There seems to be conflict about who represents Wontumi – Dr Kojo Asante – Nsemkeka
A Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has suggested internal disagreements within the New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s legal team regarding the detention of Bernard Antwi Boasiako.
Dr. Kojo Asante argues that this conflict over legal representation, which contributed to the prolonged detention of Wontumi by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), needs to be addressed.
Until Friday, his legal team had only been able to secure one surety.
Mr Appiah-Kubi, however, confirmed that despite having met all bail conditions, his client will not be going home yet due to a fresh legal application filed earlier in the day.
That other development was a motion filed by NPP’s Director of Legal Affairs, Gary Nimako, seeking a review of the bail conditions imposed on him by EOCO.
Speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, May 31, Dr. Asante noted that conflicting legal strategies from different NPP lawyers appear to have complicated efforts to secure Wontumi’s release.
“From what has happened with Andy Appiah Kubi and what Gary Nimako went to do, it seems like there is a conflict on who exactly is representing Wontumi, and that is what has complicated the matter,” he said.
Dr. Asante explained that while one legal team, led by Andy Appiah Kubi, had attempted to meet bail conditions set by EOCO, another faction within the NPP preferred a more aggressive legal challenge, deeming the detention unjust.
“Appiah Kubi was trying to meet the bail conditions—that was the strategy, as they felt confident they could meet the low condition. He thought that as of yesterday night, that could have been addressed. Then there was other legal representation, more from the party, who thought it was outrageous and wanted to challenge it, but they waited,” he stated.
The CDD-Ghana researcher speculated that this internal conflict within the NPP legal team may have inadvertently delayed Wontumi’s release, prolonging his stay in EOCO custody.