By sheer coincidence, at a time two top showbiz personalities Shatta Wale and Medikal are on prison remand for various alleged offenses, a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana, Justice Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi has said remand should not be used as a form of punishment within the judicial system.
The learned Justice Kulendi was speaking at the introduction of media ambassadors for the Ghana Case Tracking System (GCTS) in Accra on Thursday, October 21, 2021 where he asked some questions about bail conditionalities some courts impose on suspects and the idea of remand within the judicial system of Ghana.
Justice Kulendi said remand ought to be for people who among other reasons pose flight risk and should not be a form of punishment for people suspected of having committed a crime.
Justice Kulendi raised issues with some judges who he said needlessly remanded people in police and prison custody when such suspects could have been granted bail.
“A judge can grant bail in the sum of GH¢100,000 with three sureties, two to be justified and two of them must be civil servants. Which law says that one has to be a civil servant to bail an accused person?” he queried.
Justice Kulendi further said that bail conditions, unnecessary remand, coupled with extortion and corruption in the criminal justice system demonstrated how unfair and wicked people could be towards their fellow human beings.
The GCTS system is an integrated case tracking, information and notification system that allows all the major players in the criminal justice system to keep abreast of the status of criminal cases right from the police station until final judgement by the law courts.
Source: MyNewsGh
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