The High Court in Accra has dismissed an application for bail filed by alleged murderer of the former Upper East Regional Chairman of the NPP, Adams Mahama Gregory Afoko.
He has been in lawful custody for the last eight years.
He is to be re-tried after the jury which heard his case returned a hung jury. His alleged accomplice, Alangdi Asabke, was unanimously found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to death by hanging.
He is appealing the sentencing at the Court of Appeal. Afoko, however, had the seven-member jury return a 4:3 majority not guilty verdict for him on April 27 for conspiracy and murder. His lawyer, Stephen Sowah Charway, filed an application for bail, which was opposed by the Prosecution led by Dorm Esi Fiadzo.
She contended that when granted bail, the accused will abscond from the trial due to the severity of the offence. She assured that Afoko would be prosecuted within a reasonable time.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Louise Simmons held that there has not been an unreasonable delay in retrial. She noted that although the accused has been in custody for the past eight years, both the prosecution and the defence have admitted that within that period two separate trials have been conducted, which suggest that the years spent in custody are not the result of unreasonable delay.
The court urged the accused to repeat his bail application at another time.