Court records seen by Asaase News show that the National Democratic Congress former MP for Akwatia in the Eastern Region Baba Jamal secured bail in 2021 for five Chinese nationals he represented in court.
The five accused Chinese nationals were standing trail for galamsey offences they had committed.
The accused were identified as Chen Guibin, Lu Xiantsu, Yao Zengchan, Cheng Chun Rong and Xue Lianhua.
The bail application was signed and filed on 19 May 2021 by Baba Jamal. It was moved in court on 26 May 2022.
Bail was subsequently secured in Justice Comfort Tasiame’s court in August 2021.
The former NDC MP’s success in securing bail for his Chinese clients in 2021 has come to the fore following the announcement in court on 11 October 2022 that Freddie Blay, the immediate past chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and managing partner of Blay & Associates, is the lawyer for three Chinese nationals and one Vietnamese standing trial at the high court on galamsey-related charges.
The four accused are alleged to be accomplices of Aisha Huang, a Chinese national charged with galamsey-related offences by the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame.
The four accused who are represented by Freddie Blay’s law firm are Shi Yang (alias Philip), Li Wei Guo and Shi Mei Zhi and Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen (the Vietnamese national).
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday (12 October 2022), Blay said, “As professionals and officers of the law, it is our duty to defend the client who has been brought before court. That is exactly what the firm is doing.
“It’s unfortunate people want to make you look bad. Even criminals before court, or assumed criminals before court, should not be descended upon.”
According to Blay, his law firm does not support alleged illegal activities. “It doesn’t mean that the firm is supporting degradation and criminal activities of individuals, whether foreigners or Ghanaians.
“Our clients who are before the court at the moment are going through the judicial process or due process of the law. Our stance is that these individuals are not in any way connected to Aisha Huang.
“We are surprised that individuals, particularly those in the media, are coming out to say that … ‘If you defend such an individual then you are supporting a crime or you are against the efforts towards galamsey.’ That is absolutely wrong,” Blay said.
Wilberforce Asare
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