Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor
FORMER PRESIDENTIAL Staffer and convener of #FixtheCountry Movement, Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor, was yesterday put before court charged with treason over his coup comments on social media platform, Facebook.
The Ashaiman District Court, presided over by Eleanor Kakrah Barnes-Botchwey, a Circuit Court judge with an additional responsibility as a magistrate, remanded the accused for two weeks after the court turned down an application for bail.
His plea was not taken as the court does not have jurisdiction to do so, but the charge was read to him in an open court.
Bail Application
Baffour Gyau Bonsu Ashia, who held brief for Akoto Ampaw, in his application for bail for the accused, argued that the police infringed on the right of the accused by detaining him for more than 48 hours, which is against the constitution.
He admitted that the court has no jurisdiction but was on the conviction that it could grant the accused person bail, based on exceptional circumstances, especially when the accused was arrested last Friday.
He said the bail would enable the defence counsel to have a conference with him and prepare for his defence.
Opposition
Police prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sylvester Asare, opposed the application and prayed the court to decline it since the court does not have jurisdiction to try the matter, which is a first degree felony.
According to him, the court has no right to determine whether the case is exceptional since it has no jurisdiction, adding, “My learned colleague did not refer this court to any authority that confirms whether the case is exceptional.”
ASP Asare said efforts by the prosecution team over the weekend to get a court for the accused person to be tried proved futile since the office of the Chief Justice was not open to file the request.
Rebuttal
But in a quick rebuttal, lead counsel for the accused person, Akoto Ampaw, who had then appeared before the court, was of the view that the prosecution deliberately brought the accused to a lower court knowing very well it does not have the jurisdiction to handle cases of this nature.
He said that the prosecution was using statutes to deny the fundamental human right and freedom of the accused person as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution, stressing that the 48-hour rule is mandated on everybody, particularly the court, and therefore, it is unconstitutional to hide behind jurisdiction to breach fundamental human right of the accused.
Mr. Ampaw stressed that the continuous detention of the accused person would be a violation of the constitution, and added that “the judiciary is mandated to ensure that at all time the constitution is complied with.”
Remand
Judge Barnes-Botchwey, after listening to both parties, remanded the accused on ground that the court does not have the jurisdiction to grant bail due to the nature of the offence.
The court further stated that defence counsel failed to state whether the accused person has permanent place of abode and family in Ghana and would not interfere with investigations.
She, however, urged the defence team to repeat their bail application at a High Court which has an inherent jurisdiction.
The court also ordered the police to ensure that the defence lawyers and family members have access to the accused every day between 10am and 4pm.
The case was adjourned to February 28, 2022.
Facts
The police prosecutor said in February 2022, the Ashaiman Police received a report that the accused person, who is the convener of social movement ‘FixTheCountry’, was inciting some group of persons believed to be members of the movement.
Upon receipt of the report, the police mounted surveillance on the accused person until his arrest at Kotoka International Airport on Friday, February 11, 2022, when he arrived from the United Kingdom (UK).
The prosecution said preliminary investigations established that Barker-Vormawor for some time now has been inciting some group of persons through social media to undertake an unlawful enterprise to usurp the executive powers of the Government of Ghana.
“Pursuant to his preparation to usurp the executive powers of the Government of Ghana, accused further published on his Facebook wall that the Ghana Army is useless and went ahead to declare his intention to stage a coup, if the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) is passed by Parliament.”
Court documents indicate that police investigation also revealed that the said E-Levy Bill is currently before Parliament and that the accused person’s arrival in the country was in furtherance of his intention to stage a coup as declared by him.
Heavy Police Presence
Barker-Vormawor was brought in handcuff by the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) of the Ghana Police Service.
The hearing has attracted huge police presence, with some of the campaigners of the #FixTheCountry movement wailing after their convener was remanded.
Shockingly, the leadership of the social media group was absent in court at the time of the hearing.
Police Explanation
The police said Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor was kept in police custody for more than 48 hours because the Chief Justice did not respond to their application to constitute a court over the weekend for the trial to begin.
DSP Sylvester Asare, the lead prosecutor in the case, said detaining the accused person for 52 hours is allowed by the law since the additional four hours were used to prepare him for appearance, intimating that the accused was arrested on Friday evening.
By Vincent Kubi