GLOA congratulates President Mills

Thursday, January 8, 2009 (Page 12)

THE Ghana Lotto Operators Association (GLOA) has congratulated the President-elect, Professor John Evans Atta Mills on his victory in the December polls.
"It is our prayer that the good Lord will grant you wisdom and strength to enable you succeed in the arduous task ahead with distinction," Mr Seth Amoani, the General Secretary of the GLOA, an association made up of more than 500,000 members stated.
At a press briefing in Accra today, Mr Amoani on behalf of the association said "we remain trusting that with determination you would be able to fulfil your promise and commitment to help the private sector grow without exceptions."
The GLOA reminded Professor Mills on his promise to revive the private lotto industry which has been outlawed with the passage of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) Act 2006, Act 722.
"We further wish to pledge our unflinching support to you in your endeavour to finding a lasting solution to problems affecting the lotto industry," the GLOA consisting Obiri Asare and Sons Limited, Rambel Enterprises Limited, Dan Multipurpose Trading Enterprise Limited, Agrop Association Limited, Star Lotto Limited and From-Home Enterprises had sought to question the constitutionality of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) Act 2006, Act 722 pointed out.
The association also expressed the hope that Professor Mills' experience in government would enable him to confront the challenges that might come his way for the benefit of all.
Professor Mills is on record to have stated that he would address problems that confronted the private lotto industry following the passage of the Lotto Act in order to revamp the industry.
The GLOA has in the past year lost four different motions it filed challenging the eligibility of the Lotto Act right from the Fast Track High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
The association has, nevertheless, filed another motion praying the Supreme Court to quash the proceedings which led to the dismissal of an application for injunction pending an appeal against the outlaw of private lotto in the country.
The GLOA had sued the National Lottery Authority (NLA) and maintained that its rights to free market activity had been impinged upon by the NLA following the passage of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) Act 2006, Act 722, but the Fast Track High Court dismissed the application, prompting the GLOA to appeal.
After filing the appeal, the GLOA filed another application praying the court to stay execution of its judgement pending the outcome of the appeal which it (GLOA) said had a good chance of success.
However, on November 4, 2008, the court, presided over by Mr Justice K.A. Ofori-Atta, said the appellants were not able to assert their right to the law of equity.
Following the lower court’s decision, the GLOA filed the application to invoke the supervisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to quash the Fast Track High Court’s proceedings on October 22, 2008 which led to the subsequent dismissal of its application for injunction.
It is also praying the Supreme Court to order the stay of execution of the court’s ruling which the GLOA said impinged on its right to access to free market activity.
According to the GLOA, the learned trial judge lacked the jurisdiction to hear the application for injunction pending appeal.
The application is expected to be moved on Tuesday, January 13, 2009.
The grounds of the motion were that the matter challenging the constitutionality or otherwise of the Lotto Act had been put before Mr Justice Edward Asante after it was transferred from Mr Justice Anthony Abada’s court by the Chief Justice.
In its statement of case, the applicant stated that Mr Justice Asante adjourned hearing of the case to October 22, 2008 but on the next adjourned date it emerged that Mr Justice Asante was on leave and for that matter a court clerk adjourned it to November 6, 2008.
“On the same day of October 22, 2008, the case was called at the High Court Fast Track 2 presided over by Mr Justice Ofori-Atta who heard submissions in the absence of the applicant and its counsel. The learned trial judge then adjourned the pending application for ruling on November 4, 2008,” it stated.
It further argued that on November 4, 2008, counsel for the applicant appeared before the court and objected to the delivery of the ruling on the grounds that the judge lacked jurisdiction to hear the application and deliver a ruling.
According to the applicant, “since the case was transferred to Justice Asante by an order from the Chief Justice, it is only another order from the Chief Justice that can put the case before him (Justice Ofori-Atta) to determine”.
The applicant argued that “in the absence of an order of transfer and any evidence confirming its existence, Justice Ofori-Atta overruled our objection and proceeded to dismiss the application for injunction pending appeal”.
Citing authorities to support its argument, the applicant held that it was evident that the registrar of the Fast Track High Court, and not the Chief Justice, transferred the case to Justice Ofori-Atta’s court.
“The registrar sought to arrogate to himself the powers of the Chief Justice, which he did not have, and had no authority of the Chief Justice to act in that regard,” the GLOA stated.
The Fast Track High Court’s judgement banning private lotto followed an application by the NLA, which prayed the court to dismiss the plaintiff’s suit on the premise that the Supreme Court had declared the Lotto Act constitutional and, for that reason, there was no basis for the substantive suit to continue at the lower court.

Tsatsu Tsikata freed

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 (Page 3 Lead)

PRESIDENT J.A. Kufuor has granted a free, absolute and unconditional pardon to the incarcerated former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Mr Tsatsu Tsikata.
More than 500 people, including high-profile personalities who served various prison terms for causing financial loss to the state, have also been pardoned.
A statement signed by a Deputy Minister of Information, Mr Frank Agyekum, and issued in Accra yesterday said the President granted the free, absolute and unconditional pardon under his prerogative of mercy as enshrined in Article 72 of the Constitution.
The pardon means Mr Tsikata, who was sentenced to five years imprisonment by an Accra Fast Track High Court for causing financial loss to the state, and the others never committed any offence.
It also means Mr Tsikata, who is still on admission at the Cardiothoracic Centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, and the others can be appointed into public office, as well as stand for elections, without any criminal record on their heads.
Other persons who have been granted free, absolute and unconditional pardon, although they have completed their various terms of prison sentence, are Mr Kwame Peprah, a former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning; Mr Akenteng Appiah-Menka, who served a prison term in 1986 for causing financial loss to the state, as well as Mallam Issah, a former Minister of Youth and Sports who also served a prison term under the Kufuor administration.
Other personalities who have served various prison terms for causing financial loss to the state and have been pardoned include Mr Dan Abodakpi, a former Minister of Trade and Industry, and Mr Ibrahim Adam, a former Minister of Food and Agriculture; Dr George Sepah-Yankey, a former Director at the Ministry of Finance, all under the NDC.
Other affected persons are first-time offenders who have served more than half of their prison terms, nursing mothers, prisoners above 70, seriously ill prisoners and persons serving at the President’s pleasure.
Prisoners who have been convicted for murder, rape, armed robbery, narcotic offences, defilement, manslaughter, threat of death, carrying of offensive weapons and escape from lawful custody are not included.
However, those who have been convicted for murder and have served at least 10 years, have shown remorse and are well behaved will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment and a definite term of 20 years, with effect from the day of amnesty.
One of the lawyers for Mr Tsikata, Mr Tony Lithur, confirmed President Kufuor's unconditional pardon for Mr Tsikata in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday.
He, however, could not state the details of the pardon, with the explanation that those details were with Mr Tsikata.
Mr Lithur, who is a member of the National Democratic Congress' transition team on legal affairs, was in the transition meeting when the Daily Graphic called to verify whether or not Mr Tsikata had been granted a Presidential pardon.
Asked whether or not Mr Tsikata would pursue the appeal against his conviction, Mr Lithur said he could not tell at the moment.
"We are yet to study the entire content of the pardon and advise Mr Tsikata on what to do next," counsel explained.
On December 18, 2008, the Court of Appeal, by a unanimous decision, ruled that the Accra Fast Track High Court erred in dismissing the bail application pending appeal filed by Mr Tsikata.
It, therefore, upheld an appeal filed against the dismissal of the application by Tsikata against the trial judge, Mrs Justice Henrietta Abban.
According to the court, the trial judge erred in dismissing the application because at the time the application was dismissed Tsikata had not even moved it, based on the fact that he did not have a copy of the court’s judgement which was very essential for his bail application.
It said the judge could have, under the circumstance, adjourned the matter to enable Tsikata to have a copy of the judgement, instead of dismissing the application.
By the decision, the court thus restored Tsikata’s bail application but it did not give directions as to where it should be heard.
His application for bail was expected to be heard this week, according to sources.
Mrs Justice Abban, on July 20, 2008, dismissed a bail application filed by Tsikata pending an appeal against his five-year conviction for causing financial loss to the state.
According to Mrs Justice Abban, Tsikata’s refusal to move the motion for bail pending appeal was an indication that he was no longer interested in pursuing the application.
She had earlier refused to decline jurisdiction in the hearing of the bail application on the grounds that she was not biased, as had been alleged by Tsikata.
Tsikata was, on June 18, 2008, found guilty on three counts of wilfully causing financial loss of GH¢230,000 to the state and another count of misapplying public property and sentenced to five years imprisonment on each count to run concurrently.
He was charged in 2002 with three counts of wilfully causing financial loss of GH¢230,000 to the state through a loan he guaranteed for Valley Farms on behalf of the GNPC and another count of misapplying public property.
Valley Farms contracted the loan from Caisse Francaise de Developement in 1991 but defaulted in the payment and the GNPC, which acted as the guarantor, was compelled to pay it in 1996.
Tsikata, who had maintained his innocence throughout the six-year trial, appealed against his conviction.

Fast Track Court says no to first motion

Friday, January 1, 2009 (Second Lead Story)

THE Accra Fast Track High Court yesterday refused to hear an ex-parte application for interim injunction filed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its Chairman, Mr Peter Mac Manu, against the Electoral Commission (EC) and its chairman.
The court, instead, indicated that looking at the nature of the case and the exigencies, it was prudent for the interested parties, namely, Prof John Evans Atta Mills, the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the NDC to be served on notice with the pleadings to enable them to react appropriately.
He also reminded the plaintiffs that the EC was only a referee between the NPP and the NDC and for that matter it was important that the NDC was served on notice to respond to the issue raised.
Consequently, Mr Justice Edward Amoako Asante adjourned the hearing to Monday, January 5, 2009 and asked the applicants to serve the interested parties by 10 a.m. today to enable them to respond by 4 p.m on Sunday.
The applicants were represented by Mr Atta Akyea and Mrs Irene Addo. On the other side were Mr Samuel Cudjoe, who described himself as a friend of the court, Mr Tony Lithur, Mr Bram Larbi and Mr Fui Tsikata, among a host of other lawyers.
But the parties to the suit were not in court and the writ was to restrain the EC from going ahead to declare the final results of the presidential election without a re-run of the Volta Region election results.
Mr Justice Asante resumed his seat at exactly 11.45 a.m., paving the way for the day’s proceedings to start.
Tempers flared in court but the judge acted tactfully in handling the issue.
The nature of the writ was not made known and after Mr Atta Akyea had announced himself and had been asked by the court to proceed with his application, Mr Cudjoe told the court that as a friend of the court, he was of the view that its sitting was in breach of the Public Holiday Act, Act 601.
Before he could finish with his submission, the judge told him that the Chief Justice had issued a warrant to authorise the sitting, but Mr Cudjoe proceeded and indicated that it was only the President who, under Order 79 of the Rules of Court, could order the court to convene on a public holiday.
He said the Schedule of Act 601 had listed a number of days as public holidays, and they included January 1, on which any business, apart from those related to the essential services, was prohibited.
“On a public holiday, the Judicial Service cannot operate. It is an offence to sit on a public holiday,” he declared, adding that a breach of that suffered a penalty of 100 penalty units or three months imprisonment or both.
Mr Cudjoe said the only exception to the provision was when the President, by Executive Instrument, ordered the court to sit on a public holiday. Therefore, the warrant issued by the Chief Justice was wrong because she did not have the power to do that except an order from the President.
“The court will have to abide by the provision. Anybody who insists that the court sits is causing an offence,” he said.
Mr Akyea described the argument by Mr Cudjoe as unfortunate and a misrepresentation, since the President was not the head of the judiciary, although business activities in governmental institutions were covered by Act 601.
“It is Order 79 that guides this court and since counsel drew his own sword, he must die by it,” he said, and pointed out that the Chief Justice could set aside any day for the court to sit as the circumstances required.
He drew the analogy that even on a Sunday somebody had gone to the house of a judge to have judgement in his favour to prevent the taking away of a child from the jurisdiction.
According to Mr Akyea, the argument would undermine the Constitution of Ghana in which the judiciary was a separate body not answerable to the President or any authority.
He said the Court’s Act was clear that the Chief Justice could appoint any judge to sit on any day, including vacations, and, therefore, the court should exercise its jurisdiction accordingly and reject claims to appoint the President as the head of the judiciary.
“This court should not allow a crisis situation to be created because of the pleasure of a friend of the court. The objection has no basis in law because the court does not work for other essential services listed under Act 601,” he argued.
Mr Cudjoe rose and said when it came to the courts sitting during the vacation, the Chief Justice had the authority, yet she should abide by the law.
Mr Fui Tsikata also intervened to ask the court not to jeopardise the constitutional provisions by entertaining the matter in the first place because it did not have the power to make the order that it made.
”This is illegal and subverting the legal process,” he claimed.
The judge intervened in the ensuing exchanges but Mr Lithur challenged Mr Akyea over what he described as ethical issues of the law profession which would be taken up.
Mr Justice Asante ruled that having listened to the arguments, he was of teh view that yesterday was a public holiday and a vacation as well but siunce he had a warrant to go on with the case he would proceed and subsequently made teh orders.
He said
Supporters of the NDC who initially did not understand the import of the court’s action were angry but their leaders explained matters to them to calm them down.
Some of the comments they initially passed were: “When it was our time, we handed over to you peacefully. Now you don’t want to hand over peacefully”; “We cannot believe the Chief Justice can order a judge to sit on a public holiday”; “The whole world is watching you”; “Hand over power and preserve the remaining dignity you have, if any”, among many others.
That notwithstanding, they left the heavily guarded court premises calm and a bit cheerful.

NPP FILES WRIT • Calling for suspension of election in Tain Constituency

Friday, January 2, 2009 (Second Lead Story)

THE New Patriotic Party (NPP) yesterday afternoon filed a fresh application at the Fast Track High Court seeking an order to restrain the Electoral Commission (EC) from conducting today’s presidential run-off in the Tain Constituency.
The writ, which was filed on notice, is also seeking an order of interlocutory injunction to restrain the EC from declaring the winner of the 2008 presidential election without a re-run of the election in the Volta Region.
It was filed at 2.46 p.m. by Zoe, Akyea & Co on behalf of the NPP and its Chairman, Peter Mac Manu, against the EC and its Chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan.
Those affected by the writ are Prof John Evans Atta Mills and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The motion will be moved on Monday, January 5, 2009.
An affidavit in support of the motion said the plaintiffs were dissatisfied with the conduct of the election in the Volta Region generally and particularly in the Ho Central, Ho East, Ho West, Ave-Avenor, North Tongu, Keta, Ketu South, Hohoe South and South Dayi constituencies.
"There was massive electoral malpractice which severely compromised the election, rendering it manifestly unreliable," it pointed out.
According to plaintiffs, the results reflected in the Volta Region should not be included in the national vote tally because it would "taint/compromise the credibility, fairness and transparency of the entire presidential election of December 28, 2008".
They said on December 28, 2008, the Campaign Director of the NPP wrote a letter to the EC, complaining of the irregularities in the Volta Region poll and requested that the poll be suspended until the said irregularities had been investigated and rectified.
Plaintiffs averred that the NPP again raised the issue with the Chairman of the EC on December 30, 2008 but to no avail, adding that "the defendant has gone ahead to include the impugned results of the Volta Region poll in the tally of votes in the presidential election, without taking account of plaintiffs’ complaints nor taking steps to investigate and rectify same".
According to plaintiffs, the failure of the Chairman of the EC to consider, investigate and resolve the complaints of the plaintiff in respect of the December 28, 2008 presidential election was contrary to law and principles of natural justice.
They averred that as a result of the conduct of the EC, the results of the presidential election would not reflect the true will of the people of Ghana.
"Having due regard to the urgency of this case after January 2, 2009, a plausible case of necessity has been made to warrant the grant of an injunction in order to avoid a situation in which the plaintiffs will suffer irreparable damage," the affidavit in support of the motion stated.
"The exigencies have also not permitted us to annex our supporting documents and statement of case which we shall furnish the court in a supplementary affidavit," plaintiffs explained.
According to them, the Chairman of the EC erred when he came to the arbitrary position that the Tain Constituency was the decider, without considering the electoral malpractice in the Volta Region.

Graphic driver escapes mob action

Tuesday, December 30, 2008 (Back Page)

THE young man who was nearly lynched by a mob at Abeka Lapaz on December 28, 2008 has been identified as a driver with the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL).
Mr Benjamin Amedome, who is five feet two inches tall, was mistaken for a macho man and was nearly lynched by a mob but he was rescued by the police.
Narrating his ordeal to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, Mr Amedome said he had been offered a lift by one of the drivers of GCGL and later got down in front of a popular spot called the Abrantie Spot to board another vehicle to Achimota.
According to him, he saw people running up and down and when he enquired he was told that some macho men had allegedly arrived at some polling stations to snatch ballot boxes being used in the presidential run-off.
“To my surprise, I saw the crowd running towards my direction. Sensing danger, I took to my heels to save my life,” Mr Amedome narrated.
According to him, an object was thrown at him and in the process he sustained a head injury.
“I kept running for my life and but for the timely intervention of the police, I would have been dead by now,” Mr Amedome pointed out.
He explained that the police took him to the police station for safety and he was later released to seek medical care.
Mr Amedome expressed his profound gratitude to the police for saving his life.
Meanwhile, Benjamin Glover reports from Garu Tempane that two natives of Garu who were arrested by the police on Sunday for allegedly influencing and coercing voters to vote for one of the two political parties have been released.
The two, Alale Amos, 38, and Albert Alalezuuda, 41, were picked up at Zesira/Nelita for allegedly intimidating voters.
They were picked up on the instructions of the Upper East Regional Minister.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Assistant Superintendent of Police Mr Patrick Atim Ayisala said the two were granted police enquiry bail, adding that the police would conduct further investigations to verify the authenticity or otherwise of the allegation.
In a related development, another suspect, Alhassan Muniru, who was alleged to be in possession of two ballot papers has been detained by the police pending further investigations.

No salary arrears - Sottie

Saturday, December 13, 2008 (Page 28)

THE Controller and Accountant-General, Mr Christian Tetteh Sottie, has stated that the government is not in arrears of salaries for public servants.
According to him, the salaries for 378,623 public servants totalling GH¢112.9 million for the month of November 2008 had been paid.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in reaction to reports that some public servants had not received their salaries, Mr Sottie said “as far as we are concerned, public servants have been paid. No one has brought any complaint to our notice. We will act immediately when such problems are brought before us.”
He further stated that the December salaries for public servants would be released to the banks on December 18, 2008.
Explaining what led to the delays in the payment of salaries to public servants in the past few months, Mr Sottie said such problems began when the government payroll started running fully on the Oracle software popularly known as the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Database (IPPD2) in October 2006.
According to him some of the problems encountered included overpayments, underpayments and recoveries of overpayments, among others.
One disturbing factor he mentioned was the fact that the pay details of public servants pay slips did not give enough details about how the net pay of workers were arrived at.
To address those anomalies, Mr Sottie pointed out that the software was upgraded to a newer version which took into consideration the problems encountered in the past.
Mr Sottie pointed out that the upgraded software was used to process the payroll of government workers for the first time in October 2008, adding that several controls had been built into the upgraded software to check errors and abuses.
Following the upgrading of the IPPD2 system, Mr Sottie said moneys which were overpaid to workers were recovered but during the recovery process, it was observed workers were severely affected.
Consequently, Mr Sottie stated that the recoveries were suspended for investigation to establish beyond reasonable doubts that all the recoveries were correct before effecting the deductions.
He also admitted that his department was mindful of the fact that the overpayments did not result from the fault of the workers hence the need to spread the recoveries over a long period to ameliorate the suffering of workers.
Mr Sottie disclosed that all arrears due staff before the commencement of IPPD2 in June and October 2006 had been paid, adding that overpayment recoveries had also been refunded while investigations continued.
He once again apologised to all workers for any inconvenience caused them during the upgrading of the IPPD2.
The Controller and Accountant-General assured workers that his doors were wide open, and for that matter they should not hesitate to bring to his knowledge problems they were encountering in connection with their salaries.

Lotto operators go to Supreme Court

Friday, December 12, 2008 (Page 31)

THE Ghana Lotto Operators Association (GLOA) has filed a motion praying the Supreme Court to quash the proceedings which led to the dismissal of an application for injunction pending an appeal against the outlaw of private lotto in the country.
The GLOA had sued the National Lottery Authority (NLA) and maintained that its rights to free market activity had been impinged upon by the NLA following the passage of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) Act 2006, Act 722, but the Fast Track High Court dismissed the application, prompting the GLOA to appeal.
After filing the appeal, the GLOA filed another application praying the court to stay execution of its judgement pending the outcome of the appeal which it (GLOA) said had a good chance of success.
However, on November 4, 2008, the court, presided over by Mr Justice K.A. Ofori-Atta, said the appellants were not able to assert their right to the law of equity.
Following the lower court’s decision, the GLOA filed the application to invoke the supervisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to quash the Fast Track High Court’s proceedings on October 22, 2008 which led to the subsequent dismissal of its application for injunction.
It is also praying the Supreme Court to order the stay of execution of the court’s ruling which the GLOA said impinged on its right to access to free market activity.
According to the GLOA, the learned trial judge lacked the jurisdiction to hear the application for injunction pending appeal.
The application is expected to be moved on Tuesday, January 13, 2009.
The grounds of the motion were that the matter challenging the constitutionality or otherwise of the Lotto Act had been put before Mr Justice Edward Asante after it was transferred from Mr Justice Anthony Abada’s court by the Chief Justice.
In its statement of case, the applicant stated that Mr Justice Asante adjourned hearing of the case to October 22, 2008 but on the next adjourned date it emerged that Mr Justice Asante was on leave and for that matter a court clerk adjourned it to November 6, 2008.
“On the same day of October 22, 2008, the case was called at the High Court Fast Track 2 presided over by Mr Justice Ofori-Atta who heard submissions in the absence of the applicant and its counsel. The learned trial judge then adjourned the pending application for ruling on November 4, 2008,” it stated.
It further argued that on November 4, 2008, counsel for the applicant appeared before the court and objected to the delivery of the ruling on the grounds that the judge lacked jurisdiction to hear the application and deliver a ruling.
According to the applicant, “since the case was transferred to Justice Asante by an order from the Chief Justice, it is only another order from the Chief Justice that can put the case before him (Justice Ofori-Atta) to determine”.
The applicant argued that “in the absence of an order of transfer and any evidence confirming its existence, Justice Ofori-Atta overruled our objection and proceeded to dismiss the application for injunction pending appeal”.
Citing authorities to support its argument, the applicant held that it was evident that the registrar of the Fast Track High Court, and not the Chief Justice, transferred the case to Justice Ofori-Atta’s court.
“The registrar sought to arrogate to himself the powers of the Chief Justice, which he did not have, and had no authority of the Chief Justice to act in that regard,” the GLOA stated.
The Fast Track High Court’s judgement banning private lotto followed an application by the NLA, which prayed the court to dismiss the plaintiff’s suit on the premise that the Supreme Court had declared the Lotto Act constitutional and, for that reason, there was no basis for the substantive suit to continue at the lower court.

Security tight at Electoral Commission headquarters

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 (Centre Spread)

HEAVY security has been mounted at the offices of the Electoral Commission (EC) where the Presidential and Parliamentary results are being collated.
Roads leading to the EC premises have been barricaded by heavily armed police officers. The atmosphere on the EC premises was calm when the Daily Graphic visited around 1.20 p.m. yesterday to ascertain the situation there.
Police sources told the Daily Graphic that they were detailed to provide security on the EC premises on a 24-hour basis since Friday, December 5, 2008.
The officers did not allow media personnel to enter the EC yard with the explanation that they (security personnel) had been ordered to inform media personnel to shift to the International Press Centre for official results.
According to police sources, only representatives of the political parties were allowed into the strong room where the results were being collated.
Vehicles belonging to the EC were allowed into the EC yard while other motorists were searched and questioned before they were allowed to use the road leading to other parts of the city.
Pedestrians who used the routes leading to the EC were also questioned before they were allowed to enter.
Those who did not give satisfactory explanation as to why they were using the routes were turned away.
A pocketful of supporters from all the political parties were spotted either sleeping in their cars parked at a specially designated car park about 150 metres from the EC yard or raptly listening to results from the various constituencies through their radio sets or their mobile phones.
Others gathered round radio sets and listened to the results.
Some of the supporters looked bewildered, tired, cheerful while others simply looked indifferent while the results came in.
It was also observed that the supporters were not in their party colours. They wore ordinary clothes.
Some of the supporters said they had been waiting outside for the past 24 hours while others said they arrived at the EC premises a few hours ago.
The supporters were kept at bay by the police personnel who had been detailed to provide security, as well as ensure law and order.

Wait for certified results - Chief Imam

Tuesday, December 9, 2008 (Back Page Lead)

THE National Chief Imam, Sheikh Usman Nuhu Sharabutu, has advised Ghanaians to wait for the presidential and parliamentary results to be certified by the Electoral Commission (EC) before jubilating.
He further advised political parties and their followers to patiently wait for the results to be collated and certified by the EC in order to avoid any form of chaos in the country.
The Chief Imam in his Eid-ul-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) message to Muslims and Ghanaians, stated that Ghana was being closely watched by the international community and it was important for Ghanaians to ensure that Ghana maintained her enviable position as a country of peace.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Chief Imam stated that it was God who chooses leaders and therefore Ghanaians must support those who would emerge as winners of the parliamentary and presidential elections.
Speaking through a translator, the Chief Imam said it was also important for Ghanaians to be tactful and tolerant during the counting of the ballots through to the declaration of the winner of the presidential elections by the EC.
He said Ghana was larger than any political party hence it was important for Ghanaians to preserve the prevailing peace in the country.
The Chief Imam further pleaded with Muslims, Christians, traditional believers and other religious faiths to eschew all forms of hostility and live in peaceful co-existence.
According to him, the existence of peace facilitates development, adding that development would in turn improve the living standards of all.
Sheikh Sharabutu said although these groups were of different faiths, they were God's creation who emerged from Adam and Eve.
Earlier, hundreds of Muslims thronged the Independence Square to pray for peace and prosperity on the occasion of this year's Eid-ul-Adha celebrations.
They were led in prayer by the Chief Imam, who said prayers for peace, tolerance and prosperity to prevail in the country.
Eid-ul-Adha, the festival of sacrifice celebrated by Muslims all over the world, is the culmination of the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Remain calm as ballots are counted

December 08, 2008 (Page 3)

GHANA'S Ambassador to the United States of America (USA), Dr Kwame Bawuah-Edusei has appealed to Ghanaians to remain calm and resolute to preserve the peace while counting of ballot papers is underway in the 2008 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
"This is the critical moment, investors are watching us and we must endeavour to prove to the world that Ghanaians are peace loving," Dr Bawuah-Edusei stated.
According to the Ambassador Ghana was the black star of Africa and for that matter it was important for her to maintain the prevailing peace.
"If we are able to hold tight and keep the true Ghanaian tradition of being friendly and peace loving people, it will entreat the confidence of investors in our economy," Dr Bawuah-Edusei pointed.
He gave the assurance that he had interacted with investors in developed and emerging economies and they had all expressed their interest to invest in Ghana's economy.
He said the investors were willing to come in and invest in Ghana and stated that it was important for Ghanaians to allow the due process to take its course while counting of ballot papers are ongoing.
The Ambassador gave the assurance that there will be more investment especially when Ghanaians exercised decorum and ensured an incident-free election.

Massive turnout • For the 2008 general elections

December 08,2008 (Part of Collated Lead Story on Presidential and Parliamentary elections)

Ghanaians yesterday poured out in astonishing numbers to cast their votes in Presidential and Parliamentary elections that were generally peaceful in most of the 22,000 polling stations across the country.
At Tema, George Sydney Abugri & Rose Hayford-Darko report that voting was generally peaceful and orderly in the Tema Metropolis and Ashaiman Municipality.
Queues were especially long and winding at the Redemption Valley and Low Cost Electoral Area Polling Stations at Community Nine, VALCO Numbers One and Two Polling Stations at Community Four, the Holy Child Nursery and the Holy Child School Polling Stations at the Sakumono Estates and the Sakumono Primary School Polling Station at the Sakumono Village.
Many voters waiting patiently in queues in the hot sun to vote, told the Daily Graphic that they went to the polling stations as early as 4 am. Most cited their determination to influence the choice of their representatives in Parliament in the next government and the choice of the country’s next president, as the source of their motivation.
As of twelve noon, no incidence of violence or serious disputes had been reported in the port city and its suburbs except for a reported slight skirmish at Bethlehem near Ashaiman, over alleged attempts by some voters to jump the queue.
A tour of the usually busy communities of the metropolis revealed totally deserted streets.
The electoral officers were ready at the polling stations as early as 6 am to receive the polling materials.
According to the Tema Regional Electoral Officer, Mr Michael Boadu, a total of 471,185 people were expected to cast their votes in the Tema Region made up of Tema, Ashaiman, Adenta and Kpone-Katamanso at 423 polling stations.
At the Datus polling station in Tema East, a voter, Gabriel Asante, said he started queuing at 12 am to enable him to secure a position to vote early.
The Presiding Officer at the Ashaiman TMA No. 1 polling station, Mr Andrew Nartey, said their materials arrived at about 8.30 am but voters were patient.
Materials arrived at the Roman Catholic School polling stations at Ashaiman at 7.30 am but as of 8.40 am they still had not received stamp pads, a situation that compelled the Presiding Officer, Mr Kojo Summaila, to purchase one.
The few problems that were encountered by the polling stations included the late arrival of transfer lists and some voters jumping queues.
The Public Relations Officer of the Tema Regional Police Command, Inspector Olivia Turkson, said security personnel were deployed to the various polling stations at 3 am.
Kate Baaba Hudson reports from Kpone-Katamanso that voting at the various polling stations in the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency in the Tema Municipality went on smoothly as voters formed queues orderly and patiently and waited for their turn.
Most of them called at the stations very early in the morning to form queues while others waited till midday to cast their votes.
Some of the voters had been there about 8 p.m. on Saturday, while others got there at about 4 a.m.
Voting in these areas also started early as election officials and materials arrived early for a take-off at 7 a.m.
As of 8.50 a.m. at the Katamanso Presby Kindergarten, Nursery and Primary School, the Presiding Officer for Penkwai, Ms Margaret Mettle, said 236 had cast their votes out of the 821 who were expected to vote there.
She said from the way the voting was going on, the exercise would be over before 5 p.m.
Mr Divine Azamati, the Polling Assistant, said 712 people were expected to vote in that area, but as of 9 a.m. 166 people had cast their votes.
No incidents were recorded there, but two people who transferred their votes to the area were not allowed to vote, because they did not have their transfer letters and the codes did not match that of the polling centre, and there were some skips in the numbering in some of the registers.
The Chief of Kubekro, Nii Mensah Bossah II, who had already voted when the Daily Graphic spoke to him by 9 15 a.m., advised all voters to go back home after casting their votes.
He said people could wait patiently in their homes for the results and urged those who wished to call at the collation centres to witness the collation, to do so in a peaceful manner.
At the Appolonia Methodist Primary School electoral area, the Presiding Officer, Cornelius Mensah, said voting started at 7 a.m.
He said 719 people were expected to vote in the area, but 216 had voted as of 9.30 a.m.
At the Kpone Methodist Primary Polling Station, Mr Shadrack Tetteh, the Returning Officer, said 2,800 people were expected to vote at the area, which had been split into two, but only 577, made up of 319 and 258 for the two divisions respectively, had voted by 10.40 a.m.
From Ablekuma Central, Gifty Bamfo reports that there was large voter turnout at the Ablekuma Central Constituency as voters started queuing a day before the elections.
A woman who gave her name as Aba Owiaba, a voter from Apam at Polling Station A at the Odorkor Police Barracks, said she slept over at the station to enable her to vote early. At about 6:20 when the Daily Graphic got there the ballot boxes and papers were being arranged for the voting to commence.
As of 6:45 a.m. when the Daily Graphic got to the JT cluster of schools, which had four polling stations namely Mataheko 2 Boys JHS (A and B), Mataheko 1 Girls JHS (A and B) no ballot material had arrived.
The presiding officers of the polling stations said they had contacted the EC for the materials to be delivered.
There were winding queues as most of the voters arrived before 3:00 a.m. with a lot of the aged among them. An 84-year-old woman who gave her name as Grace Ayittey said she arrived at the polling station at about 5:00 a.m. in the morning to vote but had to wait for the ballot papers.
As of the time the Daily Graphic was leaving the polling stations, most of the party agents including the National Democratic Congress (NDC), New Patriotic Party (NPP), Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) had arrived and were waiting for voting processes to begin.
At the Mataheko Pentecost polling station the ballot papers arrived at 6:45 a.m. with voters starting to vote at exactly 7:00 am with priority being given to the aged and pregnant women.
The Presiding Officer at the station, Mrs Rich-Joyce Amarh, said the electoral process was smooth as all the party agents had arrived and were co-operating.
In an interview with a pregnant woman who gave her name as Sophia, after voting, she said she voted for the NPP because she was enjoying the free maternal care, adding, “I want Nana to win so that I can also give birth for free”.
At about 6:50 am the ballot materials for Temporary Booths A and B had arrived and voters started casting their votes at exactly 7:00 am. The presiding officers at both stations said the voter turnout was encouraging and they were expecting more voter turnout by the end of the process.
Party agents for the NDC, NPP and CPP were the only ones present as of 8:05 a.m. when the Daily Graphic was leaving for other stations.
The party agents said voters comported themselves very well and they were hopeful the whole process would be peaceful.
At 10:45 a.m. when the Daily Graphic got to the Temporary Booth Success Cinema hall stations A and B electoral procedures were ongoing without queues.
The presiding officers said the ballot materials arrived on time and so voting started at exactly 7:00 a.m. with about 760 people having cast their ballot out of the expected 2315 voters.
Only party agents from the NPP and NDC were present at the station.
At the People’s Shop in West Russia electoral processes were going on smoothly.
The presiding officer at the station said there was one physically challenged man who was assisted by his wife to go through the voting process.
At the Police Quarters A and B about 674 voters had cast their votes out of the expected 2933 registered voters.
The presiding officers said the electoral processes were smooth as all party agents had been represented apart from the DFP and PNC.
In an interview with some of the voters they said the voting process was peaceful and they were praying it would end like that at the end of the voting process.
Kwame Asante, a footwear seller, in an interview with the Daily Graphic after voting said “ I voted for the NPP because I am happy with what president Kufuor has done so far. I want Nana to continue with it”.
Another voter, Rosemond Dorkunu, said she voted for the NDC because she was not happy with the present government and was hoping for a change in government.
A 19-year-old JHS dropout who gave his name as Bernard Kodua after voting told the Daily Graphic that he voted for the NPP because Nana Akufo-Addo had promised free senior high school education and so was hopeful he would go back to school when he came to power.
In the Adenta Constituency, Severious Kale Dery reports that it was a mixed feeling of anxiety and enthusiasm that characterised the mood of voters as they waited patiently to cast their votes at most of the polling stations at the Adenta Constituency in the Greater Accra Region.
At the Adenta Community School, Presbyterian School, Holy Rosary Roman Catholic School, the Adenta Pharmacy, the Vineyard Church and the Sunbeam Montessori polling stations, eligible voters formed long winding queues as early as 3.00 a.m. in anticipation of the commencement of the voting exercise.
When the Daily Graphic visited these polling stations around 5.00 a.m., voters were set awaiting the arrival of the Electoral Commission (EC) officers.
Some prospective voters the Daily Graphic spoke to said they got to the polling stations as early as 3.00 a.m. so that they could vote early and go back home.
But the inability of newly registered eligible voters to locate their polling stations dominated in almost all the polling stations in the constituency.
The worst affected polling station was the Adenta Community School, which was used as one of the registration centres for those who just turned 18 and those who had not registered before.
In spite of the fact that they were told where to vote on the voting day during the registration exercise, almost all those who registered at the Community School polling centre turned up there to vote and would not understand why they should be asked to go to another polling station.
The Presiding Officer of the station, Mr Daniel Tibu, had a hectic time redirecting such voters to their respective polling stations.
Another group of voters the presiding officers within the constituency had to deal with were the transfer voters, most of whom got to the polling stations very early in the morning, joined the queues only to be told to wait because the transfer voter list had not yet arrived.
Some of those who were redirected to their right polling stations or were asked to wait for the transfer list, decided to abandon the voting exercise altogether.
At the Holy Rosary School polling stations, while the polling station ‘A’ had all the EC documents to start with the exercise, the station ‘B’ was yet to receive the transfer list as of 11.30 a.m. when the Daily Graphic was leaving the station.
The presiding officers and the party agents at both ‘A’ and ‘B’ were okay with the arrangement so far at the two stations. The Presiding Officer at the ‘B’, Mr Michael Wormenor, explained that he had contacted the EC office and the transfer list would be sent in as soon as possible.
He said those who reported the polling station with transfer chits were asked to wait for the arrival of the list.
The Presiding Officer at the Adenta Pharmacy, Mr Peter Mante, said the problem as to where eligible voters were to cast their votes were because most people did not visit the polling centres during the voter exhibition exercise.
Voting was going on smoothly in most of the polling stations that the Daily Graphic visited in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency, reports Vance Azu.
At the University of Ghana, Legon, voting at all the poling stations on campus, namely Volta, Legon, Mensah Sarbah and Commonwealth halls, had been peaceful and orderly.
It was only at the Akuafo Hall polling centre where one of the electoral teams failed to turn up as of 11 a.m.
As a result, the Presiding Officer, Mr Isaac Acquah, was handling the nearly 500 voters in the queue out of the 3000 duly registered voters who were expected to cast their votes.
At the Jack and Jill School at Roman Ridge, the presiding officer said voting was orderly and the centre had not encountered any problems yet.
As early as 3 a.m., voters had started queuing at the polling centres in the Dome-Kwabenya Constituency to cast their votes, reports Hannah Amoah.
Some voters had brought along chairs from their homes so as to sit comfortably and wait for their turn to vote.
When the Daily Graphic visited about eight polling stations, the atmosphere was calm and voting was going on smoothly.
At the Anglican polling station at Dome, there was chaos when voting was about to start as some voters tried to jump the queue.
The Presiding Officer, Mr Adjei Ababio, called in for police reinforcement before calm was restored as the two police personnel detailed to the centre could not control the crowd.
Apart from the omission of names of voters from the register, others were asked to go to other polling stations to cast their votes after queuing for long hours.
At the Atomic Hill School Temporary Booth B, security personnel had to calm the voters, since the electoral officers were allowing the aged and those carrying babies to vote first.
As of 10 a.m. more than 1000 voters had voted in about four polling stations in the Dome-Kwabenya Constituency.
At the Novelty Polling Centre, some voters refused to vote for a parliamentary candidate because they claimed they did not see the need to vote for one.
The Presiding Officer at the Akakpo Dome Temporary Booth, Mr Emmanuel Dornoo, expressed his displeasure at the behaviour of the MP of the area, Prof. Mike Oquaye, when he shook hands with voters who were about to cast their votes and contended that such behaviours were not allowed at polling centres.
From the Korle-Klottey Constituency, Rebecca Quaicoe Duho reports that voting was delayed for 20 minutes at the Public Works Department (PWD) Castle polling station.
The polls finally began at 7.20 a.m. and a total of 260 people had voted as of 10 am and the Presiding Officer, Mr Richard Mingle, in an interview said a total of 1,103 persons including Former President Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, were expected to cast their vote.
According to him, the voting materials, which arrived at 7 am, was short of Absent Voters’ List and the Enumeration Forms but he said that was not going to cause any problem, since they could rely on the list from the political parties polling agents to cross-check when people arrived with ID cards but could not find their names in the voters register.
At the Arts Centre Polling Station ‘A’ and ‘B’ where a total of 2,221 people were expected to exercise their franchise, a long queue was observed as people patiently waited for their turn to vote.
Speaking to the Presiding Officer of the polling station ‘A’, Mr Chris Addo-Adodo, he said voting started at 7:15 am and as of 10:35 a total of 321 had voted and the process was moving on smoothly.
The officer at the polling station ‘B’, Mr Frank Nene-Yullie, also said so far everything was moving on smoothly.
He said a total of 300 people had voted as of 10:40 am and he was hopeful that everything would be as peaceful as it started.
He was observed busily sorting out people who had misplaced their ID cards and also those who had transferred their votes to the centre.
At the Cristal City Temporary Booth in Adabraka, ballot papers were brought in after 8 am as anxious voters had queued since dawn to cast their votes.
The ballots papers were being counted before voting as of 8:12 am when the Daily Graphic got to the centre.
A voter at the centre told the Daily Graphic that a wrong register was brought to the centre at 7 am and it had to be taken back resulting in the delay.
A visit to some selected polling stations within the Dadekotopon Constituency revealed that voting materials were received after 5:00 am and voting started at exactly 7 am, reports Mary Mensah.
Some of the voters indicated that they got to the polling stations at about 3:00 am in order to cast their vote early and go home to wait for the results.
There are about 113 polling stations within the constituency with 108,556 eligible voters who are expected to cast their votes and at some of the polling stations almost half of the eligible voters had already cast their vote while some were virtually empty.
At the Airport Police Station Polling station, the Former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, was one of the party agents.
Wearing a white lace attire, Nana Konadu said she was confident that the NDC would win the elections.
She said she cast her vote at the Ridge School but the materials delayed a bit so she had to go home and return later to cast her vote after which she proceeded to the Airport Police Station to act as a party agent.
Hilda Owusu reports from the Okaikwei South Constituency that voting commenced in the South Okaikoi Constituency amidst a calm and peaceful atmosphere as prospective voters waited patiently in queues for their turn to exercise their franchise.
When the Graphic team got to the AMA Revenue office at Bubiashie, some members of the public told this reporter that they got there as early as 2:00 am in order to be able to vote on time and leave for their respective homes.
Others were seated comfortably in plastic chairs that they had brought from their homes as they did not know when it would be their turn to vote. According to the Presiding Officer, Mr Emmanuel Aryeequaye, out of the expected 1048 voters who were supposed to cast their vote, about 155 had voted as of 7:45 am.
The voting was devoid of problems except that some persons were not allowed to vote because according to the Presiding Officer, their names were not in the transfer list. Of particular interest was a couple who had travelled all the way from Kumasi to cast their vote and as of the time of filing this report, the couple had still not voted.
After casting her vote, Eva, a businesswoman, told the Daily Graphic that she was impressed with the voting process so far and although she got there at 5:00 am, she was able to vote at 8:00 am. She even went a step further to disclose that she voted for the ruling party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The situation was no different at the Anglican JSS, it was peaceful, calm and orderly. However, patronage was low and as explained by the Presiding Officer, Mr Joseph Quartey "it looks like some of them have gone to church, we hope that they get back soon enough to vote. So far 150 have voted and we are expecting 469 voters from this polling station."
Both the Bubiashie Bishop Boys A and B polling stations started voting on time with the prospective voters doing well to comport themselves. The presence of the security service and other observers provided a peaceful atmosphere for the election process. Representatives of the major political parties were present to witness the voting process.
The Accra Academy Hall A and B was almost without activity. According to the Presiding Officer, Mr Henry Johnson, "I don't know whether it is because this year's elections fell on Sunday so people are resting before voting. Last year was quite different but we're hopeful that they would turn up in their numbers before voting closes as 5:00 pm."
At the same polling station, some members were aggrieved due to the fact that the transfer list had not arrived to enable them to vote.
Turnout at the St Theresa Preparatory School A and B was massive. Out of the expected 1403 voters, more than 400 had already cast their vote with quite a sizeable number still waiting for their turn. According to Abdul Rahman Salifu, the Presiding Officer, there had been an increase in the number of voters this year and so far, the voting process had been peaceful.
Kwaemu Herbal Clinic also had a peaceful voting process.
Elise Beacom & Emma Ballantine Dykes report that residents of Jamestown and the surrounding area defied 'flashpoint' predictions this morning, casting their votes in a calm and orderly manner.
The high number of international observers found patrolling the Odododiodoo Constituency reflected expectations of voter agitation, but those fears did not materialise.
Representatives from the British and Australian High Commissions were spotted questioning Presiding Officers at the polling stations and keeping a close eye on proceedings.
However, one observer from the British High Commission confirmed that she and her team were under strict instructions not to interfere in the process.
There was evidence nonetheless that the scrutiny of external observers was motivating EC officials and security personnel to act professionally.
From Jamestown to Makola, Presiding Officers from the Electoral Commission (EC) reported a quiet and problem-free start to the day’s exercise.
In some areas as many as a third of registered voters had already visited the polling booths by 9 am, seemingly anxious to cast their vote as early as possible.
Some had reportedly begun queuing as early as 2 am.
On her way to the polling booth, Ms Martha Akorsah expressed confidence in her fellow voters, saying that most Ghanaians were not rowdy by nature.
A mild source of confusion was that a number of people turned up at the wrong polling station, but no one was allowed to vote where they had not been registered or legitimately transferred.
The Presiding Officer at the notorious Richard Akwei Memorial School polling station, Mr Wilson Amartifio, reported more worrying instances of voters claiming to have forgotten to complete one of their two ballot papers.
He said, however, that his team had been ruthless in ensuring that nobody was allowed back into the voting area on such a pretext.
In the Kinka area of Odododiodoo Presiding Officer Gloria Bulley said a handful of people had arrived at the station having lost their voter identification cards, but said the photo-registers had made it easy to identify them.
A relaxed group of police officers congregated outside Jamestown Police Station looking confident that their cells would remain empty.
Jennifer Dornoo & Leticia Ohene-Asiedu report from the Okaikwei North Constituency that as early as 1:00 am, registered voters had already trooped to the polling stations awaiting the arrival of election officials and materials to cast their vote.
Some of the voters were seen lying on mats with others sitting on benches and plastic chairs as they waited for the electoral process to begin at 7 am.
At the Happy Home School where voting started at 7:25 am, a party agent who refused to disclose his identity said on arrival of the ballot boxes, the parliamentary box had two of its seals removed.
According to him, the two ballot seals bearing the codes 3113900 and 3113916 were removed from the box when it arrived leaving only one seal with the code 3113999.
He said this was a bit alarming, since they could not find out whether the ballot box with the materials in it had been tempered with or not.
The party agent therefore said no explanation had been given to them as to the whereabouts of the two seals when the EC representatives were questioned.
Most of the electorate in the constituency were not satisfied with the work of the EC, since they could not find their names in the register at the polling stations they registered.
At the Lapaz video centre, a voter, Mr A. Ziguanty, complained bitterly that he had been voting at that particular polling station since the year 2000 but was disappointed when he could not find his name in the register.
“I even checked my name in the voters register recently when the EC asked us to and I found my name. How could my name mysteriously vanish,” he said.
He said he had visited three other polling stations but could still not find his name.
At the Emmanuel Gospel Ministries, a lady who gave her name as Matilda was refused her right to vote because she wore an artificial nail.
She was later allowed to vote due to the intervention of some electorate who protested.
At the Alhaji Abass polling station, electoral materials arrived at the centre as late as 8:20 am delaying the start of the electoral process, which finally started at 9:30 am.
At stations such as Four Square Gospel Church, the Apostolic Church of Ghana, Gospel Believers Outreach Church and the Christian Mission College, electoral process started at exactly 7 am with a peaceful and serene atmosphere.
At the Ledzokuku Constituency in Accra, Daniel Nkrumah reports that voting was generally peaceful with indications of high voter turnout.
There was security presence in all polling stations and other commercial activities were going on briskly with food vendors evidently making good business.
Many voters exuded great enthusiasm as they queued to cast their ballots, and away from the polling stations, pockets of the youth gathered to discuss issues of the election, some jokingly taunting others with their party slogans.
Yet, there were a few cases of reported infractions and Clement Adongo, 19, found himself behind the bars at the Teshie Police Station, after he was arrested at the Presby Polling Station where he was alleged to have attempted to vote with a fake voters ID.
“We are still investigating the issue to come out with the real facts,” the police investigator dealing with the case, Agyei K. Adusei, told the Daily Graphic.
Around mid-day most polling stations visited had recorded a voter turnout of close to half the number of registered voters. At the Asesewa Polling Station at Teshie out of a total number of 1254 registered voters, 508 had voted and there were still long queues of voters.
“It has been very smooth,” Nii Otoo Lartey, Presiding Officer at the Anglican Polling Station at Teshie, told the Daily Graphic.
At the Lascala Cinema Polling Station, the Presiding Officer, Leslie Tetteh-Mensah, said voting had been smooth except for the issue of transferred voters who were still in limbo as the transfer list had yet not arrived.
“It’s about 10.30 am and we still waiting for the transfer list so that those who had transferred their votes can vote,” he told the Daily Graphic.
However, that was not the case at the Anglican Polling Station where party agents and electoral officials agreed to have the transfer voters cast the ballots despite the fact that the transfer list had not yet arrived.
Caroline Boateng reports from the Nadat Memorial School Polling Station in West Adenta, in the Madina Abokobi Constituency, that a huge crowd gathered at the polling station as early as 4 a.m. to cast their ballots.
Some sent their children, wards and house-helps ahead to join the long winding queue till the vote started at 7 a.m.
Electoral materials and logistics arrived at the polling station at 5:15, by which time the electoral officer in charge of the station, Mr Alhassan Hudu, was already at post with assistants to take delivery of materials.
An immigration officer and a policeman were also at post to keep the process orderly and peaceful.
The polling officer, giving a brief of events, said there were 1879 voters on the register of that station with 31 names on the transfer list.
He said he was not expecting any shortages of materials, since he had more than 2000 ballot papers, which was more than the number of voters on the register.
The Obenetso Shishi Polling Station is perhaps the hottest spot in the Krowor Constituency, as two incidents were recorded this morning, reports Samuel Doe Ablordeppey.
When voting started early this morning, some of the electorate and residents in the area protested a billboard of the political parties standing right opposite the polling station.
The Presiding Officer at the polling station, Mr William-Wilson Techie-Young, told the Daily Graphic that he instructed that the billboard be pulled down as the protests nearly marred the smooth voting process.
A second incident, which occurred around 11.25 am, involved a voter who was alleged to be engaged in double voting. One of the polling agents who had spotted him earlier in the queue, raised an alarm that attracted the attention of people in the area who trooped to the Obenetso Shishi Polling Station to prevent the alleged voter from voting again.
The presiding officer quickly called a Police Rapid Deployment Force whose timely intervention restored calm to the polling station.
At the time of the visit, more than a third of the 959 registered voters had cast their votes smoothly.
Although the Nungua Secondary School Polling Station has one of the highest voter populations in the constituency, voting was smooth.
The Presiding Officer, Mr Ken Bray, told the Daily Graphic that the station had not recorded any incident, except for a teaming number of people who could not find their names on the transfer list. The polling station has 2,341 registered voters.
About 40 people had been told to wait patiently as they await a returning officer to advise on how to deal with the large number of people who were carrying slips showing they had completed the transfer of their name to that polling station but could not trace it on the list.
Other Polling Stations visited in the Krowor Constituency, where voting was generally smooth and incident free, included the Nungua Presby J.H.S., ACC 1&2 Primary, the A.M.A. Anglican Cluster of Schools, the Christ Apostolic Church Polling Station and Nungua Presec.
Voting generally started smoothly and on time in the East Ayawaso Constituency in Accra, reports Musah Yahaya Jafaru.
All the 119 polling stations received their voting materials by 6:30, with majority of them starting at exactly 7:00 a.m. Some of the polling stations, however, delayed for between five and 25 minutes.
Some of the electorate started forming queues as early as 4:00 a.m. This reporter saw a long queue of between 100 and 250 people as of 5:30 p.m. at the Mountain Zion, Dunia Cinema, Nima Post Office polling stations.
Virtually all the polling stations visited by the Daily Graphic in the constituency depicted an atmosphere of peace and order. There were no heckling or scuffles. The police officers seemed relaxed in their seats or on their feet as there were no confusion to warrant any response.
The long queues started reducing from 11:00 am, and by 12:00 p.m. there were no queues at some of the polling stations, and by 2:00 pm there were virtually no queues at all the polling stations.
The centres visited include Dunia Cinema, Nima Post Office, Kusuntu Line Mosque, Mountain Zion, Taxi Rank and Tahani polling stations.
The presiding officers told the Daily Graphic that there was no shortage of voting materials, and that they did not experience any problem. All the four polling assistants were at post.
Mr Kwesi Harrison, the Presiding Officer of the Dunia Cinema polling station, said "so far no confusion. Everything is moving on smoothly".
A total of 307 out of the 1,185 registered voters had voted at the station as of 10:38, while 50 people were still in the queue.
The presiding officer of the Taxi Rank polling station, Mr Norman Christian, told this reporter that he did not record any confusion or hitches at the station, which was confirmed by the police officer on duty.
The only minus, he said, was the inability of one of the four polling assistants to turn up.
As of 11:30 am, 200 people had voted at the station with a few people in the queue.
At the Nima Post Office polling station, the Presiding Officer, Mr Abdul-Karim Chere, said they started at 7:20 a.m. as they spent some time entering the number of the voting materials and organising themselves.
He said 295 had voted as of 10:50 am while 98 people were still in the queue. Asked whether they would extend the time of voting, since they started 25 minutes late, Mr Chere said he and his officers had not decided on that yet.
Some of the electorate told the Daily Graphic that the election would be peaceful despite the anxiety.
Mr Ibrahim Sambo conceded that there was so much tension in the country, but indicated that Ghanaians had matured politically to avoid any violent confrontation.
The people appealed to the political leaders to accept the outcome of the election to spare the nation any conflict or instability.
Eight parliamentary candidates are contesting the East Ayawaso Constituency seat. They are Alhaji Mohammed Salisu Baba of the NPP, Alhaji Mohammed Muftao of the PNC, Dr Mustapha Ahmed of the NDC, Mr Bernard Anvurr-Billy of the CPP, Sheikh Abdul-Karim Larry Amin of CPP, Mr Samuel Kwasi Gyasi of the New Vision Party, Mr Mohammed Amin Lamptey and Mr Daniel Danquah, both independent candidates.
At the Mt Olivet Methodist Church in the Ablekuma South Constituency, the ballot boxes together with other logistics arrived at about 6:50 a.m after the Head Pastor of the church, Right Reverend Awotwi Pratt, had led the electorate through prayers for a peaceful, transparent and violent-free election in the constituency, reports Edward Turkson.
Voting started at exactly 7 a.m. with most of the voters sitting relaxed on chairs waiting for their turn under the surveillance of one security person and polling agents from all the political parties including one agent for the only independent candidate, John Nana Kabutey Tettegah.
The Presiding Officer for the polling station, Mrs Janet A. Koranteng, expressed the hope that the exercise would be transparent and that the electorate would also comport themselves to ensure that the exercise becomes violent-free in the area as it had always been. As of the time of leaving the polling station about 120 people had already exercised their franchise and were peacefully leaving the station to their various homes, hoping to return in the evening to listen to the result.
At the Martin De Porres Preparatory School in the Ablekuma South Constituency the electorate complained that the materials arrived late and voting started at about 7:40 am. The queue at the station was very long and winding so some of the electorate had to sit on pavements awaiting their turns to exercise their franchise. At the time of leaving the station about 120 people had voted. The Presiding Officer, Mr Stephen Mintah-Bempong, was confident that the polls would be violent-free because the station and the constituency were noted for their patronage and violent-free elections. The process there was a bit slow for the electorate some of whom were eagerly awaiting their turn.
From the Shai Osudoku Constituency, the Presbyterian Primary Manyayiti Dodowa Electoral Area in the Dangme West District, voting materials were in as early as 6:25 a.m. and voting started at exactly 7 a.m. and according to the Presiding Officer, Gideon Maya, no problem had erupted. He said all those who had voted found their names in the actual register. In attendance were two security personnel, one from the Police Service and another from the Fire Service. Polling agents present were representatives of the NPP, NDC, CPP, PNC and DFP.
At the Dodowa Post Office Dwamomo Polling Station at Shai Osudoku in the Dangme West District, the materials arrived at 6:30 am and voters who had queued there had to wait till 7 a.m. for voting to begin. According to the Presiding Officer, Mr Timothy Johnson, registered voters in the area were 1050 and a transfer list of about 39 who had peacefully exercised their franchise. He said about 250 had already exercised their franchise by 9.00 a.m. and had returned to their various homes.
The station, he admitted, was noted for its incident-free elections and was hopeful that no chaos would be recorded in the area by the end of the day when counting begins.
At the Day Care Centre Zongo in Dodowa in the Dangme West District, the electoral materials, according to the Presiding Officer, Mr Sylvester Asare, arrived at about 6:15 a.m. and voting began at 7 a.m exactly. The registered voters in the area, he said, were 512 with about 13 transferred names. At about 10:37 am almost 237 voters had exercised their franchise and the station looked almost empty with the polling agents, one security person and the electoral officers sitting leisurely waiting for voters who had not yet turned up.
As of 11 am, there were no security personnel at the New Joma Polling Station at the Weija Constituency, reports Francis Yaw Kyei.
The Presiding Officer of the polling station, Miss Gladys Afeletey, said voting started at exactly 7am with all the party agents present.
When the Daily Graphic visited the Weija MA JHS polling station at 8:30 am, 100 people had already voted.
The Presiding Officer, Mr Raymond Kwame, was impressed with the way the people conducted themselves despite the huge turnout.
He said the people started forming the queue as early as 4 am and waited till voting commenced at 7 am.
Adeline Koramoah reports that high voter turnout and anxiety marked the opening of the polls in the Ablekuma South electoral area.
The elections in the area were generally peaceful and conducted in an atmosphere of quietness. However, in some stations where voting delayed because materials could not get to the centres on time.
At some polling stations the Daily Graphic visited, pockets of struggle among voters who had queued for long hours and could not wait till it got to their turn to vote were observed. Also there were sheer excitement especially among new voters who wished to vote early and retire to their various homes.
Except for the struggle for positions in queues and anxiety on the part of voters at Pentecostal Academy at Mpoase, the general election could be described as one of the most organised elections ever to be witnessed in the area.
On the premises of the academy, voters forced their way to the compound to be able to vote early, since they had run out of patience after staying in the queue for close to six hours but as of the time this reporter was leaving the place, calm had been restored as the police came in timely to bring the situation under control. As of 11 am, more than 200 people had cast their votes out of the over 2000 voters registered. In an interview the Presiding Officer for the area, Mr Stephen Kwakye, attributed the scuffle to the delay of the voting process and the late arrival of materials.
In another development, voting started at exactly 7 am at Star of the Sea Catholic Church polling station. As of 12:35 pm 361 people had voted out of the 750 voters who registered. Party agents who were at post included those of the CPP, PNC, NDC NPP and DFP. Though, there were no security personnel around, voting was peaceful.
At the Mamprobi Girls JHS polling station B, people were found in a long queue as of 5 am when this reporter got to the station. In an interview with 63-year-old Livingston Church Hill, he said he came to queue at 2:30 am, so that he could vote early to open his shop. He said “at 2:30, there was no car operating so I walked from Chorkor to that place just to exercise my franchise”. Another voter, Mr Douglas Torto, got to the station at 2:00 am and he was the third to vote. He said after voting, he would be around to monitor the process until counting took place. As of 9:00 am there were no security agents though voting was calm. Even though 1,770 people including transfer and proxy voters were expected to vote, 100 people had cast their vote as of 8: 45. At Polling Station B, 1,550 people were expected to vote. All party representatives were seen around monitoring the process keenly.
This was no different from that of Mamprobi Methodist Primary ‘B’; 1,150 eligible voters were expected to vote from that station. There were no security agents but the process was calm and peaceful. At Methodist Primary ‘A’, 1,128 voters were expected but a little over 200 had voted as of 11 am.
At Ebenezer SHS polling station, there was a long queue as people waited until it got to their turn to vote. Out of 1,495 voters, 237 had voted as at 11:45 am. This contrasted with what transpired at Dansoman SHS polling station where there was no queue as people had come and voted.
In all, voting was successful but for the transfer voters register that delayed at almost all the centres visited at in the Ablekuma South Constituency.
Boniface Ablekpe reports from Borkorborkor that turnout for yesterday’s Presidential and Parliamentary elections was very heavy at Borkorborkor junction, Ablekuma Anglican School, Anyaa last stop and Odorkor polling stations.
People started queuing as early as 3.30 a.m. at the Borkorborkor Junction. Many people carried plastic chairs and stools to the polling centre to join the queues.
Voting was orderly but the queues moved at a slow pace.
Sellers of sachet water, fruits, eggs and cooked food did brisk business.
This reporter joined the queue at about 5.30 a.m. at the Borkorborkor junction and was able to cast his votes by 2 p.m. When he was leaving the centre the queue was still very long with many doubting if they could cast their ballot before the mandatory closing time of 5 p.m.
Similar queues were also found at Ablekuma Anglican Junior High School polling centre, Anyaa Last Stop, Palas Town junction, and Odorkor.
There was only one female fire officer providing security at Borkorborkor junction and police and military patrols were quite irregular. Many were of the view that in view of the thick population at the Borkorborkor area it would have been better if the Electoral Commission had created some polling centres at Jorman and Paradise to save voters the tedium of standing in long queues and in the scorching sun.
The voting exercise in the Ga East District, which consists of Madina and Abokobi, commenced smoothly with a few drama at certain polling stations, reports Hadiza N. Billa Quansah.
At the K.B. Farms polling station at Oyarifa, a couple nearly brutalised the Presiding Officer, Madam Matilda Kwafo, simply because their names could be found in the voters register or the transfer list.
The couple, who were very furious, claimed they were asked to go to the Electoral Commission Office at Madina Abokobi to transfer their votes from Cape Coast to Oyarifa which they did. They therefore, did not understand why they would not be allowed to vote.
This brought the voting exercise to a temporary halt. However, after a heated argument they drove off and the exercise continued. As of 11:01 am more than half of the 779 registered voters had already voted and this was evident in the fullness of the ballot boxes.
Another interesting thing took place at the Teiman Roman Catholic Primary School polling station where the Chief of the town, Nii Maale Dzahani II, was prevented from casting his vote. This was because he could not provide his current Identity Card (ID card) and besides his name was not found in the voters register.
As a result, the Presiding Officer, Mrs Jemima Opoku, asked him to go and find his current ID card and bring it to enable him to exercise his franchise. With disappointment written all over his face, the chief walked away from the polling station.
At polling stations like the D/C Primary at Pantang, Daycare Centre, Akporman and Abokobi-Boi, most of the electorate had cast their vote. Therefore when the Daily Graphic got there between 11:20 am and 11:58 am security personnel, party agents and polling assistants were sitting comfortably chatting while others were having their meals.
In an interview, the Presiding Officer at Akporman, Madam Anto, who was about having lunch, said 400 names were on the voters register, however as of the time of the interview more than half had voted.
She explained that the people in that community were farmers; therefore, they queued as early as 3:00 am to vote early and went to their respective farms.
The situation at Madina township was different. In all the 20 polling stations visited most voters could not find their names in the voters register, checklist and on the transfer list. The Daily Graphic chanced upon two youngsters who just turned 18 and were almost in tears simply because their dream of voting for the first time could not materialised.
According to them, they left their homes at Spintex as early as 4:00 am to Madina to vote only to find out that their names did not appear on the registration list. The young girls, who are immediate past students of the Action Progressive Institute, said, ’’We registered at the Madina Police Station during the registration exercise. It is therefore unbelievable that we can’t find our names at the two centres situated at the Madina Police Station. Unfortunately, we were directed to go to Jako Cinema, Methodist Church and the SDA School to find our names but we couldn’t find it,” they lamented.
As of the time of going to press there were hundreds of people standing in long and winding queues waiting to vote at the Riz Hotel temporary booth, Social Welfare School, Jamcol near Maye Hot, Jako Cinema, Faith Community Baptist, Madina Estates Primary and JSS, PRESEC Primary, Central Mosque at Madina Zongo Junction and Madina Police Station polling stations.
Apart from the Jamcol polling station, all the rest mentioned had two stations thus Centre A and B, which were all crowded.
The number of people expected to vote at Social Welfare A and B centres were 584 and 1886 respectively. At the Madina Police Station, 2043 people were expected to vote while Madina Estate JSS had 1089 names on their list. Faith Community Baptist had 1435 registered voters at Centre A while Centre B had 1262 and 16 additional transfers.
Only two people contested for the parliamentary seat for Madina Abokobi. They are the sitting MP, Alhaji Amadu Sorogho of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and Baba Zakaria of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
At most of the polling stations visited party agents for the NDC and the NPP were represented while the rest were conspicuously missing.
Naa Lamiley Bentil reports from the Saviour International School polling station in the Ablekuma South Constituency that more than 200 voters had queued up as of 8:20 a.m.
The place was calm and serene in spite of the fact that some of the electorate got to the station as early as 2:00 a.m. and had still not voted at about 8:20 am due to the unavailability of election materials.
According to one voter, Mr James Titus Glover, he got to the station at 5:00 a.m and was 50th in the queue.
At Burma Camp, which is under the Dade Kotopon Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) who could not vote on December 2, 2008 and their families thronged polling stations to cast their ballots, reports Mabel Aku Baneseh.
There was a long queue in most of the polling stations before 7.00 a.m., the designated time for the polls.
Voters at the El-Wak Barracks, Cantonments Post Office, Du-Bois Centre and Burma Hall polling stations patiently waited for their turn while their colleagues cast their ballots.
No incidents were recorded in all the polling stations because voters exercised a great sense of decorum during the ballots.
Majority of voters had cast their ballots as of 11.00 a.m. thereby allowing other voters who visited the polling stations after 11.00 a.m. to cast their ballots without joining any queue.

Two lawyers attack reporters in court

Friday, November 28, 2008 (Page 54)

TWO young male lawyers yesterday caused a stir at the newly designated Human Rights Court in Accra, when they threw all courtesies to the dogs and verbally attacked some reporters covering a case in the court.
The reporters were covering the case in which three lawyers have dragged the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) to court for demanding the resignation of the former national President of the GBA, Nii Osah Mills.
While lawyers for the GBA and the plaintiffs, Messrs Ace Ankomah and Mr Kwabla Senanu, were busily arguing their case, the young lawyers were also busily ‘manhandling’ two female reporters from the Ghana News Agency (GNA) and the Daily Graphic.
The judge, Mr Justice U. Y. Dery, a High Court Judge, was also busily taking down notes when the incident occurred at the gallery reserved for the public and, for that reason, did not witness the bizarre event.
It all started when one of the lawyers, whose name was given only as Gyau, entered the packed-to-capacity courtroom with a female colleague and ordered a reporter from the Atlantis Radio to get up for him (Gyau) to sit down.
The reporter, who even though did know he had the right to sit on that seat, got up and allowed Gyau to sit down.
Gyau then turned to the GNA reporter and blurted “stand up” apparently to enable his female colleague to take her seat.
The reporter, who had earlier vacated a seat for another lawyer under similar circumstance, looked at the lawyer in bewilderment.
The Daily Graphic reporter, who was by then witnessing the unfair manner in which her colleague was being treated, informed the lawyer that it was not decent to rudely order the GNA reporter to vacate her seat, especially when the seats were reserved for the public.
Gyau got angry, pointed accusing fingers and asked the Daily Graphic reporter what right she had to question his authority as a lawyer and there and then began using unprintable words on her.
The Daily Graphic reporter, who remained unperturbed and demanded to know why her colleague should be treated in such a demeaning manner, had the shock of her life when a plump-looking young lawyer with fat cheeks tapped her on the right shoulder several times from behind. His heckling was followed with a stream of insults and questioning why she should question his “learned” colleague.
The GNA reporter left the courtroom to avoid being heckled, while the two male lawyers launched verbal attacks on the Daily Graphic reporter, who was by then taking down notes of the court’s proceedings.
The trial judge was at the time not privy to what was happening because he was caught up in the heated arguments between lawyers for the GBA and the plaintiffs.
Nevertheless, the Daily Graphic reporter ignored the two lawyers whose female colleague sat in the GNA reporter’s seat without any regrets.
Senior lawyers, including Nana Ato Dadzie, Mr Chris Arcmann-Ackumey, Mr Ace Ankomah, Mr Frank Davies, Mr Peter Zwennes and Mr Kwabla Senanu, who heard of the incident after the court’s proceedings, unreservedly apologised to the reporters for being treated with such disdain.
Two hours before the incident, a senior male lawyer, whose name was given only as Dzakpasu, had ordered all reporters in the courtroom to vacate their seats to enable lawyers to sit down at the public gallery.
As if that was not enough, some lawyers in the courtroom pointed accusing fingers at the GNA reporter that she was recording the court’s proceedings.
Another lawyer, however, owned up and said he was recording the court’s proceedings with his tape recorder. A court clerk then seized the recorder.
The plaintiffs, Nana Ato Dadzie, Mr Chris Arcmann-Ackumey and Mr James Abiaduka, are praying the court to declare that comments which were purported to have been made by Nii Mills, which bordered on the incarceration of Tsatsu Tsikata, were “lawful comments made in his legitimate position as national president of the association”.
They are, therefore, praying the court to declare as illegal the demand and the request of the GBA on Nii Mills to resign his position as national president.
The plaintiffs have, meanwhile, filed a motion on notice for an order of interlocutory injunction to restrain the GBA from holding fresh elections to elect a national president until the final determination of the matter.
The GBA, in its statement of defence, has denied ever coercing Nii Mills to resign.
According to the GBA, at its Bar conference in Kumasi on October 30, 2008, Nii Mills, on his own volition, read out a written statement he had prepared himself to the conference to announce his resignation from office.
It said Nii Mills voluntarily withdrew his nomination and apologised for whatever harm he might have caused the association.
The court has fixed December 4, 2008 to rule on the motion for interlocutory injunction.

Goodies sentenced to 13yrs imprisonment

November 26, 2008 (Page 3 Lead)

THE Accra Circuit Court on November 25,2008 sentenced Isaac Abeidu Aidoo, alias Goodies, to 13 years imprisonment after finding him guilty for a narcotic offence.
Goodies, who is the Managing Director of Goodies Music Productions, swallowed 80 pellets of cocaine and attempted to smuggle them to the United Kingdom on April 23, 2008 but he was arrested at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
He pleaded for leniency halfway through his defence, amidst a stream of tears, at the court’s sitting in Accra.
“I am pleading with the court to give me mercy. I have a young family and I am sorry for disappointing my family,” he told the court.
With tears flowing down his face while in the dock, Goodies, a father of three, looked in his wife’s direction, pleaded for mercy and told the court, presided over by Mr Mahamadu Iddrisu, that he was not a drug dealer.
“I am a very humble person and not a drug dealer. I have never involved myself in drugs. I do not smoke nor drink, so how on earth would I put myself in such trouble? I did not know what I was carrying,” Goodies stated, amidst uncontrollable tears.
The court took into account the fact that he was a first offender and sentenced him to 13 years each on two counts of possession of narcotic drugs without authority and attempting to export narcotic drugs without licence. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The prosecution closed its case on November 20, 2008 and that prompted the court to adjourn to yesterday, November 26, 2008 to enable Goodies to either open his defence or make a submission of ‘no case’.
Goodies, who was arrested at the KIA on April 23, 2008, opened his defence after the prosecution and the defence counsel had announced themselves to the court.
According to Goodies, a spiritualist friend of his, by name Willie, who lived in London asked him (Goodies) to bring something which the spiritualist said was for spiritual purposes and for that matter nobody should see what the thing was.
He said Willie promised to pay him £3,000 if he managed to successfully bring that ‘something’, which he (Goodies) did not specify throughout his defence, to London.
The convict explained that he did not bother to find out what that thing was because he was motivated by the £3,000 which had been promised him.
Goodies explained that he was at the time of the trip raising funds in London and other parts of the world for Ghana’s delegation to the Beijing Olympic Games on behalf of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC).
He further stated that he agreed to send the thing to the spiritualist but did not state the mode through which he carried it.
Goodies told the court that on that fateful day, NACOB officials stopped him and informed him that they suspected him of carrying narcotic drugs.
He said he denied the claim and demanded an examination to be conducted on him, as a result of which he was taken to the 37 Military Hospital for X-ray examination.
The convict said he was later told that he had foreign materials in his stomach, adding that NACOB officials took him to their offices where he expelled the pellets of cocaine he had swallowed.
According to him, he was shocked when NACOB officials later informed him that the substances he had expelled tested positive for cocaine at the Ghana Standards Board (GSB).
At that point, his countenance changed and he began pleading for leniency while looking in his wife’s direction.
His counsel, Mr Oliver Atsu, expressed the defence team’s regret for the delay it had caused in the trial and pleaded for mercy on behalf of his client.
He said Goodies had three children, including twins aged six, as well as a three-year-old, adding that his client had co-operated throughout the trial.
Counsel further stated that Goodies had produced famous musicians like Mzbel, Tic Tac, Nana Quame, 2Face Idibia, among many others, in addition to running a non-governmental organisation committed to the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The court said the defence had been straightforward and stated that it had taken into account the convict’s track record.

Owner of Anyaa warehouse appears in court

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 (Back Page Lead)

THE owner of the warehouse which caught fire and resulted in the death of seven persons was yesterday granted bail in the sum of GH¢100,000 with two sureties to be justified.
On November 17, 2008, around 6.30 pm, the warehouse, which is situated at Anyaa, a suburb of Accra and was said to contain explosives and fire crackers popularly known as ‘knockout’, caught fire and in the process killed seven persons and injured several others.
Janet Akani Sarbah, 40, a trader who deals in toys and explosives, is expected to reappear before the court on December 3, 2008.
Janet, who was accompanied by her husband and a large crowd of family members and sympathisers, left the court premises in tears after she was granted bail.
According to her counsel, Mr Frank Davies, Janet collapsed upon hearing of the incident and it took 24 hours to revive her, adding that his client reported to the police immediately after she was revived.
Mr Davies applied for bail after the prosecution had declined to take Janet’s plea on the grounds that the docket on the case had been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Department for advice.
An Assistant Commissioner of the Police, Ms Elizabeth Allandu, had prayed the court to remand the accused person because the docket had been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Department for advice.
However, Mr Davies opposed the prosecution’s application and insisted that his client’s plea should be taken on the grounds that the charge of importation of firearms without lawful authority was a misdemeanour.
The trial judge, Mr C. A. Wilson, reminded counsel that the police had the mandate to refer matters to the Attorney-General’s Department for advice to which counsel conceded but insisted that such mandate should not be used capriciously.
His insistence resulted in the prosecution presenting the facts of the case, which said on November 17, 2008, the accused person instructed her workers to load some of the fire crackers into a vehicle to be sent to a customer in Kumasi.
According to the prosecution, there was power outage in the area at the time and for that reason the workers decided to use naked lights, which caused the heavy explosion that resulted in the loss of lives and caused injuries to several others.
ACP Allandu told the court that four of the injured were in critical condition at the Korle-Bu Teaching and 37 Military hospitals, adding that investigations were underway to ascertain when and how the explosives were imported into the country.
She said the items had been banned and for that reason the police were investigating how she got the licence to import them.
Replying, Mr Davies said the defence had been handicapped in applying for bail because the prosecution had declined to take his client’s plea.
He, nevertheless, sought permission from the court and moved his motion for bail, which stated among others that his client was a mother of four who had dealt in fire crackers and Christmas toys for the past 10 years.
He said it was unfortunate lives had been lost as a result of the explosion and expressed his client’s condolence to the bereaved families.
According to him, his client had been traumatised by the disaster and had since been suffering from hypertension.
According to him, what happened was not due to negligence on the part of his client and further assured the court that his client would co-operate with the police when granted bail.
Mr Davies further stated that the accused person, who reported to the police voluntarily had been in custody since Tuesday, November 18, 2008 and for that reason would fully co-operate with the police when granted bail.
Counsel further argued that the charges preferred against his client qualified for bail and stated that in any case, the police were currently guarding the remaining items, including the burnt warehouse of the accused person.
He prayed the court not to allow itself to be put under undue pressure by the media, adding that his client had not committed any heinous crime because she had a lawful permit to build those warehouses among others.

I expelled 80 pellets of cocaine • Goodies confesses

Friday, November 21, 2008 (Page 3 Lead)

ISAAC Abeidu Aidoo, alias Goodies, the Managing Director of Goodies Music Productions who is standing trial for a narcotic offence, yesterday admitted that different people supervised him while he expelled 80 pellets of cocaine he had swallowed.
Goodies, who took two days to expel the pellets through his anus, made the admission when his counsel showed a sheet of paper which indicated the date and times he expelled the drugs to him for verification.
The accused person further admitted that he was among the people who signed the sheet of paper, compelling his counsel, Mr Oliver Atsu, to withdraw his earlier objection to the tendering of the sheet of paper in evidence.
The incident occurred when the investigator in the case, Detective Sergeant Hans Addai, was giving his evidence-in-chief in the case in which Goodies has pleaded not guilty to the possession of narcotic drugs without authority.
Goodies, who is on remand, is alleged to have swallowed 80 pellets of cocaine and attempted to smuggle them to the United Kingdom on April 23, 2008 but he was arrested at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
Led in evidence by Mr Paul Assibi Abariga, an Assistant State Attorney, Sgt Addai said Goodies took two days to expel the drugs.
According to the investigator, he sealed the expelled drugs in a brown envelope in the presence of Goodies and an independent witness, adding that he (investigator), Goodies and the independent witness appended their signatures on the envelope.
He further explained that Goodies fingerprinted the envelope, in addition to his signature. Goodies admitted doing the signing and fingerprinting when he was asked to identify the envelope, which was also tendered in evidence.
The investigator informed the court that the sealed brown envelope which contained the expelled substances was later forwarded to the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) for examination.
He said a report signed by K. Acheampong, the Director in charge of the Testing Division of the GSB, dated June 5, 2008, and which was tendered in evidence stated that the 80 expelled pellets tested positive for cocaine.
Sgt Addai said Goodies had told him that a musician by name Abdul Hamid had given him the drugs to be given to someone by name Willie for a fee of £3,000.
He informed the court that Goodies later took officials from the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) to East Legon to apprehend Hamid but he could not be traced.
The investigator told the court, during cross-examination by counsel for Goodies, that Goodies was handed over to him, together with his Ghanaian passport and a bag containing his personal belongings.
He also stated that Goodies was detained by NACOB officials until he finished expelling the drugs.
After the cross-examination of the investigator, the prosecution announced that it had closed its case.
The trial judge, Mr Mahamadu Iddrisu, then ordered the destruction of the seized drugs in the presence of court officials, the prosecution, the defence and the media.
Goodies is expected to either make a submission of ‘no case’ or open his defence on Wednesday, November 26, 2008.

Media's interest in Goodies case unusual - Counsel

Thursday, November 20,2008 (Page 3 Lead)

COUNSEL for Isaac Abeidu Aidoo, alias Goodies, the Managing Director of Goodies Music Productions, who is standing trial for a narcotic offence, yesterday expressed concern over what he termed the media's "unusual interest" in his client's case.
Goodies, who is on remand, is alleged to have swallowed 80 pellets of cocaine and attempted to smuggle them to the United Kingdom on April 23, 2008 but he was arrested at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
And, according to his counsel, Mr Oliver Atsu, Goodies’s blood pressure went up anytime his case was published in the media.
He made particular reference to media publications which indicated that he (counsel) and Goodies had been absent in court on the last adjourned date.
Counsel, accordingly, prayed the media, through the court, to give his client some respite.
However, the trial judge, Mr Mahamadu Iddrisu, held another view and stated that the media were doing their work.
He said the media must be commended because they were necessary partners in the administration of justice.
"I do not want to believe they are doing selective or discriminatory reportage. Ask your client to take it easy," the judge said, adding, "So long as the stories are unbiased, the media must be allowed to do their work."
He further explained that Goodies and his counsel had been absent on November 12, 2008, the last adjourned date, because of the investigator's inability to bring the accused person to court.
Later, Messrs Jerry John Kwasi Abbiw and Benjamin Kingsley Dadzie, both officials of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), testified and stated that they had been on duty at the KIA when Goodies was arrested.
According to Mr Abbiw, on April 23, 2008, he was on duty at the KIA Central Screening Point and spotted Goodies going through departure formalities.
Led by an Assistant State Attorney, Mr Paul Assibi Abariga, to give his evidence-in-chief, Mr Abbiw said he invited Goodies for questioning when the accused reached the Central Screening Point, adding that when he was not satisfied with Goodies’s answers to his questions, he decided to conduct a urine test on the accused.
He said he took Goodies to the washroom but Goodies could not produce urine for the test, for which reason he (Mr Abbiw) suggested that an x-ray should be conducted on Goodies.
Mr Abbiw told the court that he then handed Goodies over to his commander, who in turn handed Goodies over to two other officials for an X-ray examination at the 37 Military Hospital.
He denied a suggestion from counsel for Goodies during cross-examination that his commander lied when he (commander) told the court that Mr Abbiw had been part of the team that took Goodies to the 37 Military Hospital.
Mr Abbiw explained that he (Mr Abbiw) arrested five persons on the day Goodies was arrested and in the process took some of the arrested persons to the hospital for an X-ray and that might have led to his boss' mix up.
For his part, Mr Dadzie said his commander had instructed him and his colleague, by name Ishaq Bakure, to send Goodies to the 37 Military Hospital for an X-ray.
He explained that the first X-ray had been inconclusive, resulting in the request for a second X-ray which revealed that Goodies had foreign materials in his stomach.
He told the court during cross-examination that he had been present when the X-ray was conducted on the accused person.
Hearing continues today.