Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has criticised the bail conditions imposed on Aminat Mahama, describing them as excessive and an attempt to deny her release.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, Mr. Awuah, who is counsel for the accused, questioned the rationale behind some of the conditions set by the court.
His comments follow a decision by the Accra Circuit Court 2 to grant bail to Aminat Mahama in the sum of GH¢1 million with two sureties after her arrest over alleged threats and offensive remarks directed at President John Dramani Mahama in a viral social media video.
Under the bail terms, one of the sureties must be a civil servant earning not less than GH¢5,000 monthly. She is also required to deposit her passport or Ghana Card with the police and report regularly to investigators.
According to Mr. Awuah, the conditions are overly burdensome and inconsistent with the circumstances of the accused.
“Court has granted her bail. The bail term is very onerous. She was given bail in the sum of one million cedis and she needs sureties, one of them being a civil servant earning a minimum of five thousand cedis,” he said.
The MP particularly questioned the requirement for the accused to deposit a passport, noting that she reportedly does not own one.
“Why demand a passport as part of bail conditions from someone who does not even own a passport? This clearly shows an attempt to deny the person bail,” he stated.
According to him, when the issue was raised in court, they were advised to file a formal application to vary the bail conditions.
“I questioned the judgment because she doesn’t even have a passport, so they said we should bring an application to vary it. If you make such an order, that means you don’t want to release her,” he argued.
Mr. Awuah further warned that actions perceived as politically selective could deepen tensions within the political space.
“Things like this don’t make the country progress. The institutions of state won’t make progress,” he said.
He also alleged that supporters of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) are increasingly calling for retaliation over what they perceive as unfair treatment under the current administration.
“Our grassroots will demand that we retaliate for what the NDC is doing,” he claimed.
The Manhyia South MP appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to intervene in the interest of national peace.
“That’s why I am urging President Mahama, for the sake of Ghana’s peace, this should be stopped. Mahama has been quiet; he is not even speaking to the issues,” he added.
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