East Legon murder: Court throws out bail application

The Accra High Court has refused a bail application by the 42-year-old businessman accused of killing his wife, Lilian Dedjoe, at their East Legon residence. 

The court presided over by Marilyn Wood on Tuesday, April 20, dismissed the application based on the severity of the case.

The judge held that since the charge of the accused person, Prince Charles Dedjoe, is that of murder, it is important the accused is kept in custody.

“I am not convinced that given the evidence and the severity of the case, the applicant will come to stand trial if granted bail. The application is hereby dismissed,” the judge said.

Mr Dedjoe is alleged to have assaulted his wife, which led to her death.

He has since March 10, this year, been detained at East Legon Police Station.

Bail application

Counsel for the accused Nkrabea Effah Darteh said the court had the power and authority to grant his client bail based on the Martin Kpebu case as per a Supreme Court ruling, citing Article 19.

He mentioned that the applicant has a fixed place of abode and lives in his own house at East Legon.

Mr Darteh made a case that the applicant is also the breadwinner of his small family.

He added that the accused had two wives, including the deceased and four children to take care of.

Engagement with the media after court proceedings at the last court sitting 

Father of the deceased Seth Charles Kanglah Blasu said he is happy the case had begun and was hopeful that justice would be served for his daughter.

The president of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Afua Addotey, and some gender activists thronged the Madina court in solidarity with the deceased and all women victims of such treatments.

She told the media that the fight was not for only Lilian but all women.

Mrs Addotey charged the investigation department to exhaust all possible means to conduct thorough investigations to ensure justice.

She used the opportunity to appeal to the president to strengthen the country’s social protection system to benefit survivors and victims of intimate partner violence, to enable them to attain an appreciable level of financial independence.

“It is critical for survivors of domestic violence and intimate partner violence to find a place that can provide them with shelter. This is a pressing need which is long overdue, and we call upon the new Gender Minister, Hon Adwoa Safo, to explore the possibility of making this a reality,” she added.

Some family members and sympathisers of the late Lilian Dodzi converged on the court’s premises.

Most of them were clad in black and red t-shirts, holding placards with inscriptions such as “Justice for Lilian”, “Stop domestic violence now!”

How it all started

On March 10, this year, a district court in Madina remanded in police custody Prince Charles Dedjoe, a businessman, suspected of killing his 43-year-old wife.

On Sunday, March 7, 2021, he was arrested for allegedly killing his wife in their residence at East Legon.

The accused person has been slapped with a murder charge.

The police report revealed that a day before the incident, the deceased’s father complained that his daughter had been severely assaulted by her husband (accused person).

But Mr Dedjoe, a day after the father-in-law’s report, reported his side of the story to the police.

“At about 3:20 am on the said day, he rushed out from bed upon hearing his wife scream only to find her lying unconscious on their staircase.

“He, together with his two children, quickly rushed her to the hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival,” according to the husband’s statement to the police.

Following the report, the suspect was arrested and detained.