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Lawyers for Gregory Afoko have asked the prosecution in the trial over the murder of Adams Mahama, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to free the accused if it has no evidence to try him.
In the view of Ms Bridgette Ampedu, the prosecution was not ready to try the 52-year-old Afoko.
She stated that the Attorney General (AG) was taking too long to prepare the bill of indictment for the trial of her client.
Ms Ampedu said the liberties of Afoko were at stake and that prosecution ought to tell the court when it intended to file the bill of indictment.
She said that was not the first time the prosecution was requesting for an adjournment because the bill of indictment was not ready.
Afoko’s lawyer’s comments followed yet another announcement by the prosecutor, Superintendent Francis Baah, that the bill of indictment was still not ready.
He said he had not been able to get in touch with one Amponsah, a state attorney working on the case, because Amponsah’s mobile phone had been off since Tuesday.
Superintendent Baah told the Accra Central Magistrate Court presided over by Worlanyo Kotoku that he would work to ensure the bill of indictment was ready by January 30.
He said although he was not the person preparing the bill of indictment, he was being put under pressure by the defence.
Meanwhile, the trial judge urged both parties to avoided allowing their emotions to affect the trial.
Sitting continues on January 20, 2016.
Facts
Afoko is standing trial over the death of Adams after an acid bath.
According to the AG, Afoko must be charged for conspiracy to murder and murder.
He has been slapped with the charge of intentionally and unlawfully causing the death of Adams on May 20, 2015 at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.
According to the police, Issah Musah, who was a member of the NPP, on the 19th of May, 2015 solicited and procured the deadly acid which he gave to two other suspects who in turn poured the acid on Adams.
Asabke Alangdi, the third accused, has been on the run together with his wife, leaving behind their one-and-half-year-old baby.
According to the police charge sheet, Gregory, after his arrest, was asked to lead the police to the house of his accomplice, Asabke Alangdi, but “he rather took them to the father’s house. Police later located the house of the second but the suspect had got wind of their presence and absconded with his wife leaving behind their baby.”
“A gallon, which contains some of the substance and a plastic cup, were retrieved at the scene for forensic examination,” the charge sheet added.
The police has revealed that a “post mortem examination was conducted on the body of the deceased and the Pathologist gave the cause of the death as shock lungs and extensive acid burns.”
By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson
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