GHC80,000 bail for OKESS student and stepfather in firearm case
A District Court at Mampongteng in the Ashanti Region has granted bail to a 16-year-old student of the Osei Kyeretwie Senior High School (OKESS) and his stepfather, Daniel Owusu Baafi, who are facing charges of unlawful possession of a firearm.
The two were granted bail in the sum of GHS 50,000 and GHS 30,000 respectively, each with two sureties.
One of the sureties for the student must be a government worker or a senior staff earning not less than GHC 4,000 monthly. A similar condition applies to the stepfather, though the income threshold for his surety is set at GHC3,000.
Presiding magistrate Natacha Abena Tuffuor gave the bail ruling after hearing legal submissions from defence lawyer. Their plea was not taken.
According to police prosecutors, the incident occurred on 14 May when an assistant headmaster of OKESS found the student (name withheld) in possession of a locally manufactured pistol while on campus.
The student was immediately handed over to the police. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of the student’s stepfather who is a pastor.
The two were later granted police enquiry bail before being formally charged under Section 192 of Ghana’s Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), which prohibits the unlawful possession of firearms.
In court on Wednesday (21 May), police disclosed that the stepfather denied ownership of the weapon, stating in his caution statement that the pistol belonged to his late uncle, who passed away a year ago.
He claimed the firearm had been kept in the uncle’s room, which the boy later moved into and from where he allegedly picked the weapon.
The court has adjourned the case to 17 June.
