The Tarkwa District Court B has seen 51 people who are accused of attacking Golden Star Wassa Limited (GSWL) workers and destroying a number of the business’s properties.
The accused individuals who were detained in groups have not had their sworn declarations heard.
In order for the ongoing investigations to be completed, the Prosecutor, Superintendent of Police Juliana Essel-Dadzie, pleaded with the court presided over by Judge Isaac Osei Asare to hold the accused individuals for two weeks.
Given the amount of people detained thus far, she said that releasing anyone on bond would obstruct their investigation, adding, “We need more time to look into the situation. This will enable us to focus our efforts on those responsible for the crime while releasing the innocent.
Superintendent Essel-Dadzie informed the court that the accused would be charged with conspiracy to conduct crime as well as other offenses.
Bright Baiden and Jacob Acquah-Sampson, the attorneys for eight of the defendants, pleaded with the judge to release their clients on bond.
“Our clients have been in police custody for some time, and given their officers’ intelligence and skill, they ought to have finished their investigation. They appealed with the court, “Our clients, give the income that their individual families need to exist, and life is becoming terrible for them.”
Justice Isaac Osei Asare announced that he would make a decision regarding the bail application on Friday, April 14, 2023 after hearing from both parties.
The court further ordered that all of the defendants be held in prison pending a retrial on the same day.
The Ghana News Agency (GNA) was informed by the Group Corporate Affairs Manager of GSWL, Mr. Gerard Boakye, who was present in court with a few employees, that “we have not gotten into the case yet primarily because the police requested for more time to engage the suspects because the first set of suspects they arrested paved the way to apprehend more, so I think all is in line with ensuring that people are not wrongful judged.”
We are a law-abiding corporation that also believes in people’s human rights and works and fights for those rights, so we are not troubled that the law will run its course, he continued.
In response to unlawful mining activities at one of the company’s concessions, some illegal miners from Subriso in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality of the Western Region attacked GSWL employees on March 16, 2023.
The illegal miners burned down 12 vehicles, including excavators, ambulances, land cruisers, pick-up trucks, and a portion of the company’s administrative building. They also injured some workers and broke the windscreens of 22 dumper trucks.