Okatakyei Afrifa-Mensah was arrested by the police
George Oppong, lawyer for media personality, Okatakyie Afrifa-Mensah, has accused the police of deliberately frustrating efforts to secure bail for his client and others arrested in connection with chaotic incident during the NPP constituency executive elections at Afigya Sekyere East.
Speaking in a snippet from an interview, sighted by GhanaWeb on July 15, 2026, the legal team indicated that they initially appeared before the Mampong District Court to seek bail, but the court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.
Watch Afrifa-Mensah in handcuffs as he is transferred to Mampong Divisional Police
He said the accused persons were subsequently released and immediately re-arrested by the police.
“We came to seek for bail for our client and the others who were arrested by the police. We first went to the District Court at Mampong but the court does not have jurisdiction to preside over the case. They were released and rearrested by the police,” he said.
Oppong further explained that after his client was taken to the Nsuta Circuit Court, the case could not be heard because the presiding judge was unwell.
He said his client will remain in police custody until they return to court on Friday, July 17, 2026.
“He was brought by the police to court but we are being told that the Nsuta Circuit Court judge isn’t in good health condition and so he cannot preside over the case. The courts won't sit tomorrow and obviously, we may have to come back on Friday,” he stated.
The lawyer alleged that the developments were part of a deliberate attempt to delay the judicial process.
He argued that there were several circuit courts in the Ashanti Region that could have handled the matter.
“This is a deliberate attempt to frustrate the system. There are so many courts in the Ashanti Region… there are a lot of Circuit Courts around but they are employing that tactics. If you have the police commander who is the complainant of the case, he is employing all the tactics to frustrate the system. The wheel of justice grinds slowly but we shall surely have our day in court,” he added.
Oppong added that his legal team is considering other legal options to secure the release of their client.
“We have other options including filing a bail application at the High Court,” he said.
The police in an earlier statement on July 13, 2026, Afrifa-Mensah, aged 43, was arrested together with six others to assist with investigations.
According to the police, the incident occurred at about 7:45 am on Sunday, July 12, 2026, at the SDA Church polling station.
The police said Afrifa-Mensah allegedly led a group of about 30 macho men to the polling station, where they confronted security personnel.
“When security personnel engaged the group to ascertain the purpose of their presence, they became aggressive, attacked the police, and disrupted the electoral process by throwing electoral materials onto the ground,” the statement said.
The police said Afrifa-Mensah, whom they described as the suspected ring leader, was arrested along with six others, while the remaining members of the group fled the scene.
“The suspected ring leader, Kwame Afrifa-Mensah, together with Six (6) others, were swiftly arrested to assist with investigations, while the remaining members of the group escaped. Efforts are underway to arrest the other suspects,” the statement added.
Preliminary investigations, according to the police, indicate that Afrifa-Mensah claimed some of his supporters had been sidelined in the electoral process and that he had secured an interlocutory injunction to stop the election.
However, the police said neither they nor the Electoral Commission received any court order directing that the election be suspended.
Police break silence on arrest of Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah
“Preliminary investigations indicates that, suspect Kwame Afrifa-Mensah claimed that some of his supporters had been side-lined in the electoral process and that he had obtained an interlocutory injunction to halt the elections. However, neither the Electoral Commission nor the Police received any court order or injunction directing that the elections be suspended,” the statement noted.
MAG/VPO
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