A District Court in Mamponteng, in the Kwabre East Municipality, has granted bail in the sum of GH¢50,000 to a student of the Osei Kyeretwie Senior High School (OKESS) who is at the centre of a police investigation for unlawful possession of a firearm.
The court, presided over by Natacha Abena Tuffour, also granted GH¢30,000 bail to the student’s stepfather, Daniel Owusu Baafi, 16, whom the student claimed was the owner of the weapon.
The bail was granted on condition that each accused provides two sureties.
One of the sureties for the student must be a government employee or a senior staff member earning no less than GH¢4,000 monthly. The same condition applies to the stepfather, though the income threshold for his surety is GH¢3,000.
Their pleas were not taken by the court.
According to police prosecutors, the incident occurred on May 14, 2025, when an assistant headmaster of the school discovered the student (name withheld) in possession of a locally manufactured pistol while on campus.
The student was promptly handed over to the police.
Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of the student’s stepfather, who is a pastor.
The two were initially granted police enquiry bail before being formally charged under Section 192 of Ghana’s Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), which prohibits the unlawful possession of firearms.
The police, however, told the court on Wednesday that the stepfather denied ownership of the weapon, stating in his caution statement that the pistol belonged to his late uncle, who passed away a year ago.
He claimed the firearm had been kept in his uncle’s room, which the student later occupied and from which he allegedly retrieved the weapon.
The court has adjourned proceedings to June 17, 2025.
Source: GNA