Delta Force Fine -An Kumasi Circuit court has issued the 13 members of pro-New Patriotic Party vigilante group, Delta Force who stormed the Ashanti Regional Security Council and attacked a public officer, with a fine of GHc 1,800 each or in default, serve 12 months imprisonment.
The accused persons pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit crimes and rioting at the Asokwa District Court in Kumasi.
The 13 were arrested after they stormed the office of the newly appointed Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, George Adjei, in March 2017, and assaulted him in the process, in protest against his appointment.
The 13 members were also made to sign a bond to be of good behavior for 12 months. This was after their Lawyer, Federick Kankam Boadu, had pleaded for a non-custodial sentence for them.
See Also: Everything on the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator Delta Force Attack
Lawyer Boadu said that there was no evidence of aggravated circumstances in the incident for which they were hurled before the court, and his clients had shown great remorse for their action hence it was important not to imprison them
The Ashanti Regional Director of the Delta Force, Mohammed Seidu, told Citi News that the 13 had been freed after their fines were paid on October, 19.
Mohammed Seidu expressed regret about the actions of the 13 members of the group adding that they got the support of the top hierarchy of the NPP.
The Delta Force fine, as well as the release of the 13 members, has been considered as too lenient for the crime committed among some political stakeholders.
A member of the legal team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba, has expressed shock at the sentence issued the accused members.
According to Amaliba a fine of 1,800 on each of the suspects was not deterrent enough, and would rather breed political lawlessness in the country.
Buttressing his points he explained that such an amount will only imply that anyone can cause havoc or harm anyone in a political position if he possesses up to an amount of GHC 2000.
Amaliba said that the court ought to have issued them with a huge sum as fine to serve as a deterrent to vigilante groups who have the intention of interfering in the country’s democracy.
Adding that the accused members were treated with kids’ gloves, he urged the AG to appeal for an enhancement of the sentence. This he said will show that she truly wishes for the punishment to be enhanced.
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