Parliament should pass procedural safeguards limiting immediate rearrest after judicial discharge — Prof Azar
Ghanaian legal scholar and social commentator, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, widely known as Kwaku Azar, has called for legislative reforms to curb what he describes as the increasing abuse of rearrest powers after judicial discharge of suspects.
His remarks follow the recent rearrest of former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food and Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), Abdul-Wahab Hanan Aludiba, and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni.
The couple were rearrested by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) after the Office of the Attorney-General withdrew charges against them on Tuesday, May 5, citing fresh evidence.
They face charges in relation to alleged procurement irregularities in the school feeding programme, with earlier claims of a GH¢78 million loss to the state.
Reacting to this in a social media post on Thursday, May 7, Prof Kwaku Azar cautioned that the practice could turn the criminal justice system into an instrument of perpetual punishment rather than justice.
“The recurring cycle of arrest, detention, prosecution, discharge, rearrest, and renewed prosecution is one of the most corrosive abuses of criminal process in constitutional democracies,” he stated.
He argued that such practices weaken constitutional safeguards and erode public confidence in the justice system.
The legal scholar stressed that liberty should not depend on prosecutorial discretion after court rulings.
According to him, the concern is not limited to the latest case but reflects a broader pattern within the country's criminal justice system, which he says has been normalised over time.
“The recent rearrest of Hanan Abdul-Wahab and his wife, moments after a court discharged them, has revived an old and troubling debate about the weaponization of prosecutorial power,” he noted.
Prof Kwaku Azar further asserted that while the state must retain the ability to prosecute genuine cases with fresh evidence, such powers must not be abused to harass or intimidate accused persons.
He explained that repeated rearrests after discharge may render court decisions ineffective, thereby undermining judicial authority and due process protections.
To address the issue, he urged Parliament to introduce clear procedural safeguards that would regulate immediate rearrests following judicial discharge.
"We may need clearer statutory codification in this area. Parliament should consider procedural safeguards limiting immediate rearrest after judicial discharge absent judicial authorization based on fresh evidence," he noted.
He specifically proposed that any such action should require judicial authorization based on demonstrably new evidence, alongside stricter scrutiny of repeated prosecutions.
The legal scholar also called for reforms such as mandatory disclosure requirements and compensation mechanisms for individuals subjected to abusive detention practices.