Andanis continue to stay away from sitting

Five Andani witnesses, who were scheduled to give evidence before the Wuaku Commission probing into the Yendi crisis on Tuesday failed to appear, confirming the Andanis resolve not to attend sittings until they have met President John Agyekum Kufuor.

They are Abdul Razak, Abdulai Sule, Mahama Yakubu, Zakaria Alhassan and Abdulai Yakubu. The situation compelled the Commission to end the day's proceedings at exactly 1020 hours after hearing brief evidence from Mr Mohammed Habib Tijani, Yendi District Chief Executive and the Deputy District Co-ordinating Director, Mr Seidu Abanga.

A late fax message received from the Dagbon Traditional Council and signed by nine persons after Monday's sitting indicated that the Andanis had resolved to stay away from further sittings.

In spite of this development, Mr Justice Isaac Newton Wuaku, Chairman of the Commission, announced at Tuesday's sitting that the Commission would go ahead with its proceedings and end its sittings in Sunyani on Wednesday, 4 September.

Justice Wuaku said the Andanis had complained of "some obstacles" being placed on their path at the Commission's sittings and wondered what those obstacles were. Mr Tijani, who is also the Chairman of the Yendi District Security Committee (DISEC), denied that there was a DISEC meeting on 18 February this year.

He stated that the allegation by one Abdul Razak, one of the Andani Witnesses, who failed to appear before the Commission on Tuesday, "was a figment of his own imagination".

Mr Tijani, who was making his third appearance before the Commission, said that the DISEC rather held a meeting with leaders of the Abudus on 15 February and another one with the Andanis on 19 February.

The contents of the minutes of the purported DISEC meeting, which had already been made available by Razak to the Commission, were, however, not disclosed to him because of his absence. Mr Tijani was to confront Razak about the minutes of the purported meeting held on 18 February, if he had appeared.

He explained that he had known Razak as a SSNIT worker and an Andani since childhood and that he acted as secretary whenever the district assembly held a meeting with the Andanis.

Mr Tijani told the Commission in an answer to a question by Mr Yaw Wiredu-Peprah, Counsel for the Commission, that it was either the District Co-ordinating Director or the Deputy, who recorded the minutes when the DISEC held a meeting.

Mr Seidu Abanga, Deputy Yendi District Co-ordinating Director, who gave evidence as the 105th Witness said although M. A. Azonko, the DCD, was present, he (Abanga) took the minutes of the DISEC meetings held on 15 and 19 February.

He corroborated the DCE's denial that a DISEC meeting was held on Monday, 18 February. Mr Abanga stated that he had been at post at the assembly since February 1998 and hails from Bawku in the Upper East Region.

The Witness was discharged after spending about ten minutes to give evidence since neither the members of the Commission nor the Counsel for the Abudus, Nana Obiri Boahen, had any questions for him. Sitting continues on Wednesday.