A tribunal on Wednesday denied bail for the fifth time to the accomplice of the Nissan Urvan bus driver accused of causing the death of four presidential guards on the Accra Tema motorway on October 29.
Tribunal Chairman Mr Ziblim Moru adjourned to December 20, the case of Samuel Cudjoe, mate, of the late driver Daniel Dawutey Chakitey. He died on Friday at the police hospital.
In his ruling, Mr Moru said his tribunal has no jurisdiction to try the case, and he earlier had advised Cudjoe's counsel to seek bail at a higher court. He said Cudjoe's counsel declined to do so.
"We as a court have to run minor errands for the high courts by remanding persons but have no jurisdiction to try certain charges levelled against accused persons," Mr Moru said.
The tribunal said the case has become a national issue, and he must depend on the Attorney General's (AG) office for advice.
Mr. Moru also refused defence counsel's request to release the Nissan Urvan bus, saying the AG's department might need the vehicle for further investigations.
Mr. John Klu, counsel for the two accused men, said in his application for bail on Tuesday for Cudjoe, that the police charge sheet did not specify what role he played in controlling the vehicle.
Cudjoe is charged with abetment of negligently causing harm and manslaughter. He is accused of being in the bus with driver Chakitey when the vehicle crossed the motor way, endangering the life of President Rawlings and causing a crash that killed four of his bodyguards.
Relatives and friends of the accused men sat through the hearing and left the court in dejection. The 30-year-old driver died from diarrhoea whiles in police custody, according to Dr. E. Owusu-Afriyie, medical director of the police hospital. Chakitey's family asked for a private inquest.
