Deceptive suspect remanded

… On three counts of fraud, conspiracy and issuance of dud cheque
Posted: The Chronicle | Friday, November 20, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

The suspect, who nearly landed some police personnel in a bloody clash with other colleagues on Wednesday, Kofi Boateng has been remanded into police custody for further investigations. This was when he appeared before an Accra Circuit Court, where he is facing charges of fraud, conspiracy and issuance of dud cheque. He is to reappear on November 23, 2009.
The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Adom, told the court that the suspect had agreed to corporate with investigations, and had even given the names of one Alhaji and another Laryea as his accomplices.

Kofi Boateng is the man who raised a false alarm in the early hours of Wednesday, this week, to deceive the police headquarters into dispatching two patrol teams who were fully armed to his Teshie residence, under the pretext that his family being attacked by supposed armed robbers, when rather they were policemen who had been detailed from the Accra West Divisional Headquarters at Kaneshie, to effect his arrest.

But, for the professional conduct of two patrol teams, they would have engaged their other colleagues in a shootout, considering the information they received.

Upon reaching the house in Teshie where the suspect was hiding, the police, some of whom were in mufti and others in uniform, went straight to knock at his door.

His wife then showed up at the door, and inquired from the policemen what their mission was.

They told the lady they had been sent to bring her husband to the station, and proceeded to ask of his whereabouts.

When asked whether the suspect was in the room, the lady was said to have responded in the negative.

The source told the paper that they suspected mischief, since they saw somebody moving about the room. But, before the police could take any action, another team of police in three police patrol vehicles arrived at the scene ready for action.

But for the sighting of one of the men from the Accra West divisional headquarters who was wearing a police uniform, the police officers from Police Headquarters would have opened fire on their other colleagues who had gone to the house in a private vehicle.

Word Miracle church owns Avenor land

…But Ahmadiyya Mission still lays claim to it
Posted:The Chronicle | Friday, November 20, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

Details have started emerging about the true owners of the disputed land at Avenor, in Accra, which has been a subject of controversy between the Bishop Charles Agyin Asare-led Word Miracle Church International (WMCI) and Maulvi Wahab Adam-led Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission over the last couple of days.
Chronicle investigations have revealed the identity of the original owner of the land, as one Kofi Appiah. Mr. Appiah became the owner of the land on May 24 1977, by virtue of the fact that he was given the deed of entitlement of the land by its previous owner, one Nii Ayitey Cobblah after transferring ownership into his name.

This came to light after the paper put in an official search request at the Lands Commission in Accra to ascertain the veracity of the claims and counter claims of the ownership.

The findings that came out after the search indicated that before the Word Miracle Church, the land had been owned by four different people in the persons of Joseph O.A Lamptey and Richard T. Nettey, who signed a declaration in November 23 1976, and then transferred the title deeds into the name of another Numo Ayittey Cobblah, whose name has been cited in documents in both claimants of the land.

The findings further indicated that Numo Ayittey Cobblah in turn transferred and signed a conveyance in May 24 1977, giving the title of the land to one John Kofi Appiah.

But when Mr. Appiah passed on in April 18 2003, the ownership of the land automatically went to his son and estate, one Kofi Afriyie, who won a legal action instituted by his late father at an Accra High Court, presided over by his Lordship Justice G.A Aryeetey, against the then Ghana Water Engineering company limited over the same parcel of land.

It was after winning this legal battle that Mr. Afriyie sold the land to the Word Miracle Church International in the year 2004, and assisted them in registering it in their name. It was based on this route of title and ownership that the Chief Registrar of Lands at the Land Title Registry decided to register the land in the name of the church and subsequently issued them with a Land Certificate, dated September 14 2009.

However, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission still make a claim to the land, since according to them they got it through an Indenture executed on or about December 11 1985, between the Mission as the lessee and the same Numo Ayittey Cobblah (Korle priest) who conveyed the land to Kofi Appiah in 1977 and Nii Ayittey Agbofu II (Gbese Mantse) and Nii Amugi II (Ga Mantse) as lessors.

In a letter copied to the Presiding Bishop of the WMCI, Bishop Charles Agyin Asare, the General Secretary of the Mission, Ahmad S. Anderson expressed his utter shock and dismay at the church’s claim to own the land.

Whilst they take steps to protect and defend the integrity of the said land, he noted,‘we deem it necessary in the spirit of peace and brotherhood that guide the activities of all religious organizations like ours, to claim ownership of the land.’

The only document that the Mission appear to be banking its hopes on, in their bid to claim ownership of the land is an Indenture which in itself does not constitute a deed or title to a land.

That notwithstanding, it has indicated its preparedness to explore avenues with the WMCI in resolving the controversy, devoid of tension, acrimony, rancour and bad press that recent events relating to the land have engendered. They thus prayed for an amicable resolution of the stand off, since according to them, ‘endless litigation would not serve the best interest of any of us.’

Meanwhile, an Accra High Court on Wednesday granted bail to the General Secretary of the WMCI, Bishop Frimpong. He was arrested and kept overnight by the police, alongside twenty-four others on the day of the shooting incident, which claimed 2 lives on the disputed land. The rest have been remanded into prison custody till the next hearing.

RAWLINGS THREATENS TO QUIT NDC

Posted: The Chronicle | Friday, November 20, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

``If we do not wake up to correct the mistakes, I will not have anything to do with the party. I have died so many times for the party, been humiliated both locally and internationally. I cannot die for the greedy bastards who have wormed their way into government.`` - H. E. Jerry John Rawlings
Former President Rawlings, who is also the Founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has threatened to quit the party if President Mills and members of his administration do not sit up.

“If we do not wake up to correct the mistakes, I will not have anything to do with the party. I have died so many times for the party, been humiliated both locally and internationally. I cannot die for the greedy bastards who have wormed their way into government,” was how he put it, when he met constituency chairmen drawn from twenty-two constituencies in the Greater Accra Region on Tuesday.

Rawlings said he noted fundamental mistakes in the Mills’ administration right from the onset, but when he publicly pointed them out to ensure that matters did not escalate, nothing significant was done to improve the situation.

Instead, he noted that some of his own colleague-NDC members, tried to insinuate that he harbours presidential ambitions. “We have brought people into our midst who are unknown to the party, people we do not know,” he said.

He charged the rank and file of the party, especially the footsoldiers, “to wake up and take their destiny into their own hands. When we won, I thought I could retire and write my memoirs, but I am not being allowed to that. I have suffered humiliation, assassination attempts, and abuse, and now I am facing the same with my party’s government? We seem to be afraid to right the wrongs of the past, and now the criminals of the past government are emboldened, and many have entrenched themselves in the military and other sensitive institutions.”

The former President could not, but charge members of the party he formed, to demand accountability from Professor Mills and his NDC administration, since, according to him, “there is no point in complaining about unfulfilled promises without a courageous attempt to confront government.”

The constituency chairmen sought audience with the former President to express misgivings about the break in communication between the party and government.

They were particularly concerned about the failure of the Presidency to accord them audience, despite repeated requests, and said it was dampening the mood in the party.

But Rawlings said he was well-aware of the discontentment among most of the party supporters, saying, “they think you constituency chairmen are comfortable. Unfortunately, you are also in the same situation as they are.”

Spokesman for the group and constituency chairman for La Dadekotopon, Magnus Anyetei Sowah, said the supporters had spent years working for the party to return to power, but unfortunately the synergy between government and party had totally broken down.

According to him, the Ga constituencies had played a yeoman’s role in returning the NDC into power, and therefore noted that it was unacceptable that they were being ignored in such a shabby manner.

He mentioned how some members of government have sought to silence them by threatening them not to speak publicly about their disenchantment or face their wrath.

Furthermore, Mr. Rawlings said it was unfortunate that issues of electoral fraud that nearly caused the NDC to lose last year’s election, have not been brought to the fore, even though there was enough evidence to expose it, asking rhetorically, “do we not understand politics?”

For this reason, the former President said it was important for members of the party to make wise decisions during the ongoing constituency and polling station elections, to ensure that only people who genuinely care for the people are elected, saying “we should not allow this party to be destroyed by any self-seeker.”

Earlier last Wednesday, a group of former parliamentary candidates, drawn from the Greater and Ashanti regions, also called on the former President to express similar sentiments of discontentment with the party’s failure to accord its faithful courtesies and audience.

Their spokesperson, Augustus Kweku Eshun, said the government and party leaders had failed to take stock of how victory was achieved, noting that some policies being currently implemented by the government were unpopular with the people, and could affect the fortunes of the NDC in 2012.

The candidates, who took turns to express their grievances, said they were disappointed that some of them were being tagged as pro-Rawlings, and thus against the Mills administration.

“During the campaign, we all saw how former President Rawlings campaigned vigorously across the country for President Mills. How can anyone in his right mind now question our closeness to him? Is he not the founder of the party?” one of them asked.

The group said the party’s structures had weakened, and it was imperative that the founder took steps to check the problems engulfing the party. Former President Rawlings, in response, noted that it was important that the former candidates stay faithful and loyal to the grassroots supporters, and not pursue individual agendas.

“If we are faithful and loyal to what the people are saying, we will go a long way. I have heard disgraceful things. If they want to destroy government, they should go ahead, but they should not transfer that to the party. If I was a selfish person, June 4 and 31st would not have happened. “Some of our people are intoxicated with power, and have forgotten about the people. The NDC that was born out of the quest for justice is being destroyed, so NPP will return.”

The former President said the only way to ensure that sanity prevailed, was for the party faithful to be bold and defy attempts by a few to hijack the party, and ignore the will of the people.

“We need to be truthful, bold and courageous, and tell the government that the NDC needs to demonstrate that there is something better than what the NPP offered,” former President Rawlings said.