Lawyer for private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has clarified that his client was never pleased about reports suggesting that the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), Paul Adom-Otchere, was asked to submit landed property as part of a bail requirement.
Speaking on Prime Insight on Joy Prime on Saturday, December 6, during discussions on the arrest, detention, and bail conditions imposed on Mr Kpebu, as well as Parliament’s call for the scrapping of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Marcellinus Biah said Mr Kpebu’s comments on the matter had been misunderstood.
“Mind you, if you listen to Martin carefully, Martin never rejoiced over the fact that Paul was asked to bring landed property. The question was that Mr Adom-Otchere did not have a landed property, and that was when Martin said no, it is unbelievable to think that at least a person of the calibre of Paul Adom-Otchere wouldn’t own a landed property in Ghana. That was his remark… he was only concerned that this could not be true.”
Mr Biah said that Mr Kpebu’s concern was simply disbelief, not celebration.
“He was only concerned that a man of the stature of Paul Adom-Otchere is being published to own no landed property.”
Mr Biah argued that the OSP had acted inconsistently in the way it applied bail conditions. He said the offence alleged against Mr Kpebu did not warrant harsh requirements.
“In law school, they will teach you how to distinguish cases, and this is one of them. Paul Adom’s case can be distinguished from Martin Kpebu’s case obstructing an officer of the OSP. What is the nature of the offence? What are the consequences that follow if he were to be found guilty? These should all weigh in the mind of the person granting bail.”
He stated that Mr Adom-Otchere’s issue related to financial matters, while Mr Kpebu’s alleged offence would likely be classified as a misdemeanour.
“Yes, he was being investigated… it boils down to financial misappropriations. So you see, it has financial implications. With what Martin did… to the best of my knowledge, it is going to be a misdemeanour… the person who would have found him guilty might even end up fining him.”
Mr Biah also said that bail is a discretionary decision, but must still be reasonable.
“In considering the bail, you ask yourself: what is the nature of the offence? What is the punishment for it? And then you consider whether or not the person is likely to be a flight risk.”
He noted that Mr Kpebu had no such risk attached to him.
“Martin is not the kind of person who will run away from this. At least they could grant him self-recognisance bail, which is provided under the law. They declined.”
He confirmed that Mr Kpebu eventually secured bail only after submitting landed property.
“We made our landed property available, and as of now, Martin is on bail based on the fact that he submitted his landed property.”
Mr Biah said recent events showed that bail was increasingly being used unfairly in high-profile cases.
“I don’t think a fair-minded person will say that bail has not been weaponised in this country. There are so many circumstances under which we can clearly see that it appears that bail has been weaponised.”
He said this was particularly troubling because Mr Kpebu had spent years fighting for reforms to make bail more accessible and fair to ordinary Ghanaians.
“This is someone who has actually gone to court to fight to have us enjoy some bail benefits in this country… so for him to now come before an administrative body to ask for bail, and they’re asking for landed property, it was quite a knock-off.”
