Ernesto Yeboah
The leader of a group calling itself ‘Economic Freedom Fighters’, Ernesto Yeboah, has been granted a GH¢100,000 bail by an Accra Circuit Court.
According to the court presided over by Evelyn Mensah, the accused is to provide three sureties, two of whom must be public servants.
The accused was put before the court for allegedly organizing a public event without notifying the police.
Ernesto Yeboah was arrested on June 6, 2020 after he and a group converged on the Independence Square where they held a vigil in support of a ‘BlackLivesMatter’ protest in the United States over the death of George Floyd by a police officer who knelt on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds.
He was arrested as the leader of the group (numbering about 200) for allegedly failing to notify the police of the gathering and, therefore, breaching the public gathering directive in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Court documents state that the accused has been charged with the offence of failing to notify the police of a special event contrary to the Public Order Act 1994 (Act 491).
He pleaded not guilty to the charge levelled against him and his legal team, led by Xavier Sosu, prayed the court to grant him bail pending the trial.
The case has been adjourned to July 7, 2020.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak