Man, who slapped Regional Minister after blocking road, granted GHS50k bail

A 61-year-old retired computer programmer who slapped the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Henry Quartey, in traffic after threatening to kill him, has been granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court.

Nii Odoi Kwao II a.k.a. Robert Koomson was granted bail in the sum of GHS 50,000 with three sureties who are family members.

This was after the accused person had been remanded for six days by the court.

Charged with causing road obstruction, the threat of death, assault on a public officer and offensive conduct conducive to the breach of the peace, Koomson, a family head of the Minister, has pleaded not guilty.

Meanwhile, the Court presided over by Mr Samuel Bright Acquah has stressed the need for the Minister’s security to be changed, following the alleged slap.

Prosecution led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Evans Kesse earlier on narrated that the complainant in the case was a Police officer stationed at VVIP.

ASP Kesse said the accused person resided at Osu in Accra.

The prosecution said on December 8, at about 1:10 pm, the Minister, Henry Quartey together with his security details were visiting Osu.

It said on reaching a section of the road at Osu, the Minister observed that the accused person had blocked the road with his KIA Bongo with registration number GM 129- 17, preventing the Regional Minister and the road users to access the road.

The prosecution said the complainant signalled the accused to give way to the Regional Minister to other road users to access the road to the other side, but the accused refused to move his vehicle and retorted that “Nobody can access the road unless he finishes with what he was doing.”

It said the action of the accused person created a heavy traffic jam on that stretch of the road.

Based on that, the prosecution said the Regional Minister decided to advise the accused person to move his car from the road, but the accused ignored the Regional Minister.

It said the Regional Minister confronted the accused person but the accused person became violent and threatened that if the Regional got closer to him, he would kill him.

The prosecution said the accused persons got angry and rained insults on the Regional Minister, that he was a thief and he had stolen state money and was moving freely.

It said the accused abandoned his KIA Bongo in the middle of the road, blocked the road and removed the ignition key and kept same in his pocket, rushed to the Regional Minister, and slapped him.

The prosecution said the security detail of the Regional Minister swiftly arrested the accused person and handed him over to the Regional CID, Accra.

It said during investigations, the accused person admitted the offence in his caution statement.