Afoko Petitions Hits CHARJ

Amnesty International has said it will petition the Commission on Human Rights and Administration Justice (CHRAJ) over the continuous detention of Gregory Afoko.

Mr Afoko has been standing trial for allegedly killing the Upper East Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Adams Mahama.

Although he has been granted bail by a judge in March and meeting all conditions set, the State has refused to release Mr Afoko and has asked a different court to reverse the bail order.

This has angered many, including Amnesty International.

A spokesperson for the human rights organisation, Robert Amoafo has described the development as unacceptable and has decided to cause CHRAJ to intervene.

He said the organisation has already contacted the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department of the police service but has yet to receive any response.

“For us, our concern is that whenever a human right is accorded to an individual, it must be enjoyed accordingly,” Mr Amoafo said in an interview with Joy News.

He said it was essential for CHRAJ to conduct an investigation into the human rights abuse of Afoko to determine why he was not allowed to enjoy his bail term.

“It is rather unheard of that a court of competent jurisdiction will give somebody this right and he is not made to enjoy it as expected,” Mr Amoafo said.

Amnesty International is not alone. Pressure group, Occupy Ghana has condemned the state’s unlawful detention of Afoko.

In a statement, the pressure group wants state actors who failed to carry out the March 14, 2019 court order punished.

OccupyGhana is demanding a full and impartial investigation into the apparent refusal of the State to comply with a bail order given by the High Court in favour of an accused person, Mr Afoko.

“We also demand that agents of the State who violated the court’s orders should be punished to the fullest extent permissible under the law,” the statement said.