The Cape Coast district court has granted bail 20,000 Cedis each to Mr. Joseph Kofi Damte an aspiring independent Member of Parliament for the Assin South constituency, and four others who were arrested by the Assin Fosu Divisional police command for organizing an unlawful political rally.
The four, Daniel Owusu a trader at Assin Fosu, Frank Gyamfi a farmer at Assin Damang, Ransford Kwabena Adu a teacher at Assin Ngresi and Emmanuel Asamoah Boahen a National Health Service worker at Assin Andoe identified as campaign team members of Mr. Joseph Kofi Damte; all on the 3rd of July, 2020 under the guise of monitoring the ongoing voters’ registration exercise in the Assin South constituency conspired and went to Assin Aworoso in a convoy.
read also: C/R: Police arrests aspiring MP for breaking Covid19 protocols.
According the Prosecutor, Deputy Superintendent of Police Daniel Kwabena Darko, after a short courtesy call on the Chief at his palace, the accused persons went to town, organized and addressed some section of their supporters and some town folks without notifying the Police as enshrined in the Public Order Act 1994 (ACT 491). They also disregarded the Executive Instrument issued under the Imposition of Restrictions Act 2020 (ACT 1012) by not ensuring that all of them including the gathered supporters wore face masks or face shields and spaced out. In the course of the event, the accused persons and their supporters took video footages of the illegal act which later went viral on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
On the 6th of July 2020, the Police intercepted the viral footage of the act, screened it and identified Joseph Damte, Frank Gyamfi and Emmanuel Asamoah Boahen without face masks or face shield on a mounted platform addressing a massed up crowed of about 50 people .
The police command then initiated investigations into the matter and subsequently on the 9th and 11th of July arrested the accused persons.
At a court hearing on Monday, July 13, 2020, the presiding magistrate, Mrs. Dorinda Smith Arthur, charged the accused on four counts. They include conspiracy to commit crime of failing to notify police of special event, failing to notify police of special event, failing to comply with imposition of restriction by organizing political rally and failing to comply with the compulsory wearing of face cover.
The accused however pleaded not guilty to any of the charges.
They were granted court bail amounting to the sum of twenty thousand Ghana Cedis with two sureties each. One of the sureties for each accused person is supposed to be a government worker receiving salary of not less than one thousand, five hundred Ghana cedis. All accused persons are to report to the Investigator on every Monday until case is closed. The case has been adjourned to August 3, 2020.
ATLFMNEWS
