State ready to start Woyome case on June 5th – Prosecution
* Source: GNA

The State on Monday said it is ready to start the trial of Mr. Alfred Agbesi Woyome and three others for their respective roles in the controversial GH¢51.2 million judgment debt payment on Tuesday June 5th.

Ms Cynthia Lamptey, Chief State Attorney told the Financial Court, a Division of the Fast Track High Court that the trial should have started Monday June 4th, but the accused persons who should have reported to the Police last Friday for their statements to be taken failed to do so.

She therefore asked the court to order the four accused persons to report to the Police for their statements to be taken in order for the trial to begin tomorrow.

Mr. Robertson Kpatsa, one of the lawyers of Mr. Woyome, explained to the court that the accused persons did not report to the Police last Friday because the investigators had told them to wait and when needed, they would be contacted.

Mr. John Ajet-Nassam, the Trial Judge, who was not convinced by the explanation of Mr. Kpatsa however adjourned the case to Wednesday, June 5, 2012.

Mr. Woyome is standing trial alongside Mr. Samuel Neequaye-Tetteh, a Chief State Attorney, Mr. Paul Asimenu, Director of Legal Services at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and Mrs Gifty Nerquaye-Tetteh, Nerquaye-Tetteh’s wife.

Mrs Neequaye-Tetteh has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢500,000 with two sureties and also ordered to report to the Police twice a week.

Mr. Woyome has pleaded not guilty to three counts of conspiracy, defrauding by false pretence and corrupting a public officer and has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢20 million with three sureties to be justified.

Mr. Neequaye-Tetteh has been charged with two counts of conspiracy and corruption of a public officer and has pleaded not guilty to the offence, while his wife faces one count of abetment of crime.

Mr. Asimenu on the other hand, has pleaded not guilty to one count of abetment of crime.

Mr. Neequaye-Tetteh and Mr. Asimenu have also been granted bail in the sum of GH¢6,000 each, with two sureties each, one each to be justified.

The facts of the case are that in 2009, Woyome allegedly made a false representation to the then Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, stating that he had a contract with the Government of Ghana regarding the construction of sports stadia for CAN 2008 but that the contract had unlawfully been abrogated.

According to the prosecution, Mr. Woyome subsequently filed a writ at the High Court, claiming he was owed GH¢41 million and interest of GH¢10.2 million, bringing the total to GH¢51.2 million.

The prosecution said money paid were GH¢17.9 million in February 2010, GH¢10 million on January 27, 2011, GH¢10 million on April 18, 2011 and GH¢14.1 million on September 12, 2011.

It said investigations showed that the government did not owe Woyome, while Neequaye-Tetteh failed to go to court to defend the action Woyome had instituted against the state.

The prosecution further pointed out that Woyome had transferred GH¢400,000 into Mrs Neequaye-Tetteh’s account.

Investigations also revealed that as the director of Legal Services, Asimenu had written opinions and quoted wrong figures, as well as given information which created conditions for Woyome to be paid money which was not due him (Woyome).


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Crash scene attracts hundreds of curious visitors
* Source:  Daily Graphic

Residents around the 37 Military Hospital, the El-Wak Stadium and surrounding areas are still living in a state of fear and panic a day after a cargo plane had rammed into a 207 benz bus, instantly killing all 10 passengers on board.

The plane lost control on landing at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) and ended up smashing into the 207 Benz bus. Its crew of four, survived the accident.

Some of the residents are so scared that they sometimes raise their heads or run for cover whenever aeroplanes take off at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

There was uneasy calm at the Burma Camp, near the Kotoka International Airport, where most of the deceased persons were believed to be heading to when the incident occurred.

When graphic.com.gh visited the Burma Camp, the 37 Military Hospital area and the El-Wak Stadium sunday, many of the residents were at church services, while others were going about their normal activities.

“We are afraid; we don’t know when this incident is going to occur again,” a resident said. “Anytime we hear the noise of a plane fly past, we get scared.”

A visit to the house of the driver of the Benz bus at the Burma Camp saw a huge gathering of family members clad in black wailing, with some sitting on the bare floor.

According to the family members, the deceased, George Osei, 33, was the breadwinner among the three children of his father’s, Mr Kenneth Asiamah.

Osei usually conveyed passengers from the 37 Station to Teshie-Nungua or the Spintex Road and back.

He was a member and special driver of the Garrison Church of Pentecost, Burma Camp.

With sadness in his voice, Mr Asiamah told graphic.com.gh that he had a phone call from one of his sons, Richard Anane, a Lance Corporal in the Ghana Armed Forces, a few minutes after the accident on Saturday that Osei was the Benz bus driver who had died in the plane crash.

Mr Asiamah said he couldn’t sleep throughout the night and so on Sunday morning he went to the 37 Military Hospital morgue where he identified his son’s body.

When the scene was revisited on Sunday morning, there was a long queue at the entrance to the condoned area with people struggling to catch a glimpse of the plane.

Some among the crowd were taking pictures, while others were just looking at the crashed plane. Police and armed military men were there guarding the area.

Meanwhile, the scene of the Saturday plane crash has become a tourist site, attracting hundreds of people.

On Sunday, people, some with their children, came from far and near, including places such as Kasoa, Tema, Achimota, Lapaz and Nima, to see the plane.

Some people visited the place before going to church, while others went there after church service.

To control the crowd that wanted to enter the Hajj Village to look at the smashed plane and the mangled 207 bus, the police made the enthusiastic people form long queues to enter the place in turns.

Some of the people around suggested that the security services should charge some gate fees to generate some funds for the state.

As if it were a competition, many of the curious ‘tourists’ used their mobile phones and tablets to take shots of the partly damaged aircraft and the mangled 207 bus.

Some of them engaged in arguments regarding the best way the pilot could have controlled the aircraft on the runway to avoid skidding onto the main road.
* Daily Graphic


Residents around the 37 Military Hospital, the El-Wak Stadium and surrounding areas are still living in a state of fear and panic a day after a cargo plane had rammed into a 207 benz bus, instantly killing all 10 passengers on board.

The plane lost control on landing at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) and ended up smashing into the 207 Benz bus. Its crew of four, survived the accident.

Some of the residents are so scared that they sometimes raise their heads or run for cover whenever aeroplanes take off at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

There was uneasy calm at the Burma Camp, near the Kotoka International Airport, where most of the deceased persons were believed to be heading to when the incident occurred.

When graphic.com.gh visited the Burma Camp, the 37 Military Hospital area and the El-Wak Stadium sunday, many of the residents were at church services, while others were going about their normal activities.

“We are afraid; we don’t know when this incident is going to occur again,” a resident said. “Anytime we hear the noise of a plane fly past, we get scared.”

A visit to the house of the driver of the Benz bus at the Burma Camp saw a huge gathering of family members clad in black wailing, with some sitting on the bare floor.

According to the family members, the deceased, George Osei, 33, was the breadwinner among the three children of his father’s, Mr Kenneth Asiamah.

Osei usually conveyed passengers from the 37 Station to Teshie-Nungua or the Spintex Road and back.

He was a member and special driver of the Garrison Church of Pentecost, Burma Camp.

With sadness in his voice, Mr Asiamah told graphic.com.gh that he had a phone call from one of his sons, Richard Anane, a Lance Corporal in the Ghana Armed Forces, a few minutes after the accident on Saturday that Osei was the Benz bus driver who had died in the plane crash.

Mr Asiamah said he couldn’t sleep throughout the night and so on Sunday morning he went to the 37 Military Hospital morgue where he identified his son’s body.

When the scene was revisited on Sunday morning, there was a long queue at the entrance to the condoned area with people struggling to catch a glimpse of the plane.

Some among the crowd were taking pictures, while others were just looking at the crashed plane. Police and armed military men were there guarding the area.

Meanwhile, the scene of the Saturday plane crash has become a tourist site, attracting hundreds of people.

On Sunday, people, some with their children, came from far and near, including places such as Kasoa, Tema, Achimota, Lapaz and Nima, to see the plane.

Some people visited the place before going to church, while others went there after church service.

To control the crowd that wanted to enter the Hajj Village to look at the smashed plane and the mangled 207 bus, the police made the enthusiastic people form long queues to enter the place in turns.

Some of the people around suggested that the security services should charge some gate fees to generate some funds for the state.

As if it were a competition, many of the curious ‘tourists’ used their mobile phones and tablets to take shots of the partly damaged aircraft and the mangled 207 bus.

Some of them engaged in arguments regarding the best way the pilot could have controlled the aircraft on the runway to avoid skidding onto the main road.


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Fighting intensifies between Konkombas and Bemobas in Nankpanduri
* Source: Joyonline


Latest reports indicate tension is escalating in Kpanyili, a village near Nankpanduri in the Northern region following intense fighting between Kokombas and Bemobas there.

Eye witnesses say several houses have been set ablaze and there are exchanges of gun fire. Residents are said to be fleeing to neighbouring towns.

The clashes are said to have been sparked by a land dispute.

There are no reports of casualties yet, but some residents who spoke to Joy News say they are afraid for their lives.

Women and children are reportedly seeking refuge in the woods.

The chief of Nankpanduri David Kansuk told Joy News the security officials on the were overwhelmed and need support.

He said the aggressors were many and were using sophisticated weapons and that if nothing urgent was done, “the whole town will go up in flames.”

Northern Regional Police Commander DCOP George Tuffuor earlier told Joy News reinforcement will be sent to the area.

Inspector-General of Police Paul Tawiah Quaye who is also in the region is said to be briefing the Interior Minister on the clashes.


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Allied Airline CEO in Ghana over plane crash
* Source: Citifmonline

Representatives from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) have met with the Emergency Operations Centre in Ghana following the crash involving the Allied Air Cargo Aircraft on Saturday that claimed 10 lives at the El-Wak Sports Stadium.

They were accompanied by Mr. Valentine Tongo, the Chief Executive Officer of Allied Airlines and some representatives of the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana.

This was in response to the accident involving the Nigerian cargo airline which was enroute from Lagos to Accra to Abidjan and overshot the runway on landing.

Eng. Kayode, the representative of the NCAA Director-General, expressed the willingness of the NCAA to help with the on-going investigations.

He also apologised on behalf of the Director-General of the NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren, for his inability to come to Ghana. He was initially scheduled to come but could not make it as a result of the air crash in Lagos, Nigeria involving Dana Airline, which led to the death of some 153 passengers and many others on the ground. They also expressed their sympathy for the unfortunate loss of lives.

On her part, Mrs. Doreen Owusu-Fianko, Chairman of the Emergency Operation Centre and the Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited welcomed the team and stated that investigations were well under way.

Members of the crew of the aircraft have since been discharged from the Airport Clinic.

Meanwhile, the Giffard Road (between El-Wak traffic lights and the Burma Camp Shell filling station) has been re-opened to vehicular traffic and not to pedestrians.


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Public cautions Rawlings to tone down criticisms of government
* Source: GNA

A section of people who attended last Sunday’s June 4 commemorative rally at Aflao have criticised former President Jerry John Rawlings of being unfairly critical of the government of Professor Evans Atta Mills.

The former President described the government as being corrupt, undisciplined and abandoning the June 4 ideals and rendering itself vulnerable to defeat in the December.

There were shouts from a section of the crowd admonishing former President Rawlings to exercise restraint and allow peace a chance in the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

But he retorted, “I, to exercise restraint or forgive him I would not because he had abandoned the ideals of the Party, refuse to take advice and continuously drive people with integrity and hard work from the government.

I would not discuss anything with the government indoors as being suggested to me by some because June 4 was not launched indoors,” former President Rawlings retorted.

Ex-President Rawlings said actions and inactions of the government were what would drive it into opposition not his criticisms because the administration would have been walking tall were it amenable to advice.

On the NDC logo, he said the umbrella, was suggested by his wife Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings and the 31st December Movement.

Dr. Josiah Aryeh, former General Secretary of the NDC warned of dangerous legal implications arising in relation to the merger between the NDC and the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP).


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4 shot in Nakpanduri gun ‘battle’
* Source: CitifmOnline


Police in Nakpanduri say four persons have been injured in renewed communal clashes between Bimobas and Konkombas in Timali, a farming community in the Northern region of Ghana.

The Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District Police Chief, ASP Michael Zah, said the victims sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to the Baptist Medical Centre for treatment.

The troubles erupted after disagreements over the true ownership of a parcel of farm land in Timali. The Bimobas and Konkombas have been fighting intermittently over the said farmland for decades.

“Yesterday in the night all seemed very calm until 5am when the Konkombas started firing again and the Bimobas responded; so as I speak now there is sporadic firing and the security is doing everything possible to avert any spill over,” the Police chief said.

He added that, “for now we cannot tell you how many houses have been burnt down but I can say the number of houses that have been set ablaze are unaccountable.”

Meanwhile, James Kansuk, a brother to the Nakpanduri Chief told Citi News over 300 houses have been completely burnt down in Timali.

“They started at Timali and burnt down the whole town and are now advancing towards Nakpanduri Township; over 300 houses were in Tamale and all have been completely burnt down.”

On the security situation, he complained, “The police are there and they cannot shoot and when they see the people advancing they retreat, some three soldiers came and they did some something and we are now somehow secured.

A free lance Journalist in Tamale, Mashoud Kombat told Citi News the Inspector General of Police, Paul Tawiah Quaye on Monday arrived in Tamale, the Northern Regional Capital. It was not confirmed whether he was there on a fact finding mission.


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Bunkrurugu-Yunyoo opinion leaders condemn latest clashes in Nakpanduri
* Citifmonline


Opinion leaders from Bunkpurugu- Yunyoo District in the Northern Region, on Monday appealed to Konkombas and Bimobas to halt the latest hostilities between them over a piece of land, which had led to destruction of property.

There are no confirmation reports about the casualty figures although a number of houses have been destroyed in a lot of communities including Nakpanduri, the commercial hub of the district.

Mr. Daniel Bugri Naabu, President of Konkomba Development Association, Mr Dubik Y. Mahama, a lawyer and Bimoba Opinion Leader and Mr. David Kombat, Chairman of Bimoba Youth Association who spoke to the Ghana News Agency in Accra over the issue, were unanimous in their view that the conflict, which started on Sunday evening was needless.

The conflict is over a piece of land at Kpemali, a suburb of Nakpanduri hosting the local Catholic Basic School.

Mr. Bugri Naabu expressed surprise that Konkombas and Bimobas who speak the same language, share one culture and tradition and inter-marry should engage in an unnecessary conflict.

“How can people who are asking for separate district and more development projects go about waging wars? The destruction of lives and property is shameful and needless,” he stressed.

Mr. Mahama asked the security agencies to deal decisively with those behind the clashes to serve as deterrent to the trouble makers.

He said when the animosities started in 1986 amongst the two ethnic groups, no commission of enquiry was set up to find out the cause of the conflicts and punish those behind the crimes committed to facilitate lasting solution to the issue.

“This is giving the people the urge to continue to misbehave. It is either a conflict among Konkombas and Bimobas or intra – ethnic conflicts among the two groups,” he noted.

Mr. Mahama asked the government to establish a body to deal with the problem once and for all.

Mr. Kombat asked the security agencies to deal firmly with the situation on the ground before it degenerates into a full scale war.


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El-Wak Plane Crash: We tried our best to stop – Pilot
* CitifmOnline


One of the pilots of the Allied Air cargo plane that crushed 10 people to death over the weekend has explained that the heavy rains on that fateful day could be blamed for the tragedy.

Speaking to Accra-based Multi TV at the Airport Clinic, where he and his other three colleagues are receiving treatment, the pilot said they did their possible best to avert the tragedy, which can also be linked to poor visibility, but it went beyond their control.

The pilot, whose name was not disclosed, said they complied with all aviation procedures with regards to landing.

He said: “We landed alright, but the air plane just will not stop. We tried everything possible to keep it on the runaway and it just keeps going and we went out of the runaway and the rest is history.”

The pilot expressed his condolences to those who lost their lives, adding they got to know of the fatalities at the hospital.

“We thank God. I want to take this opportunity to express our condolences to those who lost their lives. We were not even aware of that until we go here. We are really very sorry about that.”

A five-member committee has been inaugurated to ascertain the cause of Saturday night’s plane crash involving the Nigeria carrier.

The committee being chaired by Captain Alex Grant Sam has 30 days to submit its report to the Minister of Transport, Collins Dauda, who inaugurated it on Sunday.

It has also been tasked to make recommendations to forestall any future occurrences.

Others members of the committee are Mr. Ben Boutu, Ex. Director, Safety Regulation, Mr. Ben Sakpaku, Ex. GCAA Deputy Director, Safety Regulation, Mr. Eric Ewusi, Safety Regulation and Mr Kenneth Kofi Kwawukume, Ex. Deputy Director, Air Traffic Services.