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There was heavy security presence at the Koforidua Circuit Court ‘B’ as 12 suspects arrested in connection with the Somanya riot reappeared in court yesterday.

About 30 armed police officers, mostly from the National Police Swat team and the Eastern Regional Rapid Deployment Force Unit, were deployed to protect the court. Also positioned on the court premises was an anti-riot water cannon.

The security prevented many of the sympathisers of the suspects from entering the court premises, while the few allowed into the court premises and courtroom were screened to protect the judge and other officials of the court.

At the hearing, the Prosecution requested the court to remand the suspects for another two weeks to enable the police to conclude investigations.

The court, presided over by Her Honour, Mercy Adei Kotei refused to grant oral bail application by the defense counsel for the suspects, hence remanded them into prison custody to reappear on June 27, 2017.

Meanwhile, the lead Defence Counsel, Simon Animley, said the bail application pending at the High Court would be heard on June 16.

The defence counsel, at the maiden hearing, argued that most of the accused persons were victims of circumstance and cited a level 200 student of Mount Mary College of Education who was arrested when withdrawing mobile money from an operator and a mobile banker with Yilo Stars who was also arrested when collecting susu.

The accused persons are Adamptey Ebenezer, Jones Dendenden, the assembly member for Sawed Electoral Area, Teye Israel, a taxi driver, Michael Adjei Nortey, a student, Theophilus Narh, a carpenter, Kossivi Amana, a cook, Wisdom Tetteh, a carpenter and Jerry George, a tractor operator.

The others are Wisdom Sackitey Laweh, a mobile banker, Senyo George, a glass fabricator, Felix Tawiah, a welder, Tetteh Emmanuel, a sprayer and Bacha Emmanuel, a student.

Background

The facts of the case presented by the Prosecutor, Chief Inspector Kofi Bragogyi, were that staff members of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in Somanya detected illegal consumption of power in their system and decided to investigate it.

According to the Prosecutor, a block factory located at Sawed Electoral Area belonging to the assembly member for the area was detected to have illegally connected power.

On Monday May 22, 2017, a worker of ECG went to distribute electricity bills, but when the worker got to the block factory, the assembly member rejected the bill on the grouds that the amount was too high.

According to the Prosecutor, the assembly member (1st accused person) subsequently allegedly incited the residents against the official of ECG.

On Friday, May 26, 2017, the ECG disconnected power supply to the assembly member’s block factory but he illegally reconnected the power.

The Prosecutor further mentioned that later in the day, a taskforce was detailed to disconnect power to the block factory since its owner had failed to pay bills from November 2015 to May 2017, but the staff of ECG were attacked and assaulted by the assembly member and his people.

The court earlier issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Obitumi Kofi, a taxi driver, Yaaba Solomon and one Philip, a motor mechanic now at large, for their alleged involvement in the riot.