ACP Boakye's Lawyers protest against "Daily Guide"

Accra, Aug. 16, GNA - The three-member team of lawyers representing Assistant Commissioner of Police Kofi Boakye at the Georgina Wood Committee on Wednesday protested vehemently against media reports on the testimony of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Patrick Acheampong before the Committee earlier this week.

The team made up of Mr Vincent Aikins, Mr Joe Aboagye Debrah and Mr Maxwell Opoku Agyemang said they were surprised at a report, which was close to verbatim, by an Accra Daily newspaper, "Daily Guide" of a testimony held in camera the previous day.

The Counsel said either someone was leaking information to the press or that the room in which the meeting was being held had been bugged.

Mr Debrah told the Committee that it appeared some people had an agenda to tarnish the image of their client, especially when issues that were discussed in camera, were in the public domain.

He, therefore, pleaded with Committee to grant the team permission to publish the cross-examination of the IGP for the public to have the true picture of the proceedings of the previous day to vindicate their client and spare him from being tried in the court of public opinion. Mr Debrah also prayed the Committee to invite the Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drugs Board, Mr Emmanuel Agyarko to name the security operative to whom he gave the contentious tape, which allegedly had the voice of ACP Boakye and others discussing the loss of the cocaine from the MV Benjamin at the Tema Harbour.

Mrs Wood appealed to the Lawyers to withhold their publication of the cross-examination.

She said the Committee would invite the "Daily Guide" to appear before it next Wednesday.

Answering questions from the Committee on the said tape, Mr Boakye agreed to some portions of the tape, but said it had been edited. He said the recorded meeting lasted for about one and half hours but he could not remember the aspects that had been taken out. Mr Debrah said some parts of the tape had been wrongly attributed to their client in the transcript. "There (the transcript), certain words have been put in the mouth of our client," Mr Debrah said.

"It would also be helpful if the Committee determines the source of the tape.... Some portions of the tape have been edited at a point and there is no sequential flow of the conversation," he said. Mr Aikins said: "We sat from Saturday morning till evening and played the tape for five, six or seven times to determine the areas we don't agree with." He re-emphasized wrong attribution of some aspects of the tape to Mr Boakye.

Earlier, the Committee closed the cross-examination of Superintendent Edward Tabiri, an investigator in the East Legon cocaine seizure case, and Ms Grace Asibi, a witness. Ms Asibi had alleged that Mr Tabiri collected a bribe of 200,000 dollars from her. The Chairperson asked both sides to present written submissions of their cases to the Committee.

Ms Asibi, through her counsel, James Abiaduka denied everything that Mr Tabiri had told the Committee, but Mr Tabiri declared, "I have spoken the truth".

Mr Tabiri in a summary of his testimony told the Committee that he stood by his earlier pronouncement that Ms Asibi was an informant. He said she led the Police to arrest the Cuban Secretary of the suspected fugitive drug baron, Vasquez Geraldo Duarte David, and also led them to the offices of Compimchex to retrieve documents and information on Vasquez and the arrested accomplice Joel Meija Duarte Moises, also called Joel Mella.

Mr Ellis Owusu-Fordjour, counsel for Mr Patrick Ampewuah, Deputy Director, CID, who appeared before the Committee in connection with the East Legon cocaine case, denied that a voice on a tape recording in which the person issued threats on Ms Asibi's life, was that of his client.

"The voice is not ours, the language is not ours and the Twi is not the type we speak," he emphasised.

He compared various intonations of the Twi language among Akan speaking people and said the intonation on the tape was not from an Akan speaking Twi person.

Mr Owusu-Forjour said his client would never have spoken in that manner to a lady and that he always spoke decently. He said he would make an address to the Committee later. Mr Ampewuah is to reappear on Monday, August 21 2006.