Attorney General (AG), Godfred Yeboah Dame, has initiated substantial measures to address the situation involving Joshua Amankwa, a 25-year-old who was taken into custody by Kasoa Walantu police for verbally abusing them during a standard search procedure.
With effective effort, the Attorney General managed to obtain bail for Joshua Amankwa, who had been found guilty of verbally attacking police officers during a search of him and fellow passengers in a taxi, despite no evidence of wrongdoing being discovered.
On July 30, 2023, the event transpired, leading to the subsequent presentation of Joshua Amankwa before the magistrate court in Akweley, Kasoa. He faced charges of Offensive Conduct under section 207 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), prompted by a formal complaint lodged by police officers affiliated with the divisional operation unit in Kasoa.
Surprisingly, Joshua Amankwa was convicted without any prior notice or consultation with the Attorney General’s department for advice. Upon learning of this conviction, Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame took swift action. The AG according to a report by Asaaseradio.com has instructed the Central Region office of the AG’s department to appeal against the conviction and secure bail for the convicted individual while the appeal process is underway.
As a result of these efforts, Joshua Amankwa has been granted bail. The Attorney General’s department is actively working to serve the court’s bail order to the police. Furthermore, the AG’s department intends to proceed with the appeal, seeking to overturn Joshua Amankwa’s conviction.
The incident leading to Joshua Amankwa’s arrest involved police officers stationed at the Divisional Operation unit in Kasoa conducting a routine stop and search on a taxi cab along the Kasoa-Nyanyano main road. Despite finding nothing incriminating on the passengers, including Joshua Amankwa, he reacted with aggression and hurled insults at the officers. He used derogatory language, including calling the officers “foolish people” and making threats related to their work.
Additionally, Joshua Amankwa’s response escalated to invoking deities and placing curses on the officers.
This led to his 12 months sentence by His Worship Stephen Ofori Akrasi, the presiding Magistrate