According to Frederick Kankam Boadu, it would have been unfair for the court to have jailed his clients.

[contextly_sidebar id=”rTlZ6iTFkadBAFoFNpAT8U2zCvQ6wUf2″]The Asokwa District Court in the Ashanti Region on Thursday, October 19, 2017,  fined all the 13 a GHc 1,800 each, and made them sign a bond of good behavior for 12 months.

Some have suggested that the sentence was weak, and not severe enough to deter others who engage in political vigilantism. But their lawyer insists the judgment is fair, and that a custodial sentence would have been unfair.

“We were charged with rioting, we did not waste the court’s time, they pleaded guilty and placed themselves at the mercy of the court, they showed remorse, they are first time offenders, and there were no aggravated circumstances available to the court. I don’t see why the court should impose a custodial sentence in this case, and put the taxpayer in expense by putting them in prison when they are strong men and can work to fend for themselves and perhaps give them the chance to reform,” he said in an interview on Eyewitness News on Thursday.

“In my view, the circumstances are such that, it would not have been fair if we were handed a custodial sentence,” he said.

But a member of the legal team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba, has said that the sentence will breed political lawlessness in the country.

Reacting to the development on Eyewitness News, he said the suspects had been “treated with kids’ gloves”.

“They have been treated with kids’ gloves. The sentence in my view is going to breed more political lawlessness. It is this same case that occasioned the attack of a court and a judge in Kumasi, I thought that this was a fine opportunity for the court to send a signal strong signal to tell vigilante groups that they have no place in our democracy.”

Background

The 13 were arrested after they stormed the office of the newly appointed Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, George Adjei, in March 201y7, and assaulted him in the process, in protest against his appointment.

They were initially facing charges of conspiracy to assault a public officer, and causing unlawful damage.

Those charges were reviewed to only rioting by the Kumasi Circuit Court on October 10.

Counseling for the 13

The Ashanti Regional Director of the Delta Force, Mohammed Seidu, who spoke to Citi News, expressed excitement at the ruling, though he admitted that the conduct of the 13 was not in order.

He however said the leadership of the Delta Force could not have left them to their fate when they were sent to court.

Mohammed Seidu added that, the group was going to begin counseling members of the group to be of good behavior.

He maintained that the group was not as violent as being put out in the public domain, as they would continue to provide security for the NPP.

This seemingly brings an end to a saga that began on March 24, 2017, when concerns over post-election violence were rife after the NPP assumed the mantle of governance.

This particular incident involving the Delta Force ironically came a few days after President Nana Akufo-Addo, who was on a tour of the Ashanti Region, assured that the rule of law will work without “fear or favour” when he called the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

Court escape

The public was left stunned when at their first appearance in court, the 13 escaped from lawful custody, after their eight compatriots sparked confusion in the court in protest of the Judge’s ruling that the 13 be remanded and not given bail.

After the judge’s decision to remand the suspects, the members said they were not going to allow the ruling to stand, and demanded that the 13 leave the court with them.

The 13 later reported themselves to the police, and were fined GHc2,400 each, and also made to sign a bond of good behavior for escaping lawful custody. Eight Delta Force members were accused of aiding the escape, and were charged for storming the court to release the 13.

But the charges were eventually dropped under controversial circumstances by the State for lack of evidence.

The Attorney-General’s Department at the time said it had not sanctioned the state prosecutor in Kumasi to drop the case involving the eight who raided the court.

This angered many Ghanaians who felt the eight persons had been let off the hook after a brazen attack on the Judiciary for political reasons.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Jailing Delta Force 13 would’ve been harsh – Lawyer appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has adopted such tactics to cause disaffection for the company and subsequently withdraw the permit it gave Exton Cubic to undertake the exploration of bauxite.

“I think that it is clearly because of Ibrahim’s connection to the company. This is a man who is connected to the former president. What they are doing now is an attempt to put this information out there to cause disaffection and also start some agitations within the Ghanaian population and we’ve seen that in Nyinahin [the town where the site is located]   where the people there are already in arms. And it will create the further ground for them [NPP government] to say that we are withdrawing the permit,” he argued.

[contextly_sidebar id=”UxPY87uda9pfnkcqiO63vsZree30cWKp”]Exton Cubic together with Ibrahim Mahama’s company; Engineers and Planners (E&P), have been in the news lately after the Ashanti Region Minister, Simon Osei Mensah confiscated vehicles and equipment belonging to E&P.

Simon Osei Mensah said he was waiting on official documentation from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources before releasing the equipment to E&P.

Although the Minister of Lands and Natural Resource, John Peter Amewu cleared the companies of any wrongdoing, the Environmental Protection Agency said they failed to secure the necessary permit from it.

But speaking on TV3’s New Day on Thursday, Amaliba said the entrenched positions adopted by both EPA and Regional Minister could only be described as “political machinations.”

“I have heard the Minister of lands categorically indicate that the company and its activities and its ability to go and mine was above board. He also indicated the company has met all the requirements. I was even calling on the Ashanti Regional Minister to realize the equipment and also called on the Attorney General to intervene. I’m now hearing another government agency say that, the documents are fake… I also heard the spokesperson of the company indicating that they have written letters to the EPA asking them to expedite action on some of the things the EPA is complaining about today but they didn’t get any response from them.”

“So you cannot sleep on your responsibilities and then blame somebody for what you ought to do because the company had clearly written to the EPA indicating that they wanted to go to the site but the EPA did not response.”

Mr. Amaliba who is also a private legal practitioner added that “what we are seeing now is as a result of political machinations and an attempt to cause disaffection and also start some agitations within the Ghanaian population as seen at Nyinahin  where the people there are already in arms and it will create the further ground for them to say that we are withdrawing the permit.”

Nyinahin youth demonstrate over bauxite deal

The youth of Nyinahin in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region on Wednesday staged a demonstration in the area and gave government a 24-hour ultimatum to remove all machines belonging to Exton Cubic Company, from the Tano-Offin Forest Reserve.

In a petition to the President, the youth asked the first gentleman on the land to impound all machinery of Exton Cubic Company until proper agreement is reached by all stakeholders.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Bauxite deal: Gov’t frustrating Exton over Ibrahim Mahama – Amaliba appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the supposed crime does not correspond with the punishment meted out to him by the Council.

[contextly_sidebar id=”fDLuVkQo3mLg2IoTqT1zht3K01Wt2tKv”] The General Legal Council (GLC) in a letter announced that it had slapped the ban on lawyer Sosu for  ‘overcharging’ a client and also for advertising his service on Facebook.

But lawyer Amaliba noted that, in cases of this nature, some lawyers were made to refund the excess payment but not banned.

“The punishment for that offence of overcharging and touting is so severe and it is excessive. Your punishment must correspond with your crime. And I think that there are other cases in which some lawyers were asked to refund the money that the committee had claimed that they had overcharged. And I think that much as he pleaded guilty, the punishment for me is harsh,” he said.

Mr. Amaliba told Citi News  steps are being taken to ensure that he appeals the decision today [Monday].

“On Monday, there are steps that are being taken to ensure that he files an appeal,” he said.

According to the General Legal Council, lawyer Sosu charged his client GH¢50,000, which was “excessive” and an “overestimation” for the services rendered to the client in a human right case that saw the client receive a compensation of GH¢ 200,000, although he [Sosu] had told the client he was offering his legal services for free.

It said, within the 3-year period, lawyer Francis Xavier Sosu “shall not hold himself out as a Legal Practitioner or attend Chambers, or render, or purport to render any professional legal service to any person whomsoever, wheresoever.”

Mr. Xavier-Sosu has already confirmed to Citi News that he will appeal the decision today [Monday].

Meanwhile, the Founding President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has also described as ‘senseless’ the 3-year-ban imposed on renowned human rights lawyer.

According to him, the Council’s regulation barring lawyers from advertising their services is rather causing many lawyers to force themselves into landmark political cases to subtly advertise their services.

Mr. Cudjoe in a Facebook post on Sunday called on the Council to review its decision.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Lawyer Sosu’s ban severe and excessive – Amaliba appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking to Citi News’ Duke Mensah Opoku,  Mr. Amaliba maintained that the argument of evidence proffered by the prosecution and the Attorney General is unfortunate and unbelievable.

[contextly_sidebar id=”K9wQbWmSQ44VTIEmyI6qzbz5E6vDyx9Z”]“It is a sad day for the Rule of Law in Ghana. This government claims they are advocates for the Rule of Law but I don’t think they believe in the Rule of Law at all. In the first place, how did they identify the eight accused persons before arresting them? They must have known that they were the ones who perpetrated the offence and for them to come out and say there is no evidence linking them to the offence; that is the question. Did they just go on the streets and randomly arrest people. They have time without number acknowledged that they are members of the NPP.

“The Attorney General is a member of the NPP. The Attorney General cannot see herself prosecuting them and so clearly this has more to do with using party affiliation to discontinue the matter. It has nothing to do with the lack of evidence. ”

Mr. Amaliba holds the view that this case cannot be compared with the Montie three one because neither the then Attorney General nor the President interfered with the judicial process.

The NDC lawyer clarified that the former President John Maham only intervened after the judicial process had ended.

“That is false. You are comparing Apples to Oranges. In the Montie three we never saw Attorney General stopping or attempting to stop the process. We never saw the [former] President interfering with the judicial process. What the [former] President did was to wait for the judicial process to end then he decided to come in using the judicial process that was conferred on him.”

The Attorney General dropped its case against the eight who allegedly stormed the Kumasi Circuit Court and freed some of their members who were standing trial today [Wednesday].

According to the prosecutor, ACP Okyere Darko, the Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo, had instructed the police to stop pursuing the matter because they had insufficient evidence against the accused persons.

The court, presided over by Her Honour, Patricia Amponsah, therefore discharged the accused and dismissed the case. The 8 members of Delta Force were standing trial for allegedly storming the court premises earlier this year to free 13 of their members who were charged with conspiracy to assault for vandalized property at the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council and assaulting the Regional Security Coordinator because they were against his appointment.

–

By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post Release of Delta Force members unreasonable – Amaliba appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the failure of the Association to condemn the attacks will nor auger well for the country’s judiciary.

[contextly_sidebar id=”bG3OClFobvgUxHd30ySL6GdQOPq5Lnze”]Speaking on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Thursday, Mr. Amaliba said officials of Ghana’s courts must speak up against the act.

“This cannot be allowed to go without a comment from the Ghana Bar Association. The Ghana Bar Association has only been in front of advocacy to protect the sanctity for the judiciary. I expected that by now the Ghana Bar Association would have delivered a statement be it preliminary; to condemn those actions. I think that the Ghana Bar Association’s failure to condemn the action as it is now, and if their statement comes later than this time, I think it will not be right.”

Some members of a vigilante group affiliated to the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Delta Force, stormed the Kumasi Circuit Court today [Thursday], and freed the members of their group who were facing charges for causing disturbances at the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council.

The group vandalized some court property, and almost assaulted the Judge, Mary Senkyire. The judge had ruled that they be remanded to reappear before the court on the 20th of April, 2017 after charges of conspiracy to assault a public officer and causing unlawful damage.

Amaliba said lawyers such as Sam Okudzeto and Ayikoi Otoo must add their voice to the public condemnation of the action to protect the sanctity of the courts.

“I’m also calling on senior lawyers who commented on the Montie issue to as it were condemn this. I’m talking about senior lawyer Sam Okudzeto and senior lawyer Ayikoi Otoo. Their voices, their silence is so deafening. And I think we as officials of the court must condemn this action in its totality.”

He noted that, if indications of aversion is not demonstrated by key stakeholders, court officials in other parts of the country stand at risk of facing similar attacks.

He also suggested that, the individuals who stormed the premises of the court and set their colleagues free be prosecuted, and separately charged for contempt of court possibly in Accra, while the substantive case of the 13 who were facing trial in the Ashanti Regional capital be made to face the law there.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post GBA must condemn Delta Force attack immediately – Amaliba appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the NDC followed the due process in retrieving the money and achieved some positive results.

[contextly_sidebar id=”0pKdctScZAnH59qLiEVsUYFjJitow3bJ”]Former President, John Dramani Mahama in an interview on South Africa-based Power FM on Thursday, urged the new government led by Akufo-Addo, to pursue the controversial GHc51 million judgment debt paid to Alfred Agbesi Woyome, once a financier of the NDC.

He explained that, his administration could not retrieve the money because he could not have acted arbitrarily since Ghana operates a democratic system of governance.

Many have criticized him for the comments accusing him of being reluctant in retrieving the money while in power. But Mr. Amaliba in an interview on Eyewitness News said the Mahama-led government used the appropriate legal means in addressing the issue.

“For those who are legally minded and are aware of the legal processes, will come to the conclusion that the Mahama administration was committed to recovering the money”

“We have to follow the legal procedures. What kind of pressure can be given to him to pay the money? The legal processes have been used and as we speak GH¢4.5 million has been paid and he [Woyome] has indicated that he will pay the rest on quarterly basis. The next payment will be in April,” he added.

He said the new Attorney General must pursue the matter to ensure Woyome pays the remaining amount since the previous government had already ensured that he started paying it back to the state.

“We can only deal with the legal processes that will result into recovery of the money. There can’t be any other means. The oral examination was discontinued because Woyome came out with a payment plan and promised that state and for that matter the Attorney General thought that he was ready to pay.”

‘How did Woyome owe the state?’

Alfred Agbesi Woyome was paid GH¢ 51 million in a judgment debt after claiming he helped Ghana raise funds to construct stadia to host the 2008 African Cup of Nations; but the government canceled the contract, forcing him to secure a judgement in his favour.

But the Supreme Court in 2014, ordered Mr. Woyome to pay back the money, after Mr. Martin Amidu, a private individual and a former Attorney General, challenged the legality of the payment.

However, several years on, the state is yet to retrieve the money.

It was announced in 2016 that Mr Woyome had agreed to pay the money in tranches, forcing the then Attorney General, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong to discontinue an application that sought to orally examine him in court.

–
By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post NDC was committed to retrieve Woyome cash – Amaliba appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The coalition, comprising more than 20 professional bodies, at a news conference on Wednesday, accused government for failing to make the review process transparent and allow sufficient inputs from citizens.

Mr. Seth Abloso said “The Constitutional Review Commission has not sufficiently involved the people and Parliament for alternative ideas.

He said: “Constitutional amendment is an opportunity that comes once in a life time and the quality of the decisions that are made must stand the test of time.

“Therefore, opening up the process to inclusive or broad-based participation will strengthen popular commitment to the amended constitution.”

“But they have not shared the proposal with anybody, this affect all of us and they have not opened up the process for us to know what is happening, either to add or subtract,” said, Major General Nii Carl Coleman, chairman of Civic Forum Initiative.

He said: “We want to know about the election of the district chief executives, they must be accountable, and just short listing five to be vetted by the local government services commission means making them political stooges to the executive.”

The coalition has called on government to allow Members of Parliament to have reasonable time to consider the Bill,  and also extend the period for referendum to allow for effective public education on 34 old entrenched provisions and seven new ones added.

Members of the coalition say Parliament, the Electoral Commission, political parties and stakeholders have to strive for consensus on the amendment of the constitution.

For any meaningful referendum, Political scientist, Dr Kwesi Jonah said concerns raised about the 41 entrenched provisions ought to be addressed quickly to forestall any confusion.

He said: “in all, we have 41 entrenched provisions but you are not going to vote on each of them, what it means is that if you disagree with one provision your ‘no vote’ rejects the entire provisions.”

Former Boss of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Justice Emile Short questioned the rationale for voting ‘yes or no’ to cover entire provisions, raising fear the whole exercise could be doomed.

“ The document and the entire process should be made public as soon as possible, it should be transparent and allow citizens inputs,” he added.

The Constitutional Review Commission was inaugurated on October 11, 2010, to solicit views from the public on the review of the 1992 Constitution. After the commission submitted its final report on December 20, 2011, a Constitutional Review Implementation Committee was formed on October 2, 2012 to assist the government in the implementation of recommendations made.

The government issued a White Paper on the Constitution Review Commission’s report, accepting many of the recommendations and rejecting a few of them.

Source: GNA

The post Coalition demand transparency in constitutional review process appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.