A member of Delta Force, a vigilante group affiliated to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) says their reason for storming the Kumasi Circuit Court on Thursday to free 13 members of their group who were standing trial in connection with the group’s raiding of the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council was as a result of a breach of promise by some leaders of the party that the members will be set free by the court.
The 13 were detained for besieging the Regional Coordinating Council on March 24, 2017, where they were alleged to have assaulted George Adjei who had just been appointed Regional Security Coordinator.
The court presided over by Mrs Mary Nsenkyire had ruled that, they be remanded in prison custody to reappear on April 20, 2017 after charges of conspiracy to commit crime, assault on a public officer, causing unlawful damage and common purpose to prevent a public officer from performing his duty.
According to a report by Graphic Online, “Immediately word went out that the 13 had been remanded, some supporters of the accused who were outside the courtroom attempted to find their way into the courtroom but they were prevented from doing so by the police.
In the ensuing melee, the 13 who had been remanded left the courtroom, joined those outside to leave the court premises, claiming that they were going to the NPP Ashanti Regional headquarters.
After the judge’s decision to remand the suspects, the members said they were not going to allow the ruling to stand, and demanded that the 13 leave the court with them.”
A member of the Delta Force who gave his name as Ernest in an interview on Kumasi-based Silver FM stated that the group was assured none of the members will be jailed for which reason they stormed the court when those facing the charges were remanded.
“We were told to go to the court because with a promise the case has already been settled. We thought everything was sorted only for our boys to be remanded. So we told ourselves that if that is the case, they should remand all of us because we moved together,” he said.
In reference to National Security Minister, Kan Dapaah’s comment that vigilante groups in Ghana had no legal recognition, which make them illegal, and without mandate to operate in the country, Ernest retorted, “How can we sacrifice for the party to win elections and go through such a situation? Kan Dapaah is now saying we have no legal recognition; he’s asking of certificate. When NPP was in opposition, you said you had retired from politics. Who should sacrifice for the party to come to power for you to be appointed?”
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