You Don�t Grant Bail On Habeas Corpus�It Was �Unreasonable� For Judge To Grant Ken Bail

A member of the ruling National Democratic Congress legal team, Lawyer David Annan, deems it �unreasonable� for the trial judge who presided over the Assin North MP, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong�s �treasonable� case, to have granted him bail. He believes the judge erred in the application of the law. Rationalizing his assertions, Lawyer David Annan cited the arrest of Alfred Agbesi Woyome in the infamous GHC 51m judgement debt payment scandal and recounted that when he (Woyome) was arrested and made to spend more than 48hrs in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), the trial judge at that time still went ahead to remand him when he appeared in court. To him, if what is good is for the goose is good for the gander, then the trial judge should have refused Ken Agyapong�s bail request, emphasizing that the NDC is always for the right application of the rule of law. The Assin North MP was on Thursday, April 19th, granted bail by two different High Courts. A Human Rights Court earlier in the day granted him bail in the sum of GH�200,000 with two sureties on health grounds following a habeas corpus writ filed by his lawyers after he had been charged on three counts of treason, treason felony and attempted genocide. Justice Essel Mensah said he granted the bail because he used his discretion of court rules and the provision of a medical report on the health condition of the MP, who is said to be diabetic. The Human Rights Court adjourned the matter to April 24 to enable the Inspector General of Police justify the detention of Agyapong. It also said the MP was entitled to initiate proceedings for the restoration of his rights. But the state later amended the treason related charges after the defense team secured the first bail to engaging in acts of terrorism at an Accra High Court. The court presided over by Mr Justice Charles Quist also granted him bail in the sum of GH�200,000 after upholding the defence team�s argument that the facts upon which the MP was being held did not support the charges levelled against him, and also that the Assin North MP had not attacked any arm of government. Justice Charles Quist accordingly advised the prosecution to rethink the charges and look into the Criminal Procedure Code which spelt out a different charge for such utterances. He added that while recognising the right of individuals to free speech, the right to free speech was not absolute and so political party leaders must be guarded by the tenets of the Constitution and act appropriately. The trial judge then advised the prosecution to take a critical look at the charges preferred against the MP and weigh them against the evidence and determine whether or not the charges were appropriate under the circumstance. The outspoken lawmaker was arrested on Monday, April 16, after he was invited by the Police Criminal Investigation Department over statements made last Friday on his Accra-based radio station, Oman FM. He is reported to have �declared war�, incited Ashantis against Ewes and Gas and vowed to lynch any �fake� security operative, following the alleged physical attack on Ms Ursula Owusu, the party's Ablekuma South Parliamentary candidate and Abu Jinapor, an aide to the party�s flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at Tarzan, a registration centre in Odododiodoo in Accra.