CDS ‘Kills’ Soldier

A soldier of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has died mysteriously at the residence of the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. PA Blay, in Burma Camp. The soldier is reported to have met his untimely death on Friday 29th October 2010 at the Juba Villas residence of the Chief of Defence in very suspicious circumstances.

The soldier, Lance Corporal Bright Annor Apeadu of the Recce Regiment in Burma Camp, was on duty with other solders at the official residence of the CDS when he was found dead in very bizarre and superstitions manner.

The soldier who was on sentry at the entrance to the house of the CDS was found seated and dead by one of his colleagues. The colleague who first saw the death of the poor Lance corporal could not believe his eyes and has not been able to understand how and why such a “calamity” could befall their group especially in a manner that none of them could notice anything immediately before the death of the solder.

Already tongues are waggling in Burma Camp and in the village of the soldier on the Kwahu mountains as the truth about the real cause of the death of the young soldier, who is still a bachelor and has no child.

Some of the soldiers who spoke to our reporter on strict anonymity think that “something fishy must have happened to the soldier and there is the need to have a full scale investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of this poor boy”.

According to the sources, either a Board of the Inquiry (BOI) or investigations by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service may be needed to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of Lance Corporal Bright Annor Apeadu”.

The sources continued that unconfirmed reports have it that, the deceased was pronounced dead and categorized as BID (Brought In Dead) by the Doctor on duty at the Emergency Department of the 37 Military Hospital. Inside sources allege that autopsy performed on the body indicate that he died as a result of heart attack.

This assertion is being contested by some of the soldiers who were on duty with the deceased at the residence of the CDS. Other soldiers who were not at the residence of the CDS at the time of this unfortunate incident are also wondering how such a thing could happen unnoticed amongst a group of soldiers who were on duty especially as the soldier was on sentry at the time of his death.

These soldiers argued that the soldiers perform these sentry duties in groups of at least two, while one soldier is at the duty post at least one other will be standing or seated close by to provide covering fire to the colleague on duty in case of any eventuality. Besides since the duty post was the official residence of the number two person in the Ghana Armed Forces, the CDS, no laxities are likely to occur in the performance of the duties of the soldiers. Consequently, these soldiers are of the view that the deceased soldier could not have died ‘peacefully’ and ‘quietly’ while seated at the duty post holding a weapon without his colleagues on duty hearing any noise, screaming or movements. To these soldiers, the “story” of the soldier dying as a result of a sudden heart attack may be a simplification of the issue and a full scale investigation is the surest way to clear the doubts in the minds of people in Burma Camp and in the village of the poor boy.

The rush to bury the soldier quickly and have his final funeral rites performed is also heightening their suspicion. He was initially supposed to be buried on Friday 19th November 2010 but is now shifted to 10th December 2010.

A Warrant Officer, who appeared very disturbed and troubled by the rumours spreading in Burma Camp as to the real cause of death of the soldier, said that “the body of the deceased is at the morgue of the 37 Military Hospital where no extra expenses are to be incurred by the Military authorities or the family of the soldier and therefore the investigations can continue to unearth all the necessary facts and circumstances surrounding the death of Lance Corporal Bright Annor Apeadu once and for all”.

He continued that “any hurriedly organized burial and final funeral rites would only succeed in casting more doubts about the official explanation given for the death of the soldier”.

It will be recalled that several mysterious deaths have hit the Ghana Armed Forces in recent times especially in the year 2010 over a three month period. Three senior officers of the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel and Brigadier General or their equivalent have died in rapid succession in very suspicious circumstances.

The first of them to die (in the case of the officers, ironically was to be buried and given a befitting military last respect in Accra) was believed to have been under the spell of juju together with the wife who was the first to be struck and is yet to recover. The other two officers were feared to have been victims of juju as well. One of them had juju placed under the seat of his vehicle while the other was alleged to have been a victim of his own poison.

While the reporter was having a chat with the first group of solders, another Senior Non Commissioned Officer (SNCO) joined the conversation and brought in a new dimension of the circumstances of the death of the soldier at the residence of the CDS. The SNCO hinted that the former CDS, General JB Danquah, was living in the same residence at Juba Villas when “yet to be identified” persons shot and killed one of his bodyguards behind the Recce Regiment in Burma Camp.

The SNCO said that “this time around too the name of the Recce Regiment is associated with the death of a guard on duty at the residence of the CDS!!”

What the SNCO did not understand and found to be a demonstration of double standards was the attempt by the NDC government to indict the former CDS for the death of his bodyguard who died several kilometres from residence and there was ample evidence that he was murdered. The SNCO recalled that in the case of the death of the bodyguard of the former CDS even “Brigadier General Nunoo Mensah got involved in the investigations. That poor soldier, Sgt Kyere had died before the NDC came to power and all arrangements had been made for his burial and final funeral rites and yet an order came from the National Security Advisor that all proceedings had to be halted in the name of further investigations.

In that incident, the Police had already completed two sets of investigations to unravel the circumstances surrounding Sgt Kyere’s death and yet Brigadier Nunoo Mensah and Lt. Col AK Gbevlo Lartey were not satisfied and wanted to conclude that General JB Danquah was responsible for his death”

He continued that Sgt Kyere remained in the morgue for over two years because of the negative propaganda of the NDC with dirt when there was incontrovertible evidence that the former CDS knew nothing about the death of one of his beloved bodyguards whose death saddened him so much and was completely devastated when the incident took place.

He then asked “why can’t the authorities do same thing in the present case of Lance Corporal Bright Annor Apeadu?

He went on to ask; “what is the CDS afraid of in such a full scale investigation? Doesn’t he, the CDS, think that it is in his interest to allow such a full scale investigation to clear his name?”

Source: DAYBREAK