- The Accra High Court has refused a bail application filed by the 35-year-old businessman
- Justice Kizita Naa Koowa Quarshie stated that the court was not in a position to grant bail to Owusu
- He is accused of abetting two other suspects, who are currently at large
The Accra High Court has refused a bail application filed by the 35-year-old businessman, Daniel Koranteng Owusu, who is accused of involvement in the murder of investigative journalist Ahmed Husain Suale.
In her ruling, Justice Kizita Naa Koowa Quarshie stated that the court was not in a position to grant bail to Owusu at this time. Owusu is currently facing a provisional charge of abetment and murder at the Madina District Court.
However, Justice Quarshie assured the accused that his bail application could be reconsidered at a later stage in the legal proceedings.
During the bail hearing, Owusu’s lawyer, Nathaniel Egbor, argued that the prosecution’s presented facts did not sufficiently support the charges against his client. Counsel asserted that if granted bail, Owusu would not interfere with ongoing investigations and emphasized that the denial of bail should not be used as a punitive measure against his client.
Furthermore, counsel submitted that the constitutional principle of presuming an accused person innocent until proven guilty meant that any restriction on Owusu’s liberty and freedom of movement would be a violation of his fundamental rights. To counter claims that his client was a flight risk, counsel disputed assertions that Owusu evaded justice, stating that he was only apprehended upon his return to the country in August of this year.
Counsel pointed out that according to the prosecution’s timeline, the murder of Ahmed Suale occurred in January 2019, while Owusu left the country in September 2019. He argued that there was no concrete evidence to suggest Owusu had remained within the jurisdiction throughout this period, traveling in and out as an ordinary citizen might.
Opposing the bail application, Assistant State Attorney Maame Afua Osei Gyamerah argued that the objection to bail was not intended to punish the applicant but to ensure his presence for trial, given what she described as a reasonable suspicion of his involvement in the crime.
The Assistant State Attorney stated that call detail records indicated connections between the accused person’s phone number and the vicinity of the applicant’s neighborhood on four separate days leading up to Suale’s murder. The prosecution urged the court to deny the bail application, characterizing it as premature due to the ongoing nature of the investigations.
Background of the Case:
Daniel Koranteng Owusu was initially charged with one count of murder at the Madina District Court during his first appearance on March 19 of this year. Subsequently, during his second appearance, the state amended the charge sheet to include an additional charge of abetment of crime, contrary to Section 2-(1) of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
He is accused of abetting two other suspects, who are currently at large, in the murder of Ahmed Suale at his residence on January 16, 2019. Additionally, he faces a substantive charge of murder, contrary to Section 46 of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
The prosecution alleges that Owusu provided pictures of the deceased to Kennedy Agyapong, who then displayed them on Net2 TV and called for ‘retribution’ against Suale. Court documents further allege that “Accused person, having known the deceased’s place of abode and possible hideouts; led two other culprits currently at large to the house of the deceased where he was shot and killed.”
