By William Yaw
Owusu
Wednesday,
March 30, 2016
Lawyer for Captain Edmund Kojo Koda (rtd), head of the security
detail of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo-Addo, and his running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has lambasted the
Minister of the Interior, Prosper D.K. Bani, for making false statements about
his client.
Nana Asante Bediatuo, lawyer for Captain Koda, said in a statement
yesterday, “This is not the kind of conduct expected from a minister of the
interior. We are surprised that a high ranking member of government would lend
himself to being used for this kind of propaganda.”
According to the lawyer, Mr. Bani in a statement he signed following
the arrests of the three South Africans who were deported yesterday, had made
false declarations about Captain Koda who was also detained by the Bureau of
National Investigations (BNI) during the investigations into the training of
security details of the NPP leaders.
1979 Revolution
Mr. Bani has claimed that Captain Koda was once jailed in the heat
of the 1979 ‘revolution’ by the AFRC for embezzlement of funds and was also
involved in the activities of Serbian nationals who were brought into the
country to train selected people drawn from across the country in the art of
civil insurrection in 2014.
However, Nana Asante Bediatuo described the statements as false and
said, “In the era when the Mahama Government continues to justify the
unjustifiable, and our security agencies blatantly flout an order of the court,
we are not surprised that a minister, who is mandated to ensure internal
security, as well as the maintenance of law and order in the country, would
also join the fray and spew palpable falsehoods in the bid to link the NPP and
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to violence.”
False Statement
According to the lawyer, Captain Koda was never jailed for
embezzlement as claimed by Mr. Bani.
“Yes, Captain Edmund Koda was involved in the uprising of June 4,
1979, which brought the AFRC regime into power. He was a member of the
pre-trial investigation team. He and other members of the team were accused of
having embezzled funds and were tried twice on the same charges by the
‘People’s Court’.
On both occasions, Captain Koda was acquitted and discharged.
He was, however, imprisoned in the Ussher Fort Prison. Indeed, the chairman of
the AFRC, Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings, demanded their release in November 1979, a
request which was refused by the Liman government. Captain Koda and his other
colleagues, eventually broke jail and sought political asylum in the United
Kingdom.”
Francois Commission
He added that “The Francois Commission, headed by Appeal Court
Judge, Justice Francois, was set up to investigate the jail break. At the
hearings of the Commission, Squadron Leader Dagbe, the President of the
People’s Court, admitted that Captain Koda had been acquitted and discharged at
the trial on the charges of “embezzlement”. Captain Koda has never been
convicted of corruption as is being claimed by the Minister of Interior. Refer
to Francois Commission report which is available at the Supreme Court Library.
Perhaps, it is equally unsurprising that a simple check of official records to
confirm basic facts is also fraught with incompetence.”
2014
Insurrection
On the 2014 alleged insurrection, Nana Asante Bediatuo said, “This
is the most ludicrous of all the statements made by the Interior Minister. For
the avoidance of doubt, Captain Koda did not meet any Serbian in 2014 or any
other time, let alone engage the services of Serbian nationals, or any other
persons, to train Ghanaians in the art of ‘civil insurrection,’ which is a
treasonable offence.
“The only Serbian Captain Koda knows is the former coach of the
Black Stars. Is it not curious that Captain Koda, since 2014, has been walking
a free man and has not been invited for questioning by National Security or the
BNI on this serious charge? Is the minister saying that our country’s security
would allow a man who has attempted to destabilize the country walk free?
Indeed, Captain Koda was in the custody of the BNI. Why was he not charged or
questioned on this Serbian issue? Why did he only learn of this matter from the
minister’s statement?”
NDC Gov’t
Obsession
“Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. The Mahama government is
obsessed with trying to tag the NPP, and, indeed, Nana Akufo-Addo, with
violence, with no shred of evidence. Indeed, the terrorists and mercenaries who
this government claimed had been imported by the NPP, have been deported during
the pendency of the case and without being subjected to trial,” the legal gem
noted.
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