Gregory Afoko (L)
Gregory Afoko has been granted bail by a High Court in Accra after being on remand for nearly ten years over the alleged murder of Adams Mahama, the then New Patriotic Party’s Upper East Regional Chairman.
Afoko was arrested for allegedly pouring acid on the late NPP bigwig.
His lawyers have tried since 2015 to secure bail for him but various courts have turned down the request.
However, the High Court presided over by Justice Marie-Louise Simmons earlier this morning granted him bail in the sum of GH¢500,000 with two sureties that must be justified.
The sureties must have a fixed place of abode and must have a landed property.
The Registrar of the Court is to verify all documents submitted.
Afoko was further ordered to report to the police once every two weeks.
Third Trial
He is currently on a third round of trial after the first trial was truncated in 2019 by the Office of the Attorney General following the arrest of Afoko’s alleged accomplice, Asabke Alangdi who fled the country after the incident in May 2015.
The second trial ended on 27 April 2023, with a 7-member jury presenting a verdict that shocked many.
The jury by a 4:3 decision found Gregory Afoko not guilty of conspiring to murder the late Adams Mahama but unanimously found his co-accused, Asabke Alangdi guilty of the same offence.
The jury, however, by a 4:3 decision found the two accused persons not guilty of the substantive charge of murder, thereby resulting in a hung jury and a retrial by a different jury.
While Afoko is facing a retrial as a result of a hung jury, Asabke Alangdi was sentenced to death by hanging after he was convicted by the court based on the jury’s guilty verdict on the charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
Part of the prosecution’s facts state that The deceased returned home around 11:10 p.m. in his pick-up vehicle, with registration number NR 761 – 14, and immediately he parked the vehicle in front of his house, the suspects went close and signaled him to roll down the glass.
The deceased identified the suspects to be party members and rolled down the glass to talk to them.
Suddenly, the suspects poured the substance suspected to be acid on his head, face, and other parts of his body and fled on a motorbike.
‘The deceased started screaming for help and his wife, Hajia Zenabu Adams, went to his aid and managed to bring him out of the vehicle, the prosecution added.
The facts state that Mr. Mahama’s wife also sustained burns on the right side of her chest and breast while assisting her husband.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak