Arrest, detention, and restriction are globally accepted means of enforcing law and order. When you offend or breach public law, you encounter the Republic. It is not a private legal matter left to two individuals to decide how to remedy a breach of contract, whether by civil suit for damages or specific performance.
For instance, if I break a traffic regulation, hit and kill someone, the Republic deals with me. The ultimate goal is to ensure I do not pose a danger to other road users like you. If I am fortunate enough not to have harmed anyone in the process, the Republic may restrict my driving, require me to attend a refresher course, or undergo counselling—all in the interest of protecting others. The law does not allow me the option to hit and run, nor does it permit charges to be filed in my absence, never in the first instance.
Similarly, if I threaten, assault my neighbours, or engage in acts that endanger them, including environmental and economic crimes such as illegal mining (galamsey) and corruption, the State will not allow me to roam freely, continuing my unlawful actions. We do not live in a jungle where the strongest survive. My neighbours must not resort to vigilante justice—stoning my house or car, or attempting to kill me simply because they can.
Instead, the proper course of action is for me to be arrested, detained, or restricted by the police, always under the supervision of a court. In an orderly society, I will first be treated as a suspect, then as an accused person who is formally charged. The police or the court may grant me bail (which is a form of restriction) and allow me the opportunity to prove my innocence if my accusers fail to prove my guilt.
Our laws grant me the right to represent myself or be represented by a lawyer, but only after I have been charged. A person charged must enter a plea—guilty or not guilty—only in court. If the offence is a very minor one, one for the highest custodial sentence is just three months, the court (never the accused) has the discretion to allow a written plea or representation through a lawyer. This is only when I am pleading guilty, and the process happens within the courtroom, never elsewhere.
Personal attendance in criminal trials is never automatically dispensed with in Ghana or anywhere else. At the very least, arrest warrants, criminal summons, bail, and the issuance of bench warrants (during trials) serve as mechanisms to uphold this requirement.
We do not commence criminal proceedings with a trial in absentia. Legal systems exist to ensure justice is served, and mechanisms like INTERPOL are in place to prevent fugitives from escaping accountability. Society fails in its duty when individuals accused of taking another’s life are given the option to be tried in their absence, convicted only on paper, yet remain free in reality.
To order society properly, we must uphold due process, ensure fairness in legal proceedings, and prevent injustice from prevailing. Off to make some coins. Nice day.
Kwaku Azar
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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