Wontumi freed from Police custody after completing bail conditions
The Ashanti Region Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi), has been freed after completing all the bail terms.
He was freed on Friday, October 10, according to Awal Mohammed, a Communicator of the New Patriotic Party, who reported on his Facebook page.
On Thursday, October 9, Chairman Wontumi's main Counsel, Andy Appiah-Kubi, stated that barring any last-minute hiccups, his client will be freed today, Friday.
According to him, all the bail terms had been satisfied.
“We have met all the bail conditions, except a transfer of his passport from EOCO to the registrar of the court. The staff at EOCO promised to send them tomorrow [Friday]. So, tomorrow [Friday] morning, God willing, we’ll be able to obtain the release of Chairman Wontumi, allowing him to return home. We are looking at tomorrow AM. So, barring any last-minute hiccups, all else being equal, he will be discharged by tomorrow. We don’t foresee any additional delays,” he told Alfred Ocansey on Ghana Tonight on October 9.
Touching on his former view of bail terms being used as punishment, Mr Appiah-Kubi stated, “Well, I think that when somebody or an accused person has not been found guilty of any offense, he’s entitled to his freedom. And that’s precisely what the court concluded. Nevertheless, the court, in its own judgment, chose to issue these terms of release.
But the concern has been that when persons are granted bail with cause, there is always the prospect of delay in implementing the order. And that’s what I indicated, that you need proof from the Lands Commission, which takes time. And following the verification, you also need the appraisal of the property, which can also be delayed.”
Mr Appiah-Kubi emphasized that there is a need to evaluate these practices.
“So when you have gone through all that, there are chances that you may have spent some days in custody. And I was arguing that we ought to take a second look at it. Because when the law asks of you to be free, and the courts proclaim the verdict, providing a signal that you must walk scot-free, there is a procedure that you go through.
And that process has issues within the system. And I’m arguing that it does not provide you, the accused person, your right to freedom as envisaged by the verdict. And in any event, in the course of fulfilling the bail terms, you are likely also to lose a lot of money,” the lawyer explained.
He also observed that, “And where the justification, the amount, or the value of the property is high, you will be losing something like 1% of it. So, in the instance of the GHC20 million, the accused individual is obliged to produce forward not less than 200,000 Ghanaian cedis. So, I’m not convinced that it is fair for accused individuals, who may desire or have filed a bail application, to pay 200,000 Ghanaian cedis before they can secure their release.
It is not fair. It is prohibited, since bail should not impose any consequences whatsoever on the accused individual. The most significant concern, in reality, is the verification and appraisal of the property, which can delay the entire process and, in fact, make it arduous.
I’m worried about the delay, and I'm concerned about the expense of acquiring the bail order. Indeed, if the bail condition involves justification of the property and the appraisal of the property, it makes it expensive.”