Charles Antwi receiving psychiatric treatment while in BNI custody 


Charles Antwi, the alleged gun man who carried a gun to President Mahama’s church at the Ringway Estate in Accra, with the intention to kill the president, is still in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), while, he undergoes treatment at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.

The move is also to forestall any attempt by Antwi to escape from the hospital since he has a record of having escaped a number of times from a mental treatment facility in the Brong Ahafo Region.

His lawyer, Mr Francis Xavier Sosu, who confirmed this to the Daily Graphic, said the arrangement was reached between the Ghana Mental Health Authority and the BNI following repeated statements from Antwi regarding his intention to kill the President and assume the seat of the presidency.

Mr Sosu said during medical interrogations at the hospital, Antwi indicated his repeated obsession to kill the President and to become president in order to better the lot of Ghanaians.

Mr Sosu said in his current state, Antwi is still a threat to national security, hence the need for him to be monitored.

He added, however, that the security being provided by the BNI is not the kind that make him a prisoner or someone being held for a criminal offence; it was rather to ensure that he adhered to the treatment regime and will not escape.

He said Antwi successfully received treatment last Thursday and yesterday at the hospital.

Mr Sosu said Antwi will continue with the current arrangement until his condition improved.

Antwi was summarily sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Accra Circuit Court for illegally possessing a gun but the sentence was seen to be harsh and attracted public backlash.

In August 7, 2015, counsel for Antwi filed a certiorari application at the Accra High Court, invoking the jurisdiction of the court to quash his conviction and sentence.

The application sought a declaration from the court to set aside the charges and entire proceedings of the case, as well as Antwi’s conviction and sentence.

His counsel argued that the court, presided over by Mr Justice Francis Obiri, committed an error in law when he took the plea of the applicant who was incapable of understanding what he was pleading for.

The court subsequently quashed the sentence and in granting the certiorari application also ordered his immediate release from the custody of the Ghana Prisons Service into the custody of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.

The release was to enable the 36-year-old Antwi undergo medical examination at the health facility to ascertain the state of his mind.

It may be recalled that in July 26, 2015, Antwi, who hails from Dadiesoaba in the Brong Ahafo Region, was found at the Ringway Gospel Assemblies of God Church in Accra fidgeting on a seat he was sitting.

A member of the congregation spotted him, and when a search was conducted on him, a locally made pistol and two rounds of ammunition were found on him.

Antwi was subsequently arrested to assist in investigations, in the course of which he admitted ownership of the gun and said he had bought it from a Burkinabe at Nkoranza in the Brong Ahafo Region.


SOURCE: Daily Graphic