CID petitioned to arrest Bawumia, 2 others

Three persons have petitioned the CID of the Ghana Police Service to commence criminal investigation into allegation of “forgery against Dr Mahamudu Bawumia” and two other New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwarts.

The other two are NPP Director of Elections Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah and the party’s 2016 campaign manager, Peter Mac Manu.

The three petitioners are Amos B. K. Amorse, Victus Avevor, and Dzifa Gunu.

“This has become necessary following the EC’s admission in a report dated December 30, 2015, which states, inter alia, that the EC of Togo denied ever giving out its voters’ register to a “third party”; a register Dr Bawumia and his cohorts, in a petition to the EC dated August 18, 2015, said it used to identify over 76,000 Togolese on Ghana’s voter roll.

The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has also accused Bawumia of falsifying public document and must be arrested.

Below is the full petition to the CID boss:

Director General

Criminal Investigations Department

Ghana Police Service

Accra

7th January, 2016

Dear Sir,

PETITION FOR COMMENCEMENT OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGATION OF FORGERY AGAINST DR MAHAMUDU BAWUMIA, MARTIN ADJEI MENSAH KORSAH AND PETER MAC MANU

We, the undersigned, wish to petition your esteem outfit to commence criminal investigation into a manifesting case of forgery against the 2016 vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; NPP Director of Elections, Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah; and NPP’s 2016 Campaign Manager, Peter Mac Manu.

This has become necessary following the EC’s admission in a report dated December 30, 2015, which states, inter alia, that the EC of Togo denied ever giving out its voters’ register to a “third party”; a register Dr Bawumia and his cohorts, in a petition to the EC dated August 18, 2015, said it used to identify over 76,000 Togolese on Ghana’s voter roll.

Before petitioning the EC, Dr Bawumia addressed a press conference on the same day at Alisa Hotel and said, among other things, that “…in this regard, our investigative team obtained the Togo voters register which was publicly displayed prior to the 2015 Togolese elections. Using facial biometric recognition technology, the system has found 76,286potential matchesof the same people, with the same names and faces on the Ghanaian as well as Togolese voters’ registers…”

A softcopy of the supposed Togo register was subsequently submitted to the EC upon request by Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah. Confirming this, Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah, in a Daily Telegraph report dated November 9, 2015 said, “Yes it is true. We have presented the documents to the EC. I presented the two items to the chairperson Mrs. Charlotte Osei.We have presented a full blown two items to them. The Togolese register that we used and that of Ketu South, the one with the stapled pictures. I have given it to them.”

To consolidate their intention to deceive the EC, Peter Mac Manu, also mounted a podium at a two day forum (which was telecast on public television) organized by the EC at Alisa Hotel to repeat the same allegations based on the forged Togo register and strongly advocated for a new register.

It is trite law that the Togo Electoral Code (Code Electoral) does not permit the EC of Togo to share its register (a sovereign legal document) with a “third party” for which reason it declined to share same with Ghana’s EC even on official request.

It is our case that the supposed Togo register Dr Bawumia and his colleagues based their claims and subsequently submittedto the EC was forged and/or obtained by fraud with the intention to deceive the EC to yield to the NPP’s demand for a new voters’ register.

We further contend that this conduct by Dr Bawumia and the other two NPP officials is a serious offence defined by the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29). For the avoidance of doubt, we respectfully refer you to the appropriate sections:Section 158 of Act 29 provides that “A person who, with intent to deceive any other person, forges a judicial or an official document, commits a second degree felony." Section 164 (1) of Act 29 states that "A person forges a document if that person makes or alters the document, or material part of the document, with the intent to cause it to be believed:

That the document or the part has been so made or altered by a person who did not in fact so make or alter it; or

That the document or the part has been so made or altered with the authority or consent of a person who did not in fact give the authority or consent; or

That the document or the part has been so made or altered at a time different from that at which it was in fact so made or altered.”

The essential elements of this offence under sections 158 and 164 (1) was summed up by Lord Radcliffe and Lord Denning in Welham V DPP [1960] 2WLR 669, as follows: "intent to deceive would be sufficient for purpose of establishing forgery when the act complained of was done to deceive public authorities since the advantage to the offender might be the same even though no loss was occasioned to the person deceived.

was because where the person deceived is a public authority or person holding public office, deceit may secure an advantage for the deceiver without anything that can be called pecuniary or economic injury to the person deceived."

In the Ghanaian case of Okyere & Anor v The Republic [1971] 2 GLR 412, forgery was defined as to “make or alter a document, with intent that it would be accepted as genuine, knowing that someone is likely to act upon it to the prejudice someone else.” We verily believe that was the exact intent of Dr Bawumia, Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah and Peter Mac Manu when they presented the purported Togo register to the EC.

We have attached to this petition a copy of the EC’s report, Dr Bawumia’s press statement, a copy of the supposed Togo Register, copy of the Electoral Code of Togo (in French) and other relevant media reports revealing the complicity of the three NPP officials. Counting on your cooperation

Thank You

Yours sincerely,

…signed…

Amos B. K. Amorse

Asabaham-Accra

Victus Avevor Awoshie-Accra

Dzifa Gunu

North Kaneshie