An Accra Criminal Court has adjourned the third retrial of Gregory Afoko’s murder case to April 7, 2025.
Afoko, who has been on remand for nearly a decade at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, is currently out on GHS 500,000 bail, while his co-accused, Asabke Alangdi, remains on death row.
The adjournment was granted following a request from the prosecution, with the court agreeing to proceed on the new date, provided that the seven-member jury is duly constituted.
Afoko is facing trial for the 2015 murder of the former Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Adams Mahama. Mahama succumbed to fatal acid burns after being attacked at the entrance of his Bolgatanga residence. Before his death, he reportedly identified Afoko and Alangdi as his assailants.
In April 2024, a seven-member jury unanimously convicted Alangdi of conspiracy but acquitted Afoko of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, delivering a split verdict.
Presided over by Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, the court is set to begin the third retrial once all outstanding matters regarding jury selection are resolved before the next hearing date.
Background
On February 24, an Accra High Court granted Gregory Afoko bail in the sum of GHS 500,000 for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to commit murder. Afoko, the younger brother of former NPP Chairman Paul Afoko, was accused of plotting with the convicted Asabke Alangdi to kill Adams Mahama, the former Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
As part of the bail conditions, Afoko is required to provide two sureties, one of whom must be justified.
His legal team had previously filed two unsuccessful bail applications before submitting a fresh request on February 17, 2025. This marked his third attempt to secure bail after spending nearly a decade in custody.
Arrested in 2015, Afoko was accused of orchestrating a fatal acid attack on Adams Mahama outside his residence in Bolgatanga. The trial, which began in 2019, concluded in 2023, but the jury returned a hung verdict on both counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder against him.
As a result, the court ordered a retrial. Afoko was re-arrested and denied bail after the initial proceedings, but with the recent ruling, he has now been granted bail ahead of his third retrial.
