The twelve protesters who were detained for surrounding the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly premises, demanding the release of impounded tricycles, have been released on bail.
The case was transferred from a district court to a circuit court in Akropong in the Ashanti Region.
Prosecutors requested the case be moved for continuation in another court.
The defense argued that the police were persecuting, not prosecuting, their clients, emphasizing that the police took the protesters to the Akropong Court without considering other local courts.
Chief Inspector Timothy Amoako, the lead prosecutor, refuted the defense’s claims, citing security reasons for bringing the suspects to the Akropong Court.
The District Court Judge, His Worship Rockson Kpodo, approved the transfer, considering the case’s national attention and security concerns.
The accused persons, at the Akropong Circuit Court, pleaded not guilty to the charges, which included conspiracy to commit crimes using weapons like cutlasses, stones, and sticks, engaging in unauthorized demonstrations, causing property damage, and assaulting on-duty police officers.
After the accused persons spent a week in police custody, the defense requested bail, which was granted by Her Honour Nana Adwoa Serwaa Dua-Adonteng Ofori.
The accused were granted a bail sum of GH¢30,000 each with two sureties. The case has been adjourned to September 8, 2023.
In a related development, the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council (GARCC) has restricted the activities of tricycle operators within the Central Business District (CBD) in an effort to mitigate traffic congestion and restore orderliness to the streets of Accra.
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