An Accra High Court has turned down a bail application put in by two alleged murderers of Hotfm Finance Manager, Peter Kwabena Antwi.
The Court held that the state had been able to convince it about the seriousness of the matter.
The accused persons are: Kwame Ofori aka Ogyaba, a 29-year-old pastor of Divine Prayer Camp at Saapeman, and Nana Kwame Kwakye, a 64-year old spiritualist of Asuboi in the Eastern Region. They have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder.
According to the Court, accused persons could not be presumed innocent as the trial had not commenced.
Lawyer for the applicants, J.K Deborah, on November 6, this year prayed the High Court to grant bail to the accused because they were nowhere near the crime scene.
Moving the motion for bail for the applicants, Mr. Deborah held that none of the accused persons even knew the hotel, where the said crime took place.
According to defence counsel, the accused were innocent and that the Police were even aware of that.
He explained that the first applicant, Kwame Ofori, a pastor, and the second applicant, Nana Kwame Boakye, Sumankwahene of Kwahu, were responsible and that they would abide by the bail conditions.
“They have houses at Kwahu and Asuboi. They are well settled and therefore will not go anywhere. They are all married with children,” counsel argued.
“A court of law should not deny an applicant bail just because a person has been mentioned as one who committed an offense,” he added.
Defence counsel said, “All the items found to be the murder weapons could not be linked to the applicants. Our humble prayer to the court is that grant the applicants bail”
Counsel contended that all offences were bailable and that applicants’ health conditions were also not good.
In the Attorney General’s response to the motion for bail, the state opposed the grant of bail.
The state held that the applicants had no fixed places of abode, adding that if they had, their addresses would have been provided.
According to the State, the case had not been heard so applicants could not say that they were innocent and that the charge of murder was a serious one.
The state contended that investigations were ongoing and prayed the Court to dismiss the application for bail as it was premature.
The Kaneshie District Court has preserved their pleas.
The case of the prosecution is that the complainant, Daniel Abeka, is the Assistant Manager of Bobson Hotel, Kaneshie, Accra.
It said the late Nana Panin, 45, was a Finance Manager at Hot FM in Accra and also Chief of Enchi.
On October 1, this year, at about 1300 hours, the late Nana Panin, known in private life as Peter Kwabena Antwi, allegedly received a phone call from his spiritual father to meet him at Bobson Hotel at Kaneshie.
The prosecution said the Nana Panin obliged and drove his Toyota Rav4 with registration number GE 1730-09 from the office to Takoradi Lorry station, where he parked and walked to the Hotel Room 16 to meet his spiritual father.
On October 2, this year, at 1905 hours, the complainant found the body of the deceased lying in a pool of blood in the hotel room, which was already booked for Antwi to undertake some purification rituals.
Following the discovery of the body, the prosecution said Police investigations led to the arrest of the accused persons, who for some time now, had been allegedly preparing purification rituals for the late Nana Panin.
GNA