Baffoe-Bonnie Explains Atta Ayi's 70-Year Sentence: “My Family Will be the First He Will Attack”
- The Chief Justice nominee, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has explained the harsh sentence he gave to armed robber Atta Ayi
- Baffoe-Bonnie explained that judges sometimes exercise discretion to address the broader context of a case
- Atta Ayi led a robbery crew that terrorised parts of the Greater Accra Region in the late 1990s and early 2000s
Chief Justice nominee Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie explained the lengthy 70-year prison sentence he handed down to notorious criminal, Ayi Ayeetey, aka Atta Ayi.
He told Parliament’s Appointments Committee on November 11 his reasoning for the sentencing was self-preservation.
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Baffoe-Bonnie emphasised that while sentencing guidelines provide a framework, judges must sometimes exercise discretion to address the broader context of a case.
“The judges and magistrates, they are trained. They have sentencing guidelines. But sometimes they have to go beyond it. In my youthful days, I gave somebody 70 years, Atta Ayi."
"I gave him 70 years. And what I told myself was that if Atta Ayi was given 30 years and he comes back, my family will be the first he will attack. So by the time he comes back after 70 years, I will be dead and gone,” he said lightheartedly to laughter in the audience.
In comments on the nominee's comments, Shafic Osman, a lawyer, expressed concern with the reasoning of the man set to oversee the judiciary.
Osman stressed the importance of fidelity to the rule of law, regardless of personal fears.
"The Chief Justice cannot be seen to be excusing udges who sentence by resorting to their own biases and not the sentencing guidelines that cabin their discretion."
Ataa Ayi was once considered Ghana's most notorious criminal.
His crimes sparked high-profile manhunts, with police mounting billboards bearing his image across several regions.
After months of pursuit, Ataa Ayi was arrested in his hideout at Teshie Tsui Bleo, a suburb of Accra, along with his girlfriend, who was suspected of being an accomplice.
He was convicted in 2005 on multiple counts of armed robbery and related offences and sentenced to 70 years’ imprisonment.
His arrest and trial marked a breakthrough in Ghana’s fight against violent crime.
Ataa Ayi’s mechanic freed after wrongful conviction
In June, reported that a Court of Appeal in Accra acquitted and discharged Yaw Asante Agyekum, who was wrongly convicted in 2002 as an alleged accomplice of robber Ataa Ayi.
Agyekum had served 23 years of a 35-year sentence for conspiracy to commit robbery before the court ruled that he had been wrongfully convicted.
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GBC news reported that Agyekum had been convicted of the crime of conspiracy to commit murder.
Agyekum, however, appealed the sentence with his lawyers, arguing that the prosecution was not able to link their client to any of the crimes.
Upon appeal, the Court of Appeal agreed with the lawyers of Agyekum, who had no legal representation when he was convicted, and set aside the conviction.
Controversy at Chief Justice nominee's vetting
YEN.com.gh reported that Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin's attempt to criticise the processes to vet Baffoe-Bonnie held up the process by about three hours.
Afenyo-Markin and the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, clashed indirectly because of his view that the nominee is disputed.
Objections to Afenyo-Markin's remarks led to his leading a walkout of the Minority members on the Appointments Committee.
Source: YEN.com.gh
