Forty (40) persons have been remanded for one week into police custody by Kumasi Circuit Court 4 presided over by Mr. John Ekow Mensah following the clash between some Akans and Muslim Youth in Ahwiaa in the Kwabre East District of the Ashanti Region
One person was killed while scores of residents were injured in renewed clashes during the incident which happened on Monday February 19, 2018.
Fifty persons were arrested in connection with the clash. The accused persons have been charged with Conspiracy to commit crime and to with rioting with weapons.
The accused persons pleaded not guilty to each of the charges.
Lead Council for the accused persons Lawyer Solomon Oppong Twumasi told the court that some of his clients were arrested in a swoop while others were arrested at their work places. He further argued that five (5) of accused persons are Juvenile, four (4) are aged while one of them is a student.
Lawyer Solomon Oppong Twumasi told the court that since some of the accused persons are juveniles and the case was bailable, the court should grant them bail, but the bail plea was turned down by the presiding judge.
The Police Prosecutor ACP Okyere Darko had appealed to the court to deny the accused person bail, “since the tension is still high in the community, adding that granting them bail now will still fuel the violence and revenge attacks”.
The Presiding Judge Mr. Ekow Mensah granted the Juveniles a Two Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢2000) bail with one surety each while the aged were granted a Twenty Ghana Ghana Cedis (GH¢20000) bail with two sureties each.
