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Tag: coup plotters

  • Coup plotters’ death sentence doesn’t guarantee their execution – Martin Kpebu explains

    Coup plotters’ death sentence doesn’t guarantee their execution – Martin Kpebu explains

    Renowned private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has clarified the potential fate of the six individuals recently convicted to death by hanging for their involvement in plotting to overthrow the government of Akufo-Addo.

    While acknowledging the severity of the death sentence, Kpebu pointed out that its execution is not imminent, and there are two significant impediments to its realization.

    Firstly, he highlighted the longstanding trend of successive governments abolishing the death penalty through various white papers. President Akufo-Addo himself has signaled his intention to present bills to parliament, amending the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), which mandates the death sentence for offenses like treason and murder.

    “… We have decided as a nation that we want to do away with the death penalty so no president will ever issue any order for their execution. Remember that the (sic) administration issued a white paper after the Constitution Review Commission finished its work, and then JM’s administration issued a white paper accepting the abolition of the death penalty.

    “That white paper is binding on President Akufo-Addo. And President Akufo-Addo also even signed Act 1101, the abolition of the death penalty in Act 29. So, you know that currently, murders, piracy and the other offences in the Criminal Offenses Act that used to attract the death penalty, all of those have been cancelled. They’ve been cancelled so they no longer attract the death penalty,” he explained.

    He added, “So, all of this shows that once we abolished some of the laws and President Akufo-Addo himself has committed he will now send bills for the abolishment of the death penalty in the Armed Forces law, this shows that nobody is going to kill them.”

    The second hurdle, Kpebu indicated, is that the sentencing would be carried out after several years of appeal.

    “And these people, before you even contemplate killing them, they must first finish all their appeals and that’s not going to be within the next two years. So, killing them off is totally off the table. Yes, we’ve moved past that,” he stressed the point.

    The second obstacle, according to Kpebu, involves a prolonged legal process. Before any contemplation of execution, the convicted individuals must exhaust all avenues of appeal, a procedure expected to extend over several years. Kpebu emphatically stated, “So, killing them off is totally off the table. Yes, we’ve moved past that.”

    This elucidation by Martin Kpebu provides insights into the legal complexities surrounding death sentences in the context of Ghana’s evolving legal landscape and the protracted nature of the appeals process.

    Background:

    In January 2024, the six individuals implicated in a coup plot were sentenced to death by hanging.

    Among the convicted individuals were Donya Kafui, alias Ezor, a blacksmith, and Bright Alan Debrah Ofosu, a fleet manager, found guilty of conspiracy to commit treason and treason. Johannes Zikpi, a civilian employee of the Ghana Armed Forces, was convicted of conspiracy to commit high treason.

    The trio of soldiers—Warrant Officer II Esther Saan Dekuwine, Lance Corporal Ali Solomon, and Corporal Sylvester Akanpewon—were found guilty of conspiracy to commit high treason.

    The judgment, handed down on November 22, 2023, followed the submission of written arguments by all parties involved.

    Initially charged on April 24, 2021, Dr. Frederick Yao Mac-Palm, the late Chief Executive Officer of Citadel Hospital, and ACP Dr. Agordzo, along with eight others, faced charges of conspiracy to commit high treason, abetment to high treason, and high treason. All ten accused individuals pleaded not guilty and were granted bail.

    However, the demise of Dr. Mac-Palm led to the removal of his testimony from the records following confirmation of his death during the trial.

  • Here is what the law says about hanging the 6 coup plotters

    Here is what the law says about hanging the 6 coup plotters

    On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, the High Court in Accra sentenced six out of the ten individuals accused of plotting a coup against the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to death by hanging.

    Presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, Justice Hafisata Amaleboba, and Justice Stephen Oppong, the court found the six accused persons—Donya Kafui, Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu, Yohannes Zikpi, Warrant Officer Class Two Esther Saan Dekuwine, Lance Corporal Ali Solomon, and Corporal Sylvester Akanpewon—guilty of treason or conspiracy to commit treason.

    This verdict is shaping up to be a contentious issue between the executive arm of the government, led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the legislative arm, headed by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin.

    The high court judges seem to have based their decision on the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), which prescribes the death penalty for individuals found guilty of crimes such as treason and other serious offenses, including murder.

    However, there is a dispute about whether this law is the current law or whether it has been amended. Some legislators, including Francis-Xavier Sosu, the Member of Parliament for Madina, argue that the death-by-hanging sentence handed down by the court cannot stand because the law has been amended to punish such crimes with life imprisonment.

    “Death Penalty Abolition – Ghana’s status of having abolished death penalty for ordinary crimes is same. The Criminal Offenses (Amendment) Act, 2023, (Act 1101) passed by @GhanaParliament & Assented to by @NAkufoAddo on Aug 2, 2023 and Gazetted the same day is the current law,” he wrote on X on Thursday, January 25, 2024.

    He provided some documents to prove that the said amended act was “passed by parliament and assented to by the president” on August 2, 2023.

    However, the presidency maintains that the president has never signed the amendment into law.

    In a memorandum to the Parliament of Ghana, President Akufo-Addo conveyed his refusal to give assent to the Criminal Offences Amendment Bill, Criminal Offences Amendment Bill (2), and Armed Forces Amendment Bill, citing their breach of Article 108 of the constitution as private members bills.

    Despite this, Alban Bagbin addressed the matter in detail on Friday, December 22, 2023, stating that the President had given his assent to the Criminal Offences Amendment Bill on the abolishment of the death penalty as far back as August this year. The bill was gazetted as Criminal Offences Amendment Act, 2023, Act 1101, published, and made available to the public.

    “By a letter dated 3rd August 2023 assented to on the same day by the President, the bill was gazetted as a Criminal Offences Amendment Act 2023, ACT 110 published and made available to the public. So, it was no longer a bill but an ACT,” Bagbin narrated.

    He continued: “The foundation of my disagreement with the President’s position and refusal to assent to the three bills is anchored on four critical aspects of the Constitutional interpretation procedural adherence.”


    The speaker has recently expressed his intention to escalate the matter to the judiciary, the third arm of government, seeking a final determination from the court.

    As a result, the fate of Donya Kafui, Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu, Yohannes Zikpi, Warrant Officer Class Two Esther Saan Dekuwine, Lance Corporal Ali Solomon, and Corporal Sylvester Akanpewon will once again be subject to the court’s decision.

    The ‘six convicted coup plotters’ face the possibility of being hanged, depending on whether the judiciary aligns with the executive or the legislature, especially if they lose their appeals.

  • My only ‘crime’ was to support a medical outreach – Dr Agordzo explains his connection to alleged coup plotters

    My only ‘crime’ was to support a medical outreach – Dr Agordzo explains his connection to alleged coup plotters

    Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Benjamin Agordzo, who was cleared of any involvement in a 2019 coup plot, has spoken out about his ordeal and how he was falsely accused by the National Investigations Bureau (NIB).

    Mr Agordzo in a recent interview said that he had no connection with the alleged coup plotters, and that the money he gave to the late Dr Mac-Palm, a key suspect in the case, was for a medical outreach programme and not for any subversive activities.

    He said that the NIB had presented 13 witnesses who claimed that he had paid GH₵2,000 to support the coup, but he had explained to them the circumstances under which he made the payment.

    “I explained to them the circumstances under which I paid the GH₵2,000. Of course, they didn’t even know I had paid the GH₵2,000. I told them I had paid GH₵2,000 to him and even on the platform I had made a promise, on the open platform that looking at the medical outreach programme they were undertaking, I was going to support,” he said.

    He also accused the NIB of twisting his words and fabricating a false narrative as evidence against him.

    “I took my time, together with my lawyers, and put my case together, dismantling all that they had said and putting them in the context in which I said them, which the judge agreed with,” he stated.

    Mr Agordzo further revealed that he was summoned by the NIB for questioning about the coup before news of his alleged arrest and subsequent release on bail circulated.

    He contended that the authorities had already shared the names of individuals implicated in the coup plan with certain media outlets.

    In a surprising turn of events, the court acquitted and discharged ACP Agordzo and another individual from the coup plot charges. However, six others were convicted and sentenced to death.

  • Verdict on alleged coup plotters case to be delivered today

    Verdict on alleged coup plotters case to be delivered today

    The three-member panel overseeing the high treason case involving ACP Benjamin Agordzo is set to announce its judgment later today, January 24, 2024, determining the fate of the accused individuals.

    In 2021, ACP Benjamin Agordzo, the late Dr. Mac Palm, and eight others faced charges of conspiracy to commit high treason and high treason.

    The arrests occurred in 2019 following a police operation at the Citadel hospital, linking the accused to an alleged plot to destabilize the country.

    The prosecution, supported by 13 witnesses, including Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) officers, presented evidence, including video footage, depicting the accused planning activities to destabilize the nation, including the alleged manufacturing of ammunition.

    Despite the charges, all the accused individuals pleaded not guilty and completed their defense. Dr. Mac Palm, one of the accused, had his testimony removed from the case following his passing last year.

    The judgment, scheduled for today, holds significant weight as it will decide the fate of the accused, who, if found guilty according to the constitution, may face the possibility of a death sentence.

  • German raids target coup plotters

    In raids across Germany, 25 people were apprehended on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government.

    According to reports in Germany, a group of far-right and ex-military figures planned to storm the Reichstag and seize power.

    A German man named Heinrich XIII, 71, is reported to have played a key role in their plans.

    According to federal prosecutors, two alleged ringleaders were among those arrested in 11 German states.

    The plotters are said to include members of the extremist Reichsbürger (Citizens of the Reich) movement, which has long been in the sights of German police over violent attacks and racist conspiracy theories. They also refuse to recognise the modern German state.

    An estimated 50 men and women are alleged to have been part of the group who are said to have plotted to overthrow the republic and replace it with a new state modelled on the Germany of 1871.

    “We don’t yet have a name for this group,” said a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor’s office.

     

  • Coup plotters case: Court adjourns case on health grounds

    The High Court hearing the alleged coup plotters case was on Monday, June 20, 2022, compelled to adjourn on health grounds.

    Midway into the cross-examination of the 12th prosecution witness, Detective Chief Inspector Michael Nkrumah of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), one of the defense lawyers, brought to the attention of the court, the medical situation.

    Warrant Officer (WO) II, Esther Saan Dekuwmine alias Mama Gee, was throwing up.

    She was immediately taken down to the court clinic where she was attended to, and the courtroom sanitised.

    Lawyers later informed the court that doctors at the clinic were still administering laboratory tests on the accused person, and that it did not appear she would be fit enough to immediately resume the trial.

    This is notwithstanding that the Court Warrant Officer had already informed the Court that the vomiting was as a result of the accused person taking medication on an empty stomach.

    The court, upon being persuaded by the Bar, adjourned to Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to allow for a conclusion of the cross-examination and for subsequent directions.

    This was not without caution from the President of the three-member panel, Her Ladyship, Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe, that the court will by all means meet its July 4 timeline for submissions of no case (where any) and would thus not countenance calculated delays.

    The trial court was initially scheduled to hear the last of the cross-examinations on Monday and to allow the prosecution to close its case on the matter.

    This would have been followed with directions on submissions of no case, presumably to be made by the defense lawyers.

    But this was not to be the case, as the day took an unexpected turn.

    It is, however, expected that this process would be followed through with on Wednesday to allow for the next phase of the trial to begin.

    Source: Citinewsroom