After spending nearly 10 years in detention, Gregory Afoko, a prominent suspect in the 2015 murder of Adams Mahama, a former Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has been granted bail by the High Court in Accra.
The court set the bail amount at GH₵500,000, requiring two sureties, marking a significant turning point in a case that has stretched nearly a decade.
Afoko was arrested in 2015 and is accused of colluding with others to carry out a deadly acid attack on Mahama outside his residence in Bolgatanga.
While this bail decision represents progress for Afoko’s defence team, the trial is still underway as the state continues its prosecution.
This latest development comes four days after Gregory Afoko filed a bail application in the case in which he has been accused of conspiring with the convict, Asabke Alangdi, to murder Adams Mahama.
Background on Afoko’s legal case
Charges
Alangdi, who has already been convicted on the charge of conspiracy, has pleaded not guilty to murder in the case in which four women and three men have been empanelled to serve as jurors.
The two, Alangdi and Afoko, faced trial together.
In April 2024, a seven-member jury of a court, presided over by Justice Merley Afua Wood, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge, returned a final verdict that unanimously found Asabke Alangdi guilty on the charge of conspiring with Gregory Afoko to kill Mahama in 2015, but returned a 4-3 verdict of not guilty on the charges of conspiracy to commit murder and murder for Afoko.
By the verdict, the two were not guilty of the offence of murder. Alangdi was, however, found guilty of the offence of conspiracy to commit murder; thus, the court proceeded to pass the mandatory sentence of death on him. He has since appealed the decision.
The brief facts of the case were that on May 14, 2015, Gregory’s brother, Paul Afoko, and Kwabena Agyepong, then National Chairman and General Secretary, respectively, of the NPP, arrived in Bolgatanga for a meeting.
It stated that the deceased organised some thugs to violently attack the two, scuttling the planned meeting at the Azumsolon Guest House for campaigning against the then flag bearer of the party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and also for not notifying him of the meeting.
According to the prosecution, the situation was later brought under control by the police. The accused, who was then upset, confronted Mahama but was chased out by some thugs.
Another group
It also noted that Gregory and Asabke formed another youth group in their bid to protect persons perceived to be against Nana Akufo-Addo.
It said the accused persons held a series of meetings with the youth, and on May 20, 2015, they laid ambush at Mahama’s residence with a substance suspected to be acid.
“The deceased returned home around 11:10 p.m. in his pick-up vehicle with registration number NR 761–14. Immediately after he parked the vehicle in front of his house, the suspects went close and signalled him to roll down the glass,” the prosecution claimed.
“The deceased identified the suspects to be party members and rolled down the glass to talk to them.
“Suddenly, the suspects poured the substance, suspected to be acid, on his head, face, and other parts of his body and fled on a motorbike.
“The deceased started screaming for help, and his wife, Hajia Zenabu Adams, went to his aid and managed to bring him out of the vehicle,” the prosecution added.
Injuries
According to the prosecution, Mahama’s wife also sustained burns on the right side of her chest and breast while assisting her husband.
It said when she enquired about what had happened to her husband, he told her that Gregory and Asabke had attacked him.
Mahama died while being airlifted to Accra for treatment. Gregory, who was later picked up, led the police to Asabke’s father’s house.
The police later located Asabke’s house, but he had then absconded with his wife, abandoning their baby in the process.
A post-mortem report on Mahama said he died of shocked lungs and extensive acid burns.
