2016 Election Results: Our System Failed -NDC

Posted on: www.dailyguideafrica.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Saturday October 13, 2018

 Dailyguide Africa

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is covering up its failure to collate the 2016 presidential election results, saying that its system collapsed.

Bede Ziedeng, acting Director of Elections for the NDC, at a press conference on Thursday, said the party tried deploying electronic system for the collation of election results, but the system crashed, compelling the team to resort to the manual data collection method.

“During the 2016 elections, there was an attempt to establish a new infrastructure for the collation of the results from the polling stations. But this was completely outside the directorate, and the Elections Directorate was not involved in its management,” he claimed.

“Unfortunately, it was this infrastructure which crashed soon after it was deployed and therefore failed to provide any result for the party. And this was alluded to by the Professor Kwesi Botchwey Committee report. But that does not mean that no results were collated,” he added.

The Electoral Commission (EC), headed by Charlotte Osei, claimed its IT infrastructure also crashed, leading to the manual collation.

Credible reports indicate that the NDC tied its IT infrastructure to that of the EC in order to rig the elections, and the moment the Commission’s system collapsed, the NDC had no back-up to collate the results.

 U-Turn

The NDC is making a 360 degree U-turn to claim it has the collated results although the Botchwey Committee that was set up to investigate the party’s abysmal performance during the 2016 election which made then President Mahama a one-term leader, indicted the Election Directorate of the party, headed by Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, for not collating the results.

Results Verification 

Almost two years after the party’s crushing defeat, the NDC’s acting Director of Elections, Bede A. Ziedeng, said at the news conference in Accra that the 2016 results are now available for verification.

“Even at the time former President John Mahama made his concession speech, the National Elections Directorate had collated the results of over 235 constituencies. The collation of results was duly carried out, and indeed the National Elections Directorate, continuously furnished the NDC representatives in the Electoral Commission’s Strong Room with collated results until the final declaration.” 

Pink Sheets

Although he said the results were ready, he admitted that it was after official declaration of results that the Ofosu Ampofo-led team commenced the process of retrieving all the pink sheets from the 29,002 polling stations in the country for what he called ‘the post-declaration verification and analysis.’

“The directorate was waiting for the Electoral Commission to gazette the polling station results so that we could compare the figures. To date, the EC has failed to gazette the polling station results, and so no opportunity for verification,” he said.

“We had parliamentary candidates in all the 275 constituencies. None of them has complained about non-collation of results. Even those challenging the election results rely on our collated results,” he added. 

Media Agenda

He said media reports that the NDC could not collate its results were meant to tarnish the reputation of the members of the Election Directorate of the party, saying “the National Elections Directorate is made up of experienced and hard-working people who will never allow anything untoward to happen to the party.”

“It is this same Elections Directorate, which was compelled to move around the whole country to all the polling stations to retrieve and assemble all the pink sheets to help mount a credible defence when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) filed the Election Petition in 2012. It’s therefore factually inaccurate for anyone to claim that the Elections Directorate or the Director of Elections (Ofosu Ampofo) did not or failed to collate the results of the 2016 presidential elections, when indeed the facts point to the contrary,” he added.

He said “the fact that the private infrastructure deployed to collate results directly from the polling stations crashed soon after it was deployed does not mean that no results were collated. Eventually, the party had to fall back on the National Elections Directorate for the collation of the results.”

As the election of national executives to lead the party draws closer, some big shots in the opposition party are still fighting over the 2016 presidential results.

Rigged Polls

After the plot to rig the election terribly backfired, leading to its defeat, the NDC has been constantly assigning various reasons to its humiliating defeat.

Recently, in Cape Coast, former President Mahama, who led the NDC to the embarrassing defeat, claimed the NPP rigged the polls and the opposition party would not be slapped for the second time in 2020.

Election Day

Interestingly, by 11 pm on December 7, 2016, then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) had in its possession about 80 per cent of all the pink sheet results in the country and had done its calculation to know that its candidate Nana Akufo-Addo was winning the presidential election one-touch.

Damning Findings

The Prof. Kwesi Botchwey-led committee that investigated reasons why the NDC lost massively later established that the party did not build any official platform to collate results of the December 2016 general elections.

Strangely, Mr. Ofosu Ampofo, who was the Director of Elections, appeared before the 13-member Botchwey Committee to explain issues to them, but the committee, in its report, made damning findings against the NDC’s Election Committee.

Despite the chants of ‘we are winning the election one-touch’ by then incumbent President John Mahama and later ‘we are in a comfortable lead’ mantra, it turned out the NDC did not collate the results but rather tied the party’s ‘destiny’ to that of Charlotte Osei’s Electoral Commission by relying on the EC’s IT system so when the EC’s system failed, the NDC was caught flat-footed, gasping for breath.

Private Arrangement

The NDC members relied on Felix Kwakye Ofosu’s ‘private’ arrangement to collate the results which also failed them miserably, according to the report.

Reports at the time said that the party was in secret talks with the Electoral Commission (EC) to get the results, a move which was unknown to the other political parties.

The report said the party appeared to have relied on Kwakye Ofosu’s private arrangement when the main collation platform set up under the supervision of the Election Directorate, headed by Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, could have been strengthened to deliver, saying “the situation brought dysfunctionalism in the party to a head!”

“There were evidently two systems, one party based, and the other, according to Felix Kwakye Ofosu, a private initiative. The Election Directorate evidently regarded the Kwakye Ofosu’s initiative as primary whereas Mr. Kwakye Ofosu and his team regarded it only as backup system,” the report said.

The NDC’s collation system was said have been built by K-Net which was handling the multi-million dollar digital television migration.

By William Yaw Owusu

RAWLINGS ANGRY OVER JUDGES MURDER REPORT

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday October 11, 2018

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has apparently become incensed by the ongoing documentary by Multimedia News Channel, Joy News, on the killing of the three High Court judges and a retired army officer in the heat of the revolution in 1982.

Last week, he promised to drop a ‘bombshell’ about the killings in the coming days, but it seems he cannot wait any longer.

He posted on social media platform Twitter, on Tuesday that there is an attempt to ‘rehash’ and‘re-cook’ history and described it as “vicious and callous political opportunism.”

“We have rehashed and re-cooked history to make innocent people look murderous. And in the next breath using the same name to endorse yourselves, because Rawlings has said he is cultured (compared to his predecessors). This is vicious and callous political opportunism.”

He said “a whole documentary on the killing of the Major and the judges. An unfortunate tragedy that saw hard, swift justice done to the perpetrators; unlike the organised assault and killings of the Yaa Naa and his 39 elders, for which these perpetrators are yet to see justice. That is the fundamental difference – one group of four saw justice, the other group of close to 40 did not and has not!”

The former president, who is the founder of the opposition NDC, said further that “we cannot reduce the harm and pain caused families and the whole country by turning this matter into a political-media circus.”

“In the meantime, our party has lost a few too many thinkers and strategists to see things clearly. We fall for traps set easily. Rather than a focused fight to ward off this attempt to twist and manipulate the truth (which thankfully some started well) we are instead back to hang Rawlings because of the DG publication.”

Last Friday, the former president said at the Accra Digital Centre where he attended a United Nations Youth Summit that he would attend another public lecture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (NKUST) in Kumasi in the coming days and take the opportunity to put issues emanating from the documentary into perspective.

He appeared to be at a loss as to the motive of those who put together the documentary on the incident, which occurred several years ago.

“I’ll release a bombshell at UST during a public lecture,” he added.

In recent times, Joy News and The Multimedia Group have been broadcasting a comprehensive documentary on the killing of the three judges and a retired army officer in 1982 when the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) military junta, led by then young Flt. Lt. Rawlings, seized power from the democratically elected government of Dr. Hilla Limann.

The documentary is pushing that the prime suspect, Joachim Amartey Kwei, could not have committed the crime without the backing of the authorities in the PNDC.

According to the documentary, the dreaded Captain Kojo Tsikata agreed that Amartey Kwei ought to have obtained the pass from a higher authority before having unrestricted movement on that fateful night when there was curfew.

The documentary revealed that Amartey Kwei mentioned the names of the authorities with whom he had planned and killed the judges to the extent that he was on hunger strike before Dr Koranteng of Police Hospital pacified him.

The dastardly act remains a dark spot in the nation’s political history after the three High Court Judges namely, Justice Fred Poku Sarkodie, Mrs. Justice Cecilia Koranteng-Addow and Justice Kwadwo Agyei Agyapong, as well as a retired army officer, Major Sam Acquah, were callously murdered under strange circumstances at the Bundase Military Range in the Accra Plains.

Their bodies were found on 3rd July, 1982.

According to the records, all the three judges had adjudicated on cases in which they ordered the release of persons who had been sentenced to long terms of imprisonment during the tenure of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) in 1979.

Investigations were conducted into the matter, after which some active and retired army officers were prosecuted, but there is still the belief that the real people who gave the order for these judges to be killed have been left off the hook.

Special Investigative Board (SIB), chaired by Samuel Azu Crabbe, recommended the prosecution of 10 persons.

Two of them, Joachim Amartey Kwei and Alolga Akata-Pore, were members of the PNDC.

Names like Captain Kojo Tsikata(rtd), Sergeant Alolga Akata-Pore, J. Amartey Kwei and Lance Corporal S.K. Amedeka, Michael Senyah, Gordon Nsurowuo, Gowu, Ransford Jonny Dzandu, Gomeleshio and Evans Tekpor, alias Tonny, have always come up for scrutiny as far as the case is concerned.

Even though Amartey Kwei, Tekpor, Senya and Dzandu were executed, Amedeka escaped from jail.

MAHAMA CRIES OVER INCOMPETENT TAG

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday October 10, 2018

Former President John Dramani Mahama is sulking over the apparent jab aimed at him on Monday by Vice President Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

His office released a statement yesterday complaining bitterly about why the Vice President called him ‘incompetent one’ and said any attack will not go unanswered.

Bizarrely, it was Mr. Mahama who started it all when he ridiculed the Vice President saying that he was good at lecturing during opposition but was struggling to manage the economy as Vice President.

In fact, the former President was in Tattale in the Northern Region on a comeback campaign trail last week portraying a negative picture of the Vice President to opposition NDC supporters but when Dr. Bawumia hit back he said it was ‘needless.’

The statement from the former President’s office said “the Office of the Vice President was brought into disrepute in a viral video in which Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, whilst pretending to perform official duties, descended to his lowest to call former President John Dramani Mahama names.”

“It is sad to note that after nearly halfway through the four-year term of the government of which Dr. Bawumia is the Vice President, he still lacks the presence of mind to appreciate the distinction between his role as Vice President and that of his propagandist running mate days on campaign platforms.”

The statement said “whilst reminding Dr. Bawumia that any needless and unprovoked attack on former President Mahama on any day will not go unanswered, we wish to remind him that the Office of the Vice President is conducted with grace, decency and maturity, not reckless and unrestrained talk.”

The former President’s office further said ‘we wish to draw Dr. Bawumia’s attention to the fact that whilst he is busily majoring in minors and taking to cheap and unsophisticated politics, the manifesto promises of the New Patriotic Party for which Ghanaians voted for them have yet to be fulfilled.”

Without any data the statement claimed “The One District, One Factory is in limbo; there is no sign of One Village, One Dam; the One District, One warehouse promise has proven to be a sham; the one million dollars per constituency per year promise is in two years arrears for all 275 constituencies.”

According to the statement, “the promise to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa has produced the most embarrassing spectacle of filth under Bawumia’s watch; the dollar and petroleum prices have spiraled out of control; teacher trainee allowances have not been paid,” adding “allowances for student nurses are in arrears; one hot meal, free egg and a bar of chocolate a day for public primary school pupils have turned out to be a hoax; and the NPP government remains clueless about how to fulfill many other promises that it made.”

“It is shocking that Vice President Bawumia who has become the butt of all jokes in the country for his inability to match his performance on the job and the management of the economy with his numerous propagandist lectures in opposition, has the temerity to call former President John Dramani Mahama names.”

The statement indicated “Mr. Mahama and his government have a solid record of investment in education, energy, roads, healthcare and aviation infrastructure, among others and we can understand both the frustration and desperation of Dr. Bawumia and his NPP following the rousing reception which has greeted Mr. Mahama’s campaign tours in the regions.

It said the Vice President’s continuous silence on the suspension of the headmaster of Tempane Senior High School exposes him not only to ridicule but also solidifies his “unenviable record as an unprincipled politician,” claiming “this is because no one has visited senior high schools to dabble in partisan politics more than Dr. Bawumia.”

Bawumia Reminder

Dr. Bawumia only reminded Ghanaians that leaving the management of the economy in the hands of Mr. Mahama and his NDC once again will be a dangerous thing to do.

“I hear the incompetent one says he wants to come back, he wants to come and do more damage, as if he didn’t do enough damage; well, we’re waiting for him! We’re waiting for him! 

We’re waiting for him! Oh my God!” Dr. Bawumia made the remark at a training programme for Metropolitan and Municipal District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in Accra.

MAHAMA DEFENDS THIEVING GENERAL

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday October 10, 2018

Former President John Dramani Mahama has risen to the defence of the army general he recently appointed as the Security Coordinator for his Campaign Team while still serving in the Ghana Army.

Mr Mahama said Major General Sampson Kudjo Adeti, who was caught in a car stealing scandal just before NDC left office in 2016, is a ‘distinguished’ officer who has retired, accusing the media of making ‘misleading’ impression about him.

“Our attention has been drawn to two false, mischievous and unfounded newspaper publications today regarding the appointment of Major General Sampson Kudjo Adeti (rtd) as the Security Coordinator of the John Mahama 2020 Campaign,” James Agyenim-Boateng, Spokesperson for the Mahama Campaign said in a statement, insisting that “the syndicated publications create a misleading impression that Major General Adeti is a serving officer of the Ghana Armed Forces.”

“For the avoidance of doubt and to set the records straight, Major General Sampson Kudjo Adeti is a retired distinguished officer of the Ghana Armed Forces. His terminal leave ended on 13th August, 2018 after nearly 37 years of dedicated and professional service to Ghana,” the statement said.

Interestingly, although the Mahama Team claims Adeti’s service in the military ended in August, he is still occupying his official Juba Villas at the Burma Camp which he has virtually converted into the operational headquarters of the NDC, with the party’s branded vehicles trooping in and out.

The Mahama Team, according to the statement, touted Adeti’s military accomplishments, saying “until his retirement, he had served in various important Command and Staff positions in the Ghana Armed Forces, including instructor in training institutions.”

It further said that “from 2013 to 2016, Major General Adeti (rtd) was the General Officer Commanding the Southern Command of the Ghana Army and Chief of Staff, a Member of the Military High Command of the Ghana Armed Forces from January 2016 until he was compulsorily retired by the NPP government on 10^th February 2017.”

“Major General Adeti has impeccable academic qualifications, as well as a sterling record of military service. He holds four Master’s Degrees in International Affairs, Development Studies, Business Administration and Defence and Strategic Studies, and the John Mahama 2020 Campaign Team is proud of his inclusion.”

Interestingly, General Adeti, after NDC had lost power, lobbied to be appointed as Ghana’s Ambassador to Congo Democratic Republic using a certain military officer in the current NPP administration at the Jubilee House. 

He denied his affiliation to the NDC, claiming to be an Akyem born in Nsawam, Adoagyiri.

Unfortunately, the lobbying hit a snag.

Missing Pick-Up

General Adeti, who had been tipped to become Army Commander, is among some senior military officers who have taken cover under the umbrella since NDC lost power.

This same army officer was cited in a car stealing scandal while serving as General Officer, Southern Command at Teshie.

The general, who was the ‘darling boy’ of the previous NDC government, was indicted for allegedly appropriating a Nissan Hard-Body Double-Cabin vehicle donated to the Southern Command of the Ghana Army by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

The cover of the army chief in the alleged stealing was blown by a request made by Adeti’s successor, Brigadier General M. Whajah, GOC, Southern Command, to the BoG for operational support.

Brigadier Whajah was informed that the bank donated a pickup to the command not long ago.

With no trace of the vehicle – registered GN 4240-15, in the inventories of the Southern Command, the new officer called for more details which led to a visit to the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for the registration details and the custodian of the vehicle.

It turned out that General Adeti was keeping the vehicle in his garage on the blind side of the army in a dubious manner.

Killing the Investigation 

Despite the damning report, Major General Adeti, who was then a Brigadier General, was promoted by President Mahama to the rank of Major General, an action which succeeded in killing the investigation into the matter because the officer who did the investigations had become Adeti’s subordinate and technically a superior cannot be investigated by an officer lower in rank.

The probing officer was subsequently transferred to the Ghana Mission in the United States in order to cover up the alleged stealing probe.

The report found out that General Adeti, Mahama’s darling, had breached military standards in respect of donated items to the Ghana Armed Forces.

Despite the revelation, he continued to be in the good books of the government; the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS) who commissioned the investigation Major General R.K. Opoku Adusei, was retired from the military unceremoniously for daring to probe the case.

When Adeti was asked to explain himself, he rather chose to attack the journalist from DAILY GUIDE who broke the story, calling him a ‘bounty hunter.’

COAS’s preliminary investigations had found Brig Gen Adeti to have dishonestly appropriated the vehicle.

“The fact that he drove the vehicle straight from the Bank of Ghana to his Juba Villas residence without informing neither HQ Southern Command nor Army HQ and using his residential number, personal phone and e-mail address to complete the transfer of ownership and changing the colour of the vehicle from white to dark grey, were all indicative of his intention to usurp the vehicle,” the COAS observed in the report.

He was also criticized for deliberately leaving no traces of all correspondences and documents in respect of the said vehicle.

BAWUMIA FIRES MAHAMA…WE’RE READY FOR YOU

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday October 09, 2018

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has said the motive behind former President John Dramani Mahama’s attempt to come back to power is to ‘do more damage’ to the country’s economy.

He said the former President managed Ghana’s economy in a very incompetent manner whilst in office and the records were there for all to see.

Incompetent One 

“I hear the incompetent one says he wants to come back, he wants to come and do more damage, as if he didn’t do enough damage; well we’re waiting for him! We’re waiting for him! We’re waiting for him! Oh my God!”Dr. Bawumia said at a training programme for Metropolitan and Municipal District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in Accra.

The five-day training programme was held under the theme: “Re-energising MMDCEs to deliver on Government Agenda” and brought together 254 MMDCEs across the country and some selected regional ministers.

In Tatale in the Northern Region last week, Mr. Mahama, who is staging a comeback to lead the NDC in 2020 after his humiliating defeat in 2016, said on his campaign trail that managing an economy is not the same as lecturing; in an apparent jab at Vice President Bawumia whose lectures on the economy mesmerized the previous Mahama administration at the time.

Dr Bawumia, an astute economist and banker, who was then running mate to candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, had said famously that “if you do propaganda with the economy, the exchange rate will expose you.”

Equalization

Mr. Mahama appeared to be ‘equalizing’ when he stated in Tatale that “you can lecture on economy; but reality will expose you.”

He went ahead to say that Ghanaians were facing economic challenges and the tide could only be resolved by ‘experienced persons’ and not ‘economics lecturers’ who merely engage in theories.

Experienced Person 

He presented himself to the NDC supporters as the ‘experienced person’ and said they would return to power to solve the problems because, according to him, the Akufo-Addo government is not performing.

“That is what economics lecturers who are just theorists can come and lecture but they don’t understand that the practical of running governments is completely different. NDC has done it before, at any time that NDC has been in government, this country has made progress,” he bragged.

Banks’ Collapse 

He said the collapse of seven local banks had contributed to economic hardship in the country.

Under his presidency, officials looked unconcerned for the banks to go down with his brother actively involved in the collapse of not less than two banks.

“Everything is linked to each other. And it takes somebody who understands the market and the realities of governing to know that if you are collapsing banks, it’s going to affect traders, it is going to affect farmers,” Mr. Mahama said.

Campaign Promises 

He appeared to say the NPP promised ‘heaven’ whilst in opposition and was now delivering ‘hell’ for the people since they came into office.

“You can do all the propaganda you like to win political power, when you come to government, the reality of the people’s life will expose you,” he said.

“Where are the factories, where are the dams, where is the $1 million per constituency. It is easier to make electoral promises than to fulfill them. Making promises is easy, fulfilling them is a problem. That is what NPP has taught us. It’s easier to give political lectures on the economy than to manage the economy,” he added.

Bawumia’s Response 

However, the Vice President, without mincing words, said Mr. Mahama’s record was so abysmal that he should be the last person to complain about the performance of the country’s economy.

He said the Akufo-Addo administration was clearing the ‘mess’ Mr. Mahama and his NDC administration left behind.

“But you have to remember what happened at the time we came into office after many years of incompetent economic management; you cannot describe it any other than incompetent economic management. After many years of such economic management, the people of Ghana gave us the privilege to change course but after just 20 months in office, the difference is clear.”

Massive Projects 

Vice President Bawumia indicated that the government remains focused on building a society that works not only for a few but everybody.

“We’re going to see some major changes in 2019, where we will begin full-scale operation of the Sino-hydro facility,” he said.

The Vice President announced that from next year, US$1.5 billion of the $2 billion Sino-hydro Barter Agreement signed with the Chinese firm would be utilised.

The money would be used to build health facilities, roads, bridges, drains and interchanges.

“Apart from cleaning the mess of incompetent economic management that alone is worth in itself, and we are putting in place the structures that will enable us to deliver,” he added.
The macro-economic indicators had recorded impressive improvement.

He also made reference to the year-on-year inflation which had declined from 15.4 per cent in 2016 to 9.9 currently and the reduction of the debt-to GDP ratio from 73.1 per cent to 64.4 per cent.

“The economy also grew from 3.7 per cent in 2016 to 8.5 per cent at the end of 2017 and the fiscal deficit was down to 5.9 per cent from 9.3 per cent, and these had come on the back of prudent management of the economy,” he added.

RAWLINGS ENDORSES NANA

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday October 08, 2018

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has virtually passed a vote of confidence in President Akufo-Addo and called on Ghanaians to support him to succeed.

He described the president as a ‘cultured’ leader who was doing what his predecessors failed to do while in office, stressing “we must all help him.”

The former president, who is the founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), made the comments last Friday at the Accra Digital Centre when he attended a United Nations Youth Summit with Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to the United Nations (UN) Secretary General.

He told the youth that President Akufo-Addo is the most cultured president that Ghana has ever had in recent past, saying that he has good plans for the country and must be supported by all.

He said that the president has given a lot of appointments to women, which is good for the accelerated development of the country.

Mr. Rawlings’admiration of President Akufo-Addo appears to stem largely from the appointment of former Attorney General Martin Amidu as the Special Prosecutor to fight against corruption in the country.

He said the president made a ‘wise’ decision in appointing Mr. Amidu whom he described as the best choice for the job.

Mr. Rawlings said President Akufo-Addo is showing the NDC how to use people with high level of integrity to govern the country after his own party denigrated him (Amidu).

The former president said President Akufo-Addo was not responsible for the delay in the prosecution of people by the Office of the Special Prosecutor, but was hopeful measures would be put in place as soon as possible for Mr. Amidu to start some serious work.

Currently, there is delay in the passage of the Legislative Instrument (LI) that governs the Office of the Special Prosecutor but the draft legislative instrument would be laid on the floor when Parliament reconvenes.

The Special Prosecutor has complained about lack of funds for the office to operate fully but government has stated that his concerns are being addressed.

It was during the same forum that the former president promised to drop a ‘bombshell’ very soon about the ongoing documentary by Multimedia News Channel, Joy News, on the killing of the three High Court judges and a retired army officer in the heat of the revolution in 1982.

He said that he would attend another public lecture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (NKUST) in Kumasi in the coming days and take the opportunity to put issues into perspective.

Mr. Rawlings appeared to be at loss as to the motive of those who put together the documentary on the incident which occurred several years ago.

“I’ll release a bombshell at UST during a public lecture,” he added.

MAHAMA APPOINTS ARMY OFFICER AS SECURITY COORDINATOR

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday October 08, 2018

Major General Sampson Adeti, the former Chief of Staff at General Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) at Burma Camp, who is on leave prior to retirement, has been made the head of security for former President John Mahama’s Campaign Team.

The security coordinator of the Mahama Campaign Team is said to be moving with the former President Mahama, who is campaigning to lead the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2020 presidential election.

He was seen in Tamale during the former president’s recent visit and reports suggested he had a serious clash with a powerful member of the Mahama Campaign Team.

DAILY GUIDE‘s checks revealed that the army chief has started his leave prior to retirement but was using the period to campaign for ex-President Mahama which is against military rules.

Technically, he is still a serving officer and is reportedly still occupying his official residence at Burma Camp in Accra which makes his current occupation a breach of military standards.

He has occasionally been seen in convoy of opposition NDC which enter his residence in clear breach of military rules with blaring sirens.

General Adeti, who had been tipped to become Army Commander had John Mahama been retained, is among some senior military officers who have taken cover under the umbrella since NDC lost power.

Immediately the NDC lost the elections, the same general allegedly lobbied vigorously for an ambassadorial post, claiming that he had nothing to do with the NDC and traced his roots to Nsawam and not the Volta Region.

Attempts to reach him for comments at press time were unsuccessful.

Missing Pick-Up 

This is same army officer who was cited in a car stealing scandal while serving as General Officer Commanding South Command at Teshie.

The general, who was the ‘darling boy’ of the previous NDC government, was indicted for allegedly appropriating a Nissan Hard-Body Double-Cabin vehicle donated to the Southern Command of the Ghana Army by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

The cover of the army chief in the alleged stealing was blown by a request made by Adeti’s successor, Brigadier M. Whajah, GOC, Southern Command, to the BoG for operational support.

Brigadier M. Whajah was informed that the bank donated a pickup to the command not long ago.

With no trace of the vehicle – registered GN 4240-15 – in the inventories of the Southern Command, the new officer called for more details which led to a visit to the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for the registration details and the custodian of the vehicle.

It turned out that General Adeti was keeping vehicle in his garage on the blind side of the army.

Killing the Investigation 

Despite the damning report, Major General Adeti, who was then a Brigadier General, was promoted by the previous NDC administration under President Mahama – the Commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces to the rank of Major General, action which succeeded in killing the investigation into the matter because the officer who did the investigations had become Adeti’s subordinate and technically a superior cannot be investigated by an officer lower in rank.

The probing officer was subsequently transferred to the Ghana Mission in the United States in order to cover up the probe.

The report found out that the Adeti had breached military standards in respect of donated items to the Ghana Armed Forces.

Despite the revelation, he continued to be in the good books of the government; the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS) who commissioned the investigation Major General R.K. Opoku Adusei, was retired from the military unceremoniously.

When the general was asked to explain himself, he rather chose to attack the journalist from DAILY GUIDE who broke the story, calling him a ‘bounty hunter.’

Preliminary Report 

COAS’s preliminary investigations had found Brig Gen Adeti to have dishonestly appropriated the vehicle.

“The fact that he drove the vehicle straight from the Bank of Ghana to his Juba Villas residence without informing neither HQ Southern Command nor Army HQ and using his residential number, personal phone and e-mail address to complete the transfer of ownership and changing the colour of the vehicle from white to dark grey were all indicative of his intention to usurp the vehicle,” the COAS observed in the report.

He was also criticized for deliberately leaving no traces of all correspondences and documents in respect of the said vehicle.

Disciplinary Action 

The report recommended that the General suffer disciplinary action for dishonest appropriation of the said vehicle contrary to Section 52 of the Ghana Armed Forces Act, 1962 (Act 105).

The misconduct, according to the report, constituted a breach of trust in respect of his position as a superior commander, contrary to Section 54 (a) of the Ghana Armed Forces Act, 1962  (Act 105).

Invaluable Service

Initially he made the whole issue appear like the vehicle was given to him for his ‘invaluable’ services to the Central Bank – a claim which was immediately debunked.

Portions of the report- ‘Summary Investigations into allegations of misconduct, involving Brigadier General SK Adeti, said the stories which hit the media “generated a lot negative interest and social media comments nationwide and among troops at GAF. Some of the comments impugned the lack of integrity of Brig Gen SK Adeti and the Ghana Armed Forces hierarchy. The Military High Command was further challenged to investigate the matter and take appropriate disciplinary action should the matter published in the newspapers be found to be true.”

Unexplained Reasons 

The report had found that “for unexplained reasons, all correspondences and documents pertaining to the request, approval and donation of Nissan Pickup reg no GN 4240 15 to HQ S/C have been removed or vanished from all files at HQ S/Comd and do not exist on any file or office in GAF. This case of missing documents is contrary to Section 250 of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 and Section 54 (a) of the Ghana Armed Forces Act 1962 (Act 105).”

Brig Adeti, in the course of the raging controversy, handed over the vehicle to the Provost Marshal on 18^th June, 2016 with the explanation that he was doing so out of his own volition.

He had earlier stated that he did not know the location of the spare key and documents covering the said pickup.

Another critical portion of the report stated, “The act or conduct of Brig Gen SK Adeti in declining to disclose or surrender the said vehicle at the time it was donated, but rather to decide to do so on 18 June, 16 after publications in the press on 10 and 14 June, 16 respectively and after the Army HQ Convening Order for a Summary Investigation on 17 June, 16; is prejudicial to good order and discipline contrary to Section 54 of the Ghana Armed Forces Act 1962 (Act 105).”

JJ TO DROP BOMBSHELL OVER MURDERED JUDGES

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Saturday October 06, 2018

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has promised to drop a ‘bombshell’ very soon about the ongoing documentary by Multimedia News Channel, Joy News, on the killing of the three High Court judges and a retired army officer in the heat of the revolution.

He said at the Accra Digital Centre where he attended a United Nations Youth Summit yesterday that he would attend another public lecture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (NKUST) in Kumasi in the coming days and take the opportunity to put issues into perspective.

Rawlings appears to be at loss as to the motive of those who put together the documentary on the incident which occurred several years ago.

“I’ll release a bombshell at UST during a public lecture”, he added.

In recent times, Joy News and The Multimedia Group have been broadcasting a comprehensive documentary on the killing of three judges and a retired army officer in 1982 when the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) military junta, led by then young Flt. Lt. Rawlings, seized power from the democratically elected government of Dr. Hilla Limann.

The documentary is pushing that the prime suspect, Joachim Amartey Kwei, could not have committed the crime without the backing of the authorities in the PNDC.

According to the documentary, the dreaded Captain Kojo Tsikata agreed that Amartey Kwei ought to have obtained the pass from a higher authority before having unrestricted movement on that fateful night when there was curfew.

The documentary revealed Amartey Kwei mentioned the names of the authorities with whom he planned and killed the judges to the extent that he was on hunger strike before Dr Koranteng of Police Hospital pacified him.

The dastardly act remains a dark spot in the nation’s political history after the three High Court Judges namely, Justice Fred Poku Sarkodie, Mrs. Justice Cecilia Koranteng- Addow and Justice Kwadwo Agyei Agyapong, as well as a retired army officer, Major Sam Acquah, were callously murdered under strange circumstances at the Bundase Military Range in the Accra Plains.

Their bodies were found on 3rd July, 1982.

According to the records, all the three judges had adjudicated on cases in which they ordered the release of persons who had been sentenced to long terms of imprisonment during the tenure of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) in 1979.

Investigations were conducted into the matter, after which some active and retired army officers were prosecuted, but there is still the belief that the real people who gave the order for these judges to be killed have been left off the hook.

Special Investigative Board (SIB), chaired by Samuel Azu Crabbe, recommended the prosecution of 10 persons.

Two of them, Joachim Amartey Kwei and Alolga Akata-Pore, were members of the PNDC.

Names like Captain (Rtd) Kojo Tsikata, Sergeant Alolga Akata-Pore, J. Amartey Kwei and Lance Corporal S.K. Amedeka, Michael Senyah, Gordon Nsurowuo, Gowu, Ransford Jonny Dzandu, Gomeleshio and Evans Tekpor, alias Tonny, have always come up for scrutiny as far as the case is concerned.

Even though Amartey Kwei, Tekpor, Senya and Dzandu were executed, Amedeka escaped from jail.