Private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, has criticised the stringent bail conditions imposed on former Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation Executive Secretary, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, saying they are impractical.
Speaking in an interview on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Mr. Kpebu pointed out that many influential figures, particularly within the New Patriotic Party (NPP), own multiple properties that could have been used as surety for Miracles’ GH¢50 million bail.
“We are not learning lessons from our own society. We have a big problem with registration. There are a lot of people with about 20 houses, but none of them has been registered, even though tenants are living in them,” he said.
He explained that in the case of Miracles, several NPP gurus could have mobilised up to 50 houses to secure his bail, but the requirement for justification of sureties has made it nearly impossible.
“Once we mention justification, it becomes a problem because these houses might be not registered. So even someone with 20 or 30 houses can’t stand bail,” Lawyer Kpebu noted.
He argued that while the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) prefers registered properties to prevent sale or disposal, the current system is still flawed.
“The reason EOCO prefers a registered landed property is that the person may decide to sell after the verification but that is neither here nor there because people can go about a smart way to sell if they still want to,” he added.
Lawyer Kpebu appealed to the EOCO boss, Raymond Archer, and the Attorney-General to develop more practical and sensible guidelines for bail conditions.
“I would appeal to the EOCO boss, Raymond Archer, and the Attorney General to develop a more practical and sensible guideline for our bail conditions because the current conditions don’t show practical sense,” he stressed.
He further explained that a person with a big name and a small registered house might actually be a more reliable surety because such individuals would not want their reputation tarnished if the accused jumps bail.
The comments come amid ongoing discussions about the bail conditions given to Mr. Aboagye following his arrest over alleged financial irregularities.
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