Release Shatta Wale’s phone – Court to police
Shatta Wale
An Accra Circuit Court 4 judge, Mr Emmanuel Essandor, has ordered the police to release the mobile phones of dancehall artiste Shatta Wale and his three teammates.
The phones were seized by the police after the four men were arrested for staging a shooting hoax on his birthday, 18 October 2021.
Their lawyer, Mr Jerry Avenoorgbo, argued in court on Tuesday, 9 November 2021 that his clients heavily depend on their mobile phones as entertainers, thus, the continuous seizure of the gadgets is detrimental to their livelihood.
In his view, all the evidential materials needed for the police to conduct its investigation are on social media, therefore, going into his clients’ phones would only serve to breach their privacy.
In his ruling, the judge said: “It is not the work of the defence to help the prosecution to do their case”.
“After all, the accused is presumed innocent until proven otherwise”.
“The phones of the accused should be released to them”, he ordered.
He noted that the “alleged offences were allegedly made on social media.”
The prosecutor of the case, Chief Inspector Dennis Terpketey, informed the court that the police is after another fugitive suspect in connection with the case, adding that fresh evidence gathered by the police could change the whole case.
The case has been adjourned to 7 December 2021.
