Transport operator granted GH¢50,000 bail for allegedly hiring men to threaten Ashanti GPRTU chairman

A transport operator has been granted bail by the Asokwa Circuit Court in Kumasi after being accused of allegedly hiring individuals to threaten the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) in connection with an ongoing dispute within the union.

The accused, 55-year-old Hamisu Ibrahim, appeared before the court on a charge of abetment of crime threatening life, contrary to Sections 20(1) and 74 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

According to the prosecution, the case stems from a longstanding disagreement between the complainant, Sumaila Boakye Mohammed, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GPRTU, and some members of the union, including Ibrahim.

Police prosecutor ASP Stephen Ofori told the court that the dispute has already resulted in civil litigation currently pending before the High Court in Kumasi.

The complainant reportedly lodged a complaint with the Ashanti Regional Criminal Investigations Department, alleging that he had been subjected to harassment and intimidation.

The prosecution said that on March 27, 2026, while attending a court hearing related to the dispute, the complainant allegedly spotted Ibrahim in the company of four unidentified men at the court premises.

According to police, on April 1, 2026, one of the men, identified as Mubarak Suleman, allegedly approached the complainant and disclosed that Ibrahim had contracted him and three others to intimidate and threaten him into withdrawing the pending civil case.

ASP Ofori told the court that Suleman claimed the group ultimately did not carry out the alleged plan because the complainant was at the court premises on the day they were expected to act.

Following investigations, police arrested Ibrahim.

The prosecution further stated that in a caution statement given in the presence of an independent witness, Ibrahim admitted engaging Suleman and the three other individuals.

However, Ibrahim denied hiring them to threaten the complainant. He reportedly told investigators that the men had been engaged to stand as sureties for another GPRTU member and not to intimidate the regional chairman.

Presiding judge Her Honour Vida Achia Yeboah granted the accused bail in the sum of GH¢50,000 with two sureties.

The court also ordered Ibrahim and his sureties to deposit their identification cards with the court. In addition, the accused is required to report to the police twice every month pending the determination of the case.

The matter has been adjourned to June 23, 2026, for further proceedings.

Police say investigations are continuing as the case progresses through the courts.

المصدر: MyJoyOnline (GH)