Court fines Akropong Kingmakers GHC48K; in default 4 years imprisonment

The Akropong Circuit Court has fined four Kingmakers arrested for flouting imposition of restriction on gathering a total of GHC48,576.

The convicted persons are Odehye Kofi Asiedu Adu-Mfum,57, Nana Semenhyia Ohene Asa Krofa, 43, Benet Osei opoku alias Ohenenana BS Opoku,55, and Nana Odiasempa Krobea Asante,70, were Charged for failing to comply with the restriction imposed on gathering contrary to paragraph 1(A)VII of EI 64 and section 6 of the Imposition of Restriction Act 1012 /2020 by Detective Inspector Lukeman Sulemana, the Prosecutor.

The accused persons pleaded guilty.

Lawyer Joseph Adakpaksa for the convicts pleaded for mitigation of sentence considering that only Eleven kingmakers were performing customary rites to install a chief but overwhelmed by the presence of onlookers, and the fact that the accused are old men.

The court presided over by Her Honour Harriet Nsembo, therefore, applied the minimum sentence fining each of the accused persons 1012 penalty units which translates to Ghc12,144 in default serves a 4-year jail sentence.

The convicted Kingmakers were arrested Friday, May 2, 2020, for enstooling a Paramount Chief-Oseedeayo Kwasi Akuffo II amid the thronging of crowd flouting the imposition of restriction on Public gathering.

Meanwhile, Akuapem North Municipal Security Council (MUSEC) has prescribed to Chiefs and Kingmakers in Akropong -Akuapem in the Eastern Region to hold on with all public traditional events that is likely to pull a crowd .

The Council has also directed that Nananom strictly adheres to social distancing and gathering protocols if the event is being done in private.

Akuapem North Municipality has recorded three(3) confirmed cases of coronavirus out of the total 87 recorded in the region as of May 2, 2020.

According to the Municipal Chief Executive for Akuapem North, Dennis Aboagye,” with this experience, any other activities that Nananom wants to perform, of course, the traditional chiefdom they are our partners and key stakeholders. So if there are additional activities they are going to perform, we need to have a conversation with them”

He continued that “If it is one that will be done in Privacy then, of course, there is no problem but the one that is likely to pull the sort of crowd we saw, then we will have conversation with Nananom as much as possible if they could or they should actually hold on with such public event that could draw so much crowd and put all of us our lives at risk.”

Source: Kasapafmonline.com