The Accra High Court has granted bail to Ama Governor, a lawyer and social media influencer, along with eight other protesters. Each has been granted a bail of ₵70,000.
The protesters were arrested and remanded for their involvement in a demonstration in Accra, which was organized to protest against illegal mining and the economic difficulties faced by Ghanaians.
A total of 53 protesters remain in custody, following accusations from the police that they committed multiple offences during the protest. The demonstration, held by the Democracy Hub group, aimed to raise concerns about the environmental harm caused by illegal mining and the prevailing economic challenges.
The legal team for the protesters initially applied for bail on an earlier date, but later filed for an Abridgement of Time. During a hearing on Monday, September 30, the Attorney General’s department requested more time to study the case before responding to the bail request.
The court granted the AG’s request, giving the department until October 2 to respond. In its response, the AG’s department argued that the bail application was incomplete, as it lacked crucial documents such as the charge sheet and the Circuit Court proceedings that previously denied bail.
The protesters’ legal counsel countered this claim, arguing that the AG’s department already had access to the charge sheet, as they were responsible for filing the charges. However, the AG’s team insisted that the Circuit Court’s ruling and proceedings were not in their possession.
The defense requested a one-hour adjournment to retrieve the missing documents, but the court denied this request. In the end, the court sided with the State and adjourned the proceedings to October 7, 2024, the original date of the bail hearing. This date falls just one day before the expiration of the remand order for the detained protesters.
Ama Governor was remanded into custody by the Accra Circuit Court on September 26 for her role in the Democracy Hub protest. She, along with other protesters, appeared in court on September 24 under heavy security.
Ahead of the recent development, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Dame, called on prosecutors to consider relevant bail applications for demonstrators involved in the recent Democracy Hub protest against illegal mining (galamsey).
His statement was made during the Annual Conference of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG), held at the La Beach Hotel in Accra on Wednesday, October 2, 2024.
Addressing the gathering, the Attorney-General emphasized the importance of ensuring fairness in the ongoing legal proceedings related to the protest.
