Kennedy Agyapong
Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, was yesterday arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court where he was charged with provocation of riot and offensive conduct in breach of the peace.
The MP, who has been accused of using intemperate language on radio, was initially charged with attempted treason genocide and terrorism but freed after the state attempted to have his trial at the High Court started afresh.
The accused person pleaded not guilty to the charges in a court presided over by Ebenezer Osei-Darko and has been granted self-cognizance bail while the case has been adjourned to July 23, 2012.
The chief state attorney in the case, Rexford Wiredu, who described the MP as a benevolent man who would not jump bail, said he was not opposed to bail.
Presenting the facts of the case, the state attorney told the court that the accused person was the MP for Assin North and owner of Oman FM, an Accra-based radio station located at Madina-Zongo Junction.
According to Mr Wiredu, on April 13, 2012, between 7am and 8am, the MP phoned into a newspaper review programme on Oman FM to make a contribution and got so incensed that he started inciting people to violence.
He said the MP said a gong-gong was caused to be beaten in the Biakoye Constituency of the Volta Region calling on minors to get out and register in the biometric voter registration exercise.
According to the attorney, Mr. Agyapong noted that the NPP was ready to do likewise in the Ashanti Region and the process destroyed altogether.
He stated that the owner of Oman FM said the police had failed to take action in some reported cases of violence against NPP members and called on all Akans and Ashantis to throw stones at anyone who entered their shops and lynch any police officer for their inaction.
Mr. Wiredu noted that the MP said Akans should beat Voltarians and Gas and referred to one case of a certain Mohammed Mumuni of Odododiodioo who was beaten by some perceived members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and added that he had declared war.
Frank Davies, counsel for the MP, prayed the court to grant bail to the MP as he would not abscond because he had all his businesses in the county including radio and a television station.
He said at the right time, they would prove to the court that the accused person could not have declared war on his own country and did not have the power to do so.
According to him, politicians always spoke in a context which was usually understood by people and noted that Agyapong did not incense anybody to go to war because he could not have declared war on his own country.
The judge upheld his submission and granted the accused person bail.
By Fidelia Achama
