¢1 billion bail for Tibu-Darko

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Prince Tibu-Darko, the Tema based businessman, standing trial for the exportation of 3,700 kilogrammes of cocaine to Europe was yesterday granted a ¢1 billion bail with two sureties to be justified by an Accra Fast Track High Court.

The court presided over by Justice Jones Dotse who also a Court of Appeal ordered Tibu-Darko, 49, to surrender his passport and all travelling documents to the court’s registry and asked him to report to the investigator of the case every Wednesday.

Additionally, the court asked the Medical Officer in charge of Tibu-Darko, who is currently on admission at the Nyaho Medical Centre, a private clinic in Accra, to inform the Registrar of the court anytime he (Tibu-Darko) is discharged or in the event of a transfer to another health facility.

Explaining the reasons for the grant of bail, the judge said the prosecution had failed to gather the necessary facts needed to prosecute the case, saying “the charge preferred against the accused is so serious that there must be concrete facts attached to it”.

He said even though Section 97 of the Criminal Procedure Code 1960 had been amended by Act 714 in order that bail is not granted to people who are arrested for narcotic offences, the law did not specify the conditions under which the court exercised its discretion in the grant of bail.

“If the prosecution is not able to gather all credible materials needed to prosecute the case within a reasonable time then the court’s hand cannot be tied to this new Act with respect to the exercise of its discretion in the grant of bail”.

The court further held that in any trial the facts must correspond with the charges preferred against an accused person “but in this case the charges cannot support the facts as expected”.

The judge further said since investigations into the case commenced the prosecution had failed to name the European country where the accused exported the cocaine to, name the way in which the accused made the export and the officials who effected the arrest and interception of the vessel.

“All this shows that the prosecution is not ready to furnish the court with the facts”.

The prosecution led by Mrs. Yvonne A. Obuobisah, a Senior State Attorney onDecember 21, indicated to the court that they were no longer opposed to the grant of bail to the accused person due to the fact that he (Tsibu-Darko) was indisposed.

She had also submitted that they were still investigating the matter saying “there has been a little difficulty in our investigations because we have to go beyond the territorial waters of Ghana”.


They therefore asked the court to exercise its discretion in granting the bail and the setting of conditions that would ensure that Tibu-Darko come back to stand trial.

Gabriel Pwamang and Yonnie Kulendi,counsel for Tibu-Darko then renewed their application for bail on the grounds that the continuous detention of the accused without any trial was against his rights and also had affected his health.

The court said the prosecution was served with the application but did not challenge the facts presented by counsel.


Tsibu-Darko has pleaded not guilty to one count of carrying out prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs.

He appeared for the first at an Accra Circuit Court on August 16, and has since been on remand.

On November 22, the prosecution entered a "Nolle Prosequi" (unwilling to pursue) in the case. He was however, re-arrested soon after and arraigned him before the Fast Track Court on November 23, last year.