Have you ever heard the police refuse to release a suspect granted bail by a court?
The above question is my takeaway what was supposed to be a contempt hearing for two top police officers.
It was a question asked by one of the sympathizers of a suspect that is being held by the police about three months since he was granted bail by the High Court on the justification.
After making the statement, the sympathizer added that, the mind boggling situation can only be possible if there is direct political complicity.
The sympathizer believes the police will only bodly disrespect the court in such a manner if they are convinced that they will be covered and he believes the the order to continue to hold Gregory Afoko in jail goes above the police hierarchy.
These comments came after the contempt hearing yielded no relief to Gregory Afoko who has been in custody since 2015 on suspicion of being behind the murder of former NPP Upper East Chairman Adams in an acid attack.
The only thing that any observer in court on the said date remembers is the announcement of the docket.
A move which I was convinced was an attempt to find out if the parties were ready for the hearing.
I held this opinion even after the parties without the two leading contemnors marched into the chambers of Justice Jennifer Duodu.
This was because of my understanding of the fact that the hearing time of 3pm which had been set was to ensure that the Inspector General of Police David Asante Apeatu and Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo- Danquah will have no excuses for failing to appear.
The court expected that by 3pm they would have dealt with a huge chunk of their work for the day and appear before Justice Jennifer Duodu to attempt to purge themselves of contempt for holding in custody a suspect whose bail terms have been met against the orders of the court.
Police officers who answer to the two contemnors, IGP and CIB Boss, have refused to release the Gregory Afoko almost three months after the Registrar of the High Court notified the police that lawyers for the suspect have met his bail terms.
The police officers have cited “order from above” for their defiance.
This is the basis for which the IGP and CID Boss are facing jail for contempt and the judge is in no doubt that the act of holding Gregory Afoko in defiance of the High Court is contemptuous.
The July 3, 2019 hearing was to afford David Asante Apeatu and COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah to attempt to explain or justify their actions in a bid to mitigate their sentences.
This is the basis for my belief that the march into the Judge’s chamber was nothing but an attempt to trash out some small details or issues that may have been raised by one of the parties.
I only started wondering what was happening after the lawyers from the Attorney General’s department walked out of the Judge’s chamber, packed up and headed out of the courtroom.
In the meantime, there was no sign of Gregory Afoko’s lawyer, leaving human rights lawyer Francis Xavier Sosu and his colleague lawyer Nana Yaw Osei wondering what has happened.
Lawyer Francis Xavier Sosu’s presence in court is out of the interest he has taken in the predicaments of Gregory Afoko, whiles Nana Yaw Osei is an aide to former Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and brother of the suspect Paul Afoko.
After a few minutes, we found out that the two top police officers had written to the judge indicating that they were outside the jurisdiction and needed an adjournment, a usual occurrence.
The development forced the court to adjourn the contempt hearing to July 16, 2019.
In the meantime, Gregory Afoko remains behind bars even though bailed.
Story by: Sena Nombo/Radiogoldlive.com
