Counsel, prosecution lock horns over Medikal’s gun

The Ruger nine-millimetre pistol belonging to Ghanaian musician, Samuel Adu Frimpong, aka Medikal, was the subject of a tussle between the musician’s lawyer and the prosecution at the Circuit Court last Monday.

The rapper, who is facing a charge of displaying arms and ammunition in a public place, had filed a motion to compel the police to release the gun, which was seized at the time of his arrest.

The counsel, Mr Bobby Benson, argued that the said gun was lawfully acquired by Medikal and as such must be released for his (Medikal’s) personal protection and use.

Mr Benson said the charge against his client was not unlawful possession of the pistol, stressing that the prosecution had not demonstrated that it would rely on the pistol for the trial.

“The evidence before the court is the display of the gun and not the gun itself.

“If the prosecution seeks to rely on a picture of the gun and a video footage of Medikal using the gun, they can do so without necessarily bringing the gun to court,” counsel submitted.

“The accused has a young family, and if tomorrow they are attacked and do not have any way of protecting themselves, what excuse will the prosecutor give this court?”

The continuous detention of the pistol, he said, was in breach of the musician’s right to own the gun.

Application opposed

An Assistant State Attorney, Mr Samuel Adu-Gyamfi, opposed the application and premised his argument on the grounds that the gun in question was a subject matter of the offence, and that the gun was of evidential essence in a trial pending before the court.

“Among the things disclosed to the defence is the gun in question,” he said.

It was the submission of the prosecution that Medikal had not demonstrated to the court why the gun should be released to him when he was standing trial for a criminal offence which involved the gun.

“How do we release this evidence if it will amount to interfering with the trial?” he asked.

The presiding judge, Mr Emmanuel Esaandoh, adjourned the matter to Monday, February 21, 2022, for ruling.

Prosecution’s facts

The facts before the court are that in September last year, the popular musician displayed a Ruger 9mm pistol and posted the video on his Snapchat social media platform while in his car and without any reasonable excuse.

The prosecution said the video went viral.

On October 21, 2021, the police arrested the musician and handed him to the Regional Criminal Investigations Department for investigation.

The rapper, according to the prosecution, admitted the offence in his caution statement.