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The Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has indicted social media activist and convenor of the #FixTheCountry pressure group Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor, to stand trial at the High Court on two counts of Treason felony.

The two counts stated on the bill of indictment are treason felony contrary to section 182(b) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and treason felony contrary to section 182(b) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29). 

Bill of Indictment

The Bill of Indictment dated 30 May 2022 and signed by the Director of Public Prosecution, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, notes that “Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor, in February 2022, in Ghana, through a post on your Twitter social media account published  to people in Ghana and the rest of the world, endeavored to usurp the executive powers of the Republic by advocating for the violent overthrow of the constitution”.

Witnesses / Exhibits

According to the summary of evidence, the state indicates that it intends to call three witnesses at trial. They are Andrew Okyere, No 55341 D/CONST Dunstan Guba and D/CPL Mark Owusu.

The state will also be tendering some eight exhibits to support their case at the trial. They are the investigation cautioned statement of the accused (Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor) dated 11 February, 2022, Charged statement of the accused dated 11 February, 2022 and Investigation cautioned statement of the accused dated 16 February, 2022.

The remaining exhibits are charge statement of the accused dated 1 April 2022, Facebook and Twitter posts of the accused person from February 2021 to February 2022, Facebook post of the accused person on 30 April 2022, Intelligence report from Cybercrime unit and Intelligence report from National Security.

Background

In a series of Facebook posts that led to the arrest of Barker-Vormawor on 11 February 2022 and his ongoing prosecution, he described the Ghana Armed Forces as “useless” for not acting despite the public uproar against the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy), which is expected to come into effect on 1 May 2022.

“If this E-Levy passes after this cake bullshit, I will do the coup myself. Useless Army!” Barker-Vormawor wrote in one of his posts.

In another post he said: “Okay, let’s try again. If this E-Levy still passes after this cake bullshit, then may God …. Help us to resist oppressor’s rule, With all our will and might for evermore. (2x). Useless Army. Anaa, the value is the same?”

Police arrest

Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor, was picked up by the Tema Regional Police on Saturday 12 February 2022, for allegedly saying that he would stage a coup in Ghana if Parliament passed the E-Levy Bill.

A police statement published on 12 February 2022 said that Barker-Vormawor is being kept at the Tema Regional Police Command to assist with further investigations into his social media post.

First court sitting

 After his charges were read to him in open court on 14 February, Detective Superintendent of Police Sylvester Asare read the brief facts. Barker-Vormawor’s lawyer, Akoto Ampaw, applied for bail for his client but the state opposed the application.

In her ruling at the Ashaiman district court, Magistrate Eleanor Barnes Botchway said she did not have the mandate to grant bail in a case involving a charge of treason felony.

She subsequently remanded the accused into police custody and, working with the two-week timeline required by law to have accused on remand make an appearance in court, she adjourned sitting to 28 February 2022.

Brief facts

 The brief facts as presented in court by DSP Sylvester Asare state that “the accused person is a lawyer and convenor of a social movement, namely ‘FixTheCountry’.

Sometime in February 2022, the Ashaiman Police received a report that the accused person was inciting some groups of persons believed to be members of the FixTheCountry movement.

“That on receipt of the report, the police mounted surveillance on the accused person until his arrest at Kotoka International Airport on Friday 11 February 2022, when he arrived from the United Kingdom (UK). Preliminary investigation has revealed that accused is a lawyer and a PhD student at Cambridge University, UK.”

The facts further say that “it has also been established during investigation that the accused for some time now has been inciting some group[s] of persons through the social media [sic] to undertake an unlawful enterprise to usurp the executive powers of the Government of Ghana”.

“Pursuant to his preparation to usurp the executive powers of the Government of Ghana, accused further published on his Facebook wall that the Ghana army is useless and went ahead to declare his intention in a Facebook post to stage a coup if the Electronic Transaction Levy [E-Levy] is passed by Parliament.”