Alexandria nearly put me into trouble - Jordan

Accra, June 7, GNA - Mr Joris Dodoo Jordan, Former Editor of the "Ghanaian Voice", on Wednesday told the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), that Miss Alexandria O'Brien, the American Lady who has a son with Dr Richard Winfred Anane, Transportation Minister, nearly put him into trouble by asking him to publish something she knew was untrue about the Minister.

Mr Jordan, who was led in evidence by Dr Ebow Bondzie-Simpson, Counsel for the Commission, at its public hearing into certain allegations against Dr Anane, told the Commission that as a result, he could only describe Miss Alexandria as a liar and a blackmailer, who wanted to put him into trouble by forcing him to publish unsubstantiated issues.


The witness told the Commission that Miss Alexandria informed him that according to Mr Bede Zeideng, Former Acting General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, 93The Voice=94 was the only objective newspaper that could publish the allegations she was making against the Minister.


Mr Jordan said, as a result, he initiated discussions between Dr Anane and Miss Alexandria, to ascertain the truth about those allegations that she was making against the Minister before he could come out with any publication.


The Witness told the Commission that when he finally invited Dr Anane to the publisher's office, and asked Miss Alexandria, who rang from Washington, to confront him with her allegations against him, the Lady's response to questions put to her by the Minister was that she was rather sorry for making the allegations.


Mr Jordan told the Commission that because of her behaviour the previous day, when the Lady rang the following morning to apologise to him, he was so angry with her that he could only tell her that he did not have anything more to do with her.

Mr Jordan said as a result of Miss Alexandria's behaviour, he abandoned the idea of continuing with further investigations into the issues she raised against the Minister.


In an answer to a question put to him by Mr Acquah Sampson, Counsel for Dr Anane, during cross-examination, as to when he came out with a publication on Dr Anane in 'The Voice' last year, Witness said he published the story in February after the Appointments Committee had vetted the Minister.


In answer to a suggestion by Counsel whether Dr Anane bribed him with money to drop the story, Mr Jordan told the Commission that the Minister never gave him money to kill the story from Miss Alexandria.


Earlier, Mr Collins Kwame Duodu-Bonsu, a Former Special Assistant to the Dr Anane, who had testified earlier before the Commission, said he remembered ever sending a cheque for 80,000 dollars to Miss Alexandria.


Witness, however, told the Commission that he never remembered sending any dud cheque to her.

Asked by Counsel for the Commission whether he remembered ever writing a letter to Dr Anane, Mr Duodu-Bonsu replied in the positive and said in February last year he wrote a letter to Dr Anane.


Witness only described it as "a letter to my friend, and refused to disclose its contents to Counsel because according to him, in that letter, he talked about more private matters.


Mr Duodu-Bonsu said even though he talked about payments he made to Miss Alexandria in that letter, he only asked the Minister to make some refund because he was in financial difficulties. Sitting continues on Thursday.


Following adverse newspaper publications against Dr Anane, coupled with a petition to Parliament against his re-appointment for Ministerial Position, the Minister is before the Commission's public hearing to answer charges on allegations of corruption, abuse of office and conflict of interest.


The Commission, which started its investigations in January, had made it clear that even though there was no formal complaint, it had the constitutional mandate to go into the allegations and to get to the bottom of it. 7 June 06