Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Ekumfi, a former Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢10 million.
In addition to the bail he is to provided two sureties that are to be justified with landed properties registered in Accra.
He is also to deposit his traveling passports to the registry of the court and report to the case investigator once a week until the final determination of the case.
The sureties, the Court presided over by Justice Comfort Tasiame, said should deposit copies of their passports and location of the digital address to investigators.
He faces charges, including willfully causing financial loss to the state amounting to $2 million, in relation to the Sky Train project together with former Chief Executive of GIIF, Solomon Asamoah.
Motion
In Court on Monday, May 26, 2025, while moving an application for bail, Aaron Sasu, Counsel for 80-year-old Prof. Ameyaw-Ekumfi, expounded on the credentials of the second accused.
Counsel said Prof. Ameyaw-Ekumfi, the distinguished academic, had devoted over 50 years of his life to public service in Ghana.
It was the submission of counsel that the accused is a person of sufficient means and “that is why it is important to establish that he was a former Minister of Education, former lecturer and Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, former Minister of Harbors, Ports, and Railways under former President John Agyekum Kufuor, former Member of Parliament, and former board chairman of state institutions, including GIIF and the Public Procurement Authority.”
Counsel submitted that, at 80 years, Prof. Ekumfi faces significant health challenges that require more attention.
To buttress his point, he said he had undergone a medical surgery that affects his mobility, and it is evidenced in documents shared with the prosecution.
Counsel again submitted that he had also recently undergone a medical procedure to address a heart condition, evidenced in his medical report, in which the doctors have described him as a known “hypertensive” who needs consistent monitoring.
These health circumstances, Counsel said, “will make a denial of bail particularly burdensome and potentially dangerous to his well-being.”
“The 2nd Accused has demonstrated his unwavering commitment to the legal process and to NIB, and even when, as an 80-year-old, he subjected himself to interrogation lasting up to six hours and has made himself available for subsequent invitations.
“To the 2nd Accused, he must go through this process to preserve his integrity after over 50 years of public service.
“Prof. Ameyaw-Ekumfi is not a flight risk; he maintains a permanent house at Pokuase,” except on medical grounds when he had to travel outside the country.
Self-recognizance
Counsel said the 2nd Accused had his passport in court and “is willing to surrender it as a condition for bail.”
While we understand the temptation of applying the same bail sum as the first accused, the conditions of bail are individualistic.
Counsel stated that his client had fully cooperated with investigative authorities and “counsel respectfully prays that bail be granted to the 2nd Accused on a self-recognizance or on such reasonable terms that the court may deem fit.”
“To detain an 80-year-old statesman in these health conditions would be to risk punishment before conviction, which is contrary to both the justice and spirit of the constitution,” the lawyer for Prof. Ameyaw-Ekumfi prayed the court.
AG’s no opposition
Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, while responding to the argument for bail for Prof. Ameyaw-Ekumfi, said, “We are not opposed to bail.”
But for the record, he said, “we were handed two documents by counsel for the 2nd Accused this morning (Monday, May 26), as we entered the court.”
The Deputy AG said the first document was dated May 13, 2025, asking for rest for the 2nd Accused, and the rest was to end on May 14, 2025, last week.
On the second document, the Deputy AG said it is almost a year old (dated June 28, 2024).
“We have read the documents and we have also heard the submission of counsel; we (prosecution) pray your Ladyship that the same bail conditions which your Ladyship gave to the 1st Accused (Solomon Asamoah) be given to the 2nd Accused, except that for the reporting (to investigators), we will pray that rather than three times a week, it will rather be once a week,” the Deputy AG submitted.
EIB Network’s Legal Affairs Correspondent, Murtala Inusah, reports the Kennedy Agyapong, who was present in Court is one of Prof. Ameyaw-Ekumfi’s sureties.
The case has been adjourned to June 10, 2025.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Murtala Inusah
