New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Gushegu, Alhassan Sulemana Tampuli, has raised concerns about what he describes as the misuse of bail conditions in Ghana’s justice system, arguing that they are increasingly being applied in a punitive manner.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Tampuli said the pattern of enforcing bail conditions suggests that the process is no longer serving its intended purpose.
“It appears that bail is now more or less being weaponised, used as a weapon to oppress suspects or persons of interest with some very wondrous bail terms and conditions,” he stated.
He contrasted this trend with the operations of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), noting that its approach has historically not involved custodial demands.
“OSP, you will hardly find any instance where OSP will insist that somebody must be held in custody,” he said.
Tampuli also questioned the consistency of custodial decisions over the years, especially under the previous government.
“We were in this country for the eight years that NPP was in power. Can you mention one person who was held in custody because he couldn’t meet any bail conditions?” he asked.
He further criticised situations where individuals remain in custody despite the absence of financial loss linked to their cases.
“There are people who have been held in custody unrelated to any loss of money. Why are you still holding them in custody? What are you trying to recover from them?” he said.
