer Denver Dwayhe and Captain Mlungiseli Jokani, were arrested by the BNI and charged with conspiracy to commit crime and unlawful training.
The men were allegedly in the country through the efforts of the NPP, because they were in to train the security detail of the party’s Flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo and his running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
They were granted bail in the sum of GHc20, 000 each but were whisked away by the BNI and kept in custody until they were repatriated.
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By: Jeffrey Owuraku Sarpong/citifmonline.com/Ghana