Obour Congratulates President Mahama

The President of MUSIGA, Bice Osei Kuffuor has congratulated His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, the President elect.

“On my own behalf and on the behalf of the National Executive Council and the general membership of the Musicians Union of Ghana, I wish to congratulate you on your election to the number one office of our great country Ghana.”

We the Musicians Union of Ghana strongly believe and abide by democratic principles and therefore congratulate you for playing by the rules of engagement and coming on top as the President Elect.

It is our fervent hope and prayer that The Good Lord will continue to grant you the needed strength and knowledge to steer the affairs of this country.

 We have no doubt in your ability to excel and promise you our full support as a Union in helping to make Ghana a prosperous Nation where every citizen counts. May The Good Lord bless us all.

 

Betty instructed Ministry to pay Woyome - first witness

Ms Mangowa Ghanney, a legal officer at the Legal Department of the Ministry Of Finance and Economic Planning, yesterday told the Accra Financial High Court that the former Attorney General (AG), Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, wrote to the Ministry on two occasions instructing them to make payments to Mr Alfred Agbesi Woyome.

Ms Ghanney, the first witness to be called by the state prosecutors, in her evidence told the court that in March 2010 her Sector Minister referred a letter to her to follow up on. According to her, “The letter was from the AG, instructing the Ministry to pay a settlement amount to Mr Alfred Woyome.”

She said she prepared a memo to the Minister, with a summary of the AG’s letter which stated that two per cent of an amount should be paid to Mr Woyome. She added that she calculated the said percentage, which was a little over €22 million, and forwarded it to the Minister for his consideration and authorisation of payment.

Ms Cynthia Lamptey, principal state attorney, who led the evidence in court, asked Ms Ghanney if she made some observations when she was dealing with the letter. Ms Ghanney in her response told the court that she observed that there was no contract between the government and Mr Woyome after a quick glance through a folder she picked in her office.

She added that she also found a letter which stated that Mr Woyome was going to provide some services to the government and that the government had no obligation to pay him.

She further told the court that she did not give any advice in that regard in her memo to the Minister and that she had less than a day to work on the said letter, adding, “Even though there was no contract, other lawyers from the AG’s department and her office concluded that there was a basis for the payment.”

Ms Ghanney, however, told the court that the payment was not made due to a reverse made by the Minister and the questioning of the payment by a lady called Mary at the Treasury Department of the Ministry.

According to her, Mary told one Mrs Angela Herman, a legal officer with the Ministry, that she had discovered that two people were entitled to the payment – Astro Investment and Mr Woyome – and that she was not sure of whom to make the payment to and that aside that there was no record of any contract.

She told the court how she was called for the second time to handle a settlement with Mr Woyome and his lawyer in connection with a second letter from the AG instructing the Ministry of Finance to pay a default judgement dept of GH¢51 million to Mr Woyome.

She recounted how she, together with Mr Woyome and his lawyer, went to the Director of Budget, Mr S.P. Kyei, for the payment. She added that Mr Kyei told Mr Woyome that it would be impossible for the Ministry to pay the entire money at a go and suggested that the money would be paid in three instalments: GH¢17 million each to be paid over three months.

She told the court she remembered that Mr Woyome and his lawyers told the director that if the money was not paid in three months as promised they would make a demand for late payment.

Ms Ghanney in her cross-examination by the Defence Counsel, Mr Osafo Boabeng, said she believed the Ministry paid the entire amount to Mr Woyome and that until the default judgement debt no payments were made.

Mr Boabeng, who asked her if the payment was made in pursuance of the default judgement, she said she did not see the judgement, but it was contained in the letter Mrs Mould-Iddrisu wrote to the Ministry and that it was the AG who recommended that the payments be made to Mr Woyome.

Asked whether she was aware that the default judgement in question had been set aside, she said she had no personal knowledge, but got to know through the media and that she would be surprised if the payment were made while the judgement was set aside.

The trial judge, Justice John Ajet-Nasam, adjourned the case to June 14 for continuation.

Mr Alfred Agbesi Woyome was re-arrested on June 5 and slapped with two fresh charges before the Accra Financial Court for defrauding by false pretence and causing financial loss to the state.

Mr Woyome, who pleaded not guilty to the fresh charges, was re-arrested minutes after he and his other three accomplices facing trial were discharged by the court due to a nolle prosequi filed by the state.

Mr Woyome was standing trial with three others – Chief State Attorney, Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh; his wife, Gifty Nerquaye-Tetteh, and Mr Paul Asimenu, a director at the Legal Department of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning – over a GH¢51 million judgement debt paid to him.

Alleged Car Snatcher Arrested

A 33-year-old who has allegedly specialised in car snatching has been arrested by the police.

The suspect, Daniel Kode, who was reportedly on his usual operations with two accomplices, had a revolver pistol with registration number KH 026708 in his possession when he was arrested by the police.

In a press briefing, the Accra Regional Commander, DCOP Patrick Timbillah, said on June 8 at about 11:30pm, the suspect and his accomplices hired a taxi cab with registration number GT 660-W from Ghacem area at Tema to Oyibi in Accra.

When the taxi got to a police checkpoint near Oyibi, the police stopped the driver, but the suspects and his accomplices alighted and took to their heels.

DCOP Timbillah said that raised the suspicion of the police who gave the suspect and his accomplices a hot chase, which led to the arrest of Daniel.

According to him, the other two managed to escape as a result of poor visibility beyond the checkpoint.

When interrogated, Daniel said he and his accomplices were into car snatching and their motive for hiring the taxi cab was to snatch it from the driver, said DCOP Patrick Timbillah.

Ten Arrest In A Police Swoop

Ten suspects have been arrested in a swoop conducted by the Dansoman Police.

The suspects were Emmanuel Gaisie, 42; Ali Mukailah, 30, Ernest Yarao, 27; Samuel Adjetey Adjei, 32; Ibrahim Alhassan, 27; Nana Pokuah Piasah, 30; Issaka Bandalo, 33; Ibrahim Yaya, 22; Musah Bassey 19; Ebenezer Kofi Sekyi and Richard Quayeson, 26.

The exercise, which took place on Saturday, June 9 at about 8:00am, according to the police, would be investigated for a number of crime-related activities which had bedevilled the Dansoman community.

Briefing the press in Accra yesterday, the Accra Regional Commander, DCOP Patrick Timbillah, said Dansoman had experienced residential robberies, street robberies (pick pocketing) and drug-related violence.

According to him, most of the suspects were found with dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp.

“They will be screened and those who are involved in any of these crimes will be investigated and arraigned before court as soon as practicable,” he said.

In another development, a 30-year-old, Nana Kofi, has also been arrested by the police for allegedly stealing a Mitsubishi Pajero.

The suspect was said to have drove the vehicle with registration number GT 6964-10 from the Aska Company Limited at Airport area at about 9am without the consent of anyone.

DCOP Timbillah explained that the police had information from the security guard on duty at the company that someone had entered the yard and drove away the said vehicle.

He said the patrol team “Stopper 3” chased the vehicle and arrested Kofi, who was assisting police in investigations.

Meanwhile, DCOP Timbillah said the suspect would be put before court soon.

He stated that fighting crime was a shared responsibility in the world and not the preserve of the police.

He asked for the support of the public to volunteer credible and relevant information to the police to fight crime and its related activities.

“We caution everybody to be security conscious so that crime can be averted in our community,” he added.

Face of Blacksecret: 15 To Contest

After a three -week rigorous audition sessions across the country, 15 confident and intelligent ladies have been selected for this year's Face of Black Secret 2012.

The biannual pageant which is being organized by Berlin Investment, manufactures and distributors of Black Secret Make Up brand is focus on unearthing the next beauty icon of black origin to represent the brand for one year.

The winner of the pageant will also spearhead a massive campaign on the prevention and management of cervical cancer in Ghana especially in the rural areas.

According to the organizers of the pageant, they decided to create awareness on cervical cancer since it had been ranked as the first most frequent cancer among women in Ghana.

“Current estimates indicate that every year 3038 women are diagnosed with the cancer and 2006 die from the disease,” the organizers said.

As part of activities to prepare the ladies for the grand finale which comes off on July 20 at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, the ladies will be taken through grooming sessions, fashion shows, photo shoots make-up lessons, cervical cancer education, excursions and modeling lessons.

The ultimate winner of the pageant will receive a sleek brand new car and a cash price of GH¢3000, the first and second runner ups will take home GH¢ 1,500 and GH¢ 1000 respectively plus hampers from sponsors.

 Organisers of the pageant said the grand finale promises to be a night filled with style, fun and excitement with performances from the contestants and guest artistes.

The pageant is being supported by Erke Sports, Noble Prints, 9twenty Five Jewelry, Chakula Bar and Restaurant, Coca Cola, Hot Looks Salon, Ivanna, YFM, ETV, XFM, Sunny FM and The Finder.

Court Threatens To Discharge DSP Gifty Tehoda

The Accra Circuit Court hearing the case of DSP Gifty Mawenyega Tehoda, , the woman accused of helping in the swapping of cocaine to sodium bicarbonate saga has threatened to discharge the accused person if the state fails to commence trial at the next adjourned date.

The Judge, Mr Francis Obiri gave the order after he expressed worry over the number of times the case had been adjourned since it was presented in court on February 6 this year.

“The case had been adjourned nine times already without the prosecution commencing trial, if the state fails to commence trail on the next adjourned date the court will conclude that the state is not ready to prosecute the accused person and will adequately discharge her,” he added.

This was after the Principal State Attorney, Mr Rexford Anthony Wiredu told the court that the state was not ready to start prosecution and that the witnesses that would be giving evidence before the court were unavailable.

He told the court that he prepared a supina on Tuesday but had not yet been filed, adding that he went to the BNI office to contact the officer in charge of the case to file the subpoena and serve the appropriate witnesses but did not meet him.

“We have about six to seven witnesses to call but I know only two of the witnesses, it is the investigator who knows them and so we would ask for an adjourned date to enable us do so,” he said.

The judge in his quest to know who the investigator was asked the State Attorney the where about of the investigator, after minutes of murmuring among the State Attorneys who seems not to know the investigator in question and his where about, the judge said the state was supposed to be working closely with the investigator in the case.

He added that even though the prosecution had told the court that they have prepared a subpoena the investigator was not in court to tell it about the advancement of the procedure.

The defence counsel, Mr E.A Ephraim Vorduagu said they had no option but to oblige with the request of the state and that it seems to the defence that the state was not working with the investigator in the case.

He said the state after requesting for the case to be heard in the afternoon should have made the effort to contact the investigator before the court proceedings and that it was the investigator who was suppose to file the subpoena and serve it to the appropriate witnesses.

The case was adjourned to June 14 for the state to commence trial.

The state prosecutors for the past four months have been seeking adjournment without commencing trial.

Mr Wiredu in May told the court that the Attorney General was not in any way obliged to commence the prosecution of the case adding that, there was no time limit in the prosecution of criminal cases and that the AG would prosecute the case when it was ready.

 He added that nothing stops the AG from prosecuting the case as at when it was ready, “we are not bounded by time to start prosecution, in criminal cases the prosecution can start its case as at when it was ready, so even if it takes 20 years the prosecution can still open its case since it is a criminal one.”

DSP Gifty Mawenyega Tehoda is standing trial for the role she played in the swapping of cocaine to sodium bicarbonate.

Latex Foam Receives Citation

Latex Foam Rubber Products Limited title sponsors of the National under-20 Handball team both men and women yesterday received a citation from the Ghana Handball Federation.

The citation was to show the federation’s appreciation to the company for sponsoring the team to the just ended African Zone E tournament.

The men’s team which won a bronze at the tournament, together with the ladies team and officials of the federation were at the offices of the company to thank the management and staff for their enormous support during the competition.

Mr Kennth Djirasah, the President of the Ghana Handball Federation who led the delegation thanked the company on behalf of the federation for supporting the team throughout the two weeks of the tournament.

“We are happy you were able to help us organise the tournament even with all the pressure on your resources. But for you to have gone out of your way to even help us with jerseys shows the level of your support for handball,” he said.

Mr Djirasah said handball was the future of sports in Ghana and that a lot of efforts were needed to address the various challenges facing the sport to enable the federation to make handball more attractive than what it was at the moment.

He was of the hope that the team would have a prospective relationship with latex foam which would promote and market the sport, adding that “we would be looking forward for your continuous support”.

He promised that the federation would nature the under 20 team to be ambassadors for the sport so to promote interest of Senior High students.

Mr Jamil Mouganie, General Manager of Latex Foam said the company was excited to support the team and hope that there would be partnership in the coming years.

 He congratulated the team for winning bronze in the just ended Africa Zone E tournament but challenged them to win gold in the upcoming ECOWAS competition which would commence on June 15.

“Latex foam has been supporting all forms of sports for some time now because we believe sports go a long way in opening the mind of individuals and not only formal education,” he said.

He added that sports was a very important form of education and that it teaches team spirit, discipline and promotes good health both in the body and in mind.

Mr Mouganie said handball was an equally important sport like football and needed to be marketed to get to the standard it has attained in Europe.

He promised that the company would continue to support of the federation to promote the sport in the country.

Limping Man's Trial Adjourned to June 18

The trial of Christain Asem Dake, alias the ‘Limping Man’, the prime suspect in the importation of the 77 parcels of cocaine in the infamous MV Benjamin Vessel has been adjourned to June 18.

Witnesses subpoena by the state were suppose to continue with their evidence in court yesterday but the trial judge, Justice Mustapha Habib Logoh was said to be on an official assignment outside the jurisdiction which resulted in both counsels taking a date.

The prosecution provided two witnesses at the last adjourned date who gave evidence in camera due to the sensitive nature of the case.

Information gathered by The Finder indicated that the witnesses who had agreed to give evidence in court would not want their identity to be known and therefore requested to either disguise themselves or give evidence in the judge’s chamber which the judge granted before hearing began on June 1.

Asem Dake on May 28 pleaded not guilty to five fresh charges of conspiracy to transport narcotics without lawful authority, Importation of narcotics without license from the Ministry of Health, possession of narcotic, undertaking prohibited business in relation to narcotic and corruption of public officer at an Accra Fast Track High Court.

He was re-arrested minutes after he was discharged with another accomplice called Alfred Nii Sowah by an Accra Circuit Court after the state entered a nolle prosequi.

Mr Owusu Ameyaw, a state attorney told the court that the state had concluded investigations and would send the accused persons to a high court to face fresh charges.
Asem Dake was arrested on Thursday, February 2, 2012 at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital upon a tip-off.
The facts of the case are that on April 26, 2006, intelligence gathered indicated that a shipping vessel called MV Benjamin was on the high seas carrying about 77 parcels of cocaine and heading towards the West African Coast, specifically Ghana.
Around midnight the same day, the said vessel docked at Tema /Kpone and discharged the 77 parcels which were offloaded into a waiting vehicle and taken away.
According to prosecution, investigations led to the arrest of a number of persons who were put before various courts, tried and convicted to various prison terms.
They said during the course of the trials of the suspects, the name of Asem Dake featured prominently as the importer and owner of the 77 parcels.
Furthermore, the prosecution noted that investigations also revealed that Limping Man chattered the vessel at the cost of $150,000 and used it to bring another vessel carrying the narcotic drugs from Guinea which were then offloaded into MV Benjamin on the high seas.
In addition the accused person reportedly carted the 77 parcels from the vessel on its arrival at Kpone.

Trail of “Limping man” to finally commence on Friday

The trial of Christain Asem Dake, alias the ‘Limping Man’, the prime suspect in the importation of the 77 parcels of cocaine in the infamous MV Benjamin Vessel will finally commence this Friday June 1 at an Accra Fast Track High Court where he has been slapped with five fresh charges.

The State prosecutor, Mrs Yvonne Obuobisa who announced this in court yesterday said the state had completed all the necessary investigations and was ready to commence prosecution.

She, however, told the court that the state would like to make an application on Friday to take evidence or hear the case In camera.

Information gathered by The Finder indicates that the witnesses who had agreed to give evidence in court would not want their faces to be seen and had therefore requested to either disguise themselves or give evidence in the judge’s chamber.

Asem Dake yesterday pleaded not guilty to five fresh charges of conspiracy to transport narcotics without lawful authority, Importation of narcotics without license from the Ministry of Health, possession of narcotic, undertaking prohibited business in relation to narcotic and corruption of public officer.

Mr George Heward-Mills, counsel for the accused person prayed the court to grant his client bail and that the facts of the case were just fabrications.

He said the state had continuously sought for adjournment since his client was arrested at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on February 2 and that the health of his client was at stake.

“My client has been kept in the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) cells since his arrest and from what he tells me he is not being fed well; we have made complaints about this very issue before when he was standing trial at the Circuit Court. He says he is only given a third of what he is supposed to eat,” he added.

Mr Heward-Mills told the court that the act of the BNI officials was to put his clients through a psychological trauma so he could make certain confessions.

He prayed the court to remand the accused person in police custody where his family would be allowed to feed him well and in order for him (Heward-Mills) to have access to his client for further action and instructions.

He recounted to the court the difficulties he had to go through in order to have access to the accused person, adding that “all those standing trial in court are being kept in prison or police custody except my client who is still being kept at the BNI.”

But Mrs Obuobisa told the court that the accused person was still in the custody of the BNI because the arrest and investigated by officials of the BNI and not the police.

She added that the issue about the health and the meals of his client had been dealt with and that the accused person had two doctors at his disposal.

Justice Mustapha Habib Logoh, the trial judge said after listening to the accounts and complaints of the accused person’s counsel he would admit the accused person into police custody.

He also refused the bail application by Mr Heward-Mills and adjourned the case to June 1 for commencement.