Edudzi Tameklo recalls how Duffuor was slapped with GH¢100 million bail in 2020, calls for structured bail conditions

Lawyer Godwin Edudzi Tameklo has cited a previous court case involving former Bank of Ghana Governor Dr Kwabena Duffuor to make a case for bail conditions that reflect the circumstances and background of accused persons.

Mr Tameklo who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) said he represented Dr Duffuor in court in 2020 when the court initially set his bail at GH¢100 million.

He explained that he challenged the amount on the basis of Dr Duffuor’s extensive record of public service, having previously served as Governor and Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana as well as Finance Minister.

“I remember vividly making a prayer before the judge. I said, look, my lord, with the greatest of respect, this man, this man, this man, for want of a better word, was a former Governor of Bank of Ghana, former deputy governor of Bank of Ghana, former finance minister of this republic,” he recalled.

Mr Tameklo said he questioned the justification for imposing such a high bail requirement on the former public official.

“Why would you want to grant a bill of 100 million Ghana citizens?” he recalled telling the court.

According to him, the matter was extensively argued before the court, with then Attorney General Gloria Akufo also present during the proceedings.

He said the arguments eventually resulted in the bail being reduced from GH¢100 million to GH¢65 million.

“We went back and forth, back and forth on the 100 million until the judge agreed to reduce it to 65 million,” he said on TV3’s Keypoints.

Mr Tameklo noted that even the reduced figure posed a significant requirement for the legal team, which had to secure property valued at GH¢65 million to satisfy the bail conditions.

Drawing on that experience, he advocated a more structured framework for determining bail conditions in financial and economic crime cases, including cases such as that involving Baffour Awuah.

“So I believe that, look, the courts, the law enforcement officers, we can develop a protocol around some of these issues,” he said.

Background
The court presided over by Justice Bright Mensah, a Court of Appeal judge sitting with additional responsibilities, had granted the former Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, who was the founder of uniBank Ghana Limited, and eight other accused persons bail of GH¢100 million each with three sureties, two of whom must be justified in 2020.

However, the lawyers, right after the decision of the judge, began to beg him to reconsider his decision as none of the accused persons would be able to meet the condition set by the court.

Dr. Dominic Ayine, a former Deputy Attorney-General (A-G) who is counsel for Dr. Duffuor, was the first to raise concern about the bail condition which he said was tantamount to the court refusing to grant the accused persons bail.

Another defence lawyer, Nana Agyei Baffuor Awua, who represents Benjamin Ofori, one of the accused, also pleaded with the court to reconsider the bail, saying the conditions are so strict that it would be very difficult for his client to meet them.

Lawyers for the other seven accused persons also expressed similar sentiments and pleaded with the court to review the bail and if possible take away the condition of justification.

Attorney-General Gloria Akuffo, who led the prosecution, when asked by the court of her position on the plea to review the bail terms, said the state maintains its position that the bail terms must commiserate with the charges preferred against the nine officials.

The court then reviewed the bail condition from GH¢100 million to GH¢60 million each but maintained the three sureties, two of whom must be justified.

The sureties were also to deposit their title deeds with the registrar of the court, while the accused persons were also ordered to deposit their passports with the court registrar.

The lawyers were still not satisfied with the condition and again pleaded with the court to review it once more.

Justice Mensah, however, said he could not review his own decision for a second time in one sitting, urging the lawyers to formally file an application for variation of the bail terms if they wish so.