OKYERE AND ANOTHER v. THE REPUBLIC

In this post‑conviction bail application, HAYFRON‑BENJAMIN J considered whether the second and third accused should be admitted to bail pending appeal after their convictions on multiple offences and concurrent sentences. The court revisited Ghanaian appellate bail jurisprudence from State v. Owusu and State v. Halm, acknowledging exceptional circumstances and delay as bases for bail, and recognized additional constitutional constraints under the 1969 Constitution. Because the registry had failed to prepare the record, contrary to article 20(3), the judge held the Republic could not rely on the absence of notes of evidence to oppose bail. Most critically, the trial judge’s adverse comments on the accuseds’ silence raised a prima facie breach of article 20(10) and the right against self‑incrimination. Treating such breaches as themselves miscarriages of justice, the court added a new principle: where there is a probable infringement of article 20 rights during trial, bail pending appeal should be granted, regardless of sentence length. Bail was granted to both applicants with specified sureties.