Court denies Afoko bail pending retrial
The High Court in Accra has dismissed a bail application filed by murder suspect Gregory Afoko.
Together with co-conspirator Asabke Alangdi, who was recently sentenced to death, Afoko is accused of murdering the governing New Patriotic Party's Upper East Regional Chairman Adam Mahama almost a decade ago.
He has been in the dock for the past eight years and never granted bail.
A recent 4:3 not guilty verdict by a jury meant that the case had to be retrialed.
Mr Afoko's lawyer, Stephen Sowah Charway, is pushing for his client to be granted bail pending the retrial.
He argued that holding Mr Afoko in detention for the past eight years in a trial fraught with delays, was untenable.
State prosecutor Dorm Esi Fiadzo, however, was opposed to the bail application.
The court, presided over by Justice Louise Simmons, ruled that "there has not been an unreasonable delay" for the retrial.
The court acknowledged that though Mr Afoko has been in custody for the past eight years, both the prosecution and the defence admitted that within that period, two separate trials have been conducted.
Justice Louise Simmons also said since 27 April 2023, when the second trial ended, it has only been a month of inactivity.
The prosecution, she noted, has explained that they are waiting for the case to be assigned by the Chief Justice, hence that period, she pointed out, could not constitute "unreasonable delay".
She urged the applicant to refile the application at another time but for now, "refused the application for bail and accordingly dismissed same".
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