ET Mensah ordered my torture - former AMA staff

Mr George Philip Okine, former Principal Revenue Collector of the Accra City Council (ACC), now Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), on Wednesday alleged that Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, former Youth and Sports Minister, ordered his torture in 1985. He told the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) that he was arrested by soldiers on three occasions and sent to the Castle and Burma camp and tortured on the orders of Mr Mensah, who was then his boss as the Chairman of the ACC.

Narrating the incidents that led to his arrest and torture, Mr Okine who constantly repeated that he was popularly known as "Baby Okine", said he worked for 31 years with the ACC as Principal Revenue Officer in charge of the day-to-day revenue collection in the markets, stores, from hawkers and others within the Accra metropolis.

He said he personally went on routine checks to ensure that revenue was being effectively mobilised. Mr Okine said reports reached him on one of his routine checks that some five women, popularly known then as the fearsome five, never reported to work until late in the month when they came and collected their salaries. Baby Okine said in that particular month they only came to work for three days and so he ordered that their salaries should be withheld. "I invited them into my office and told them of my intention to pay them for only the three days they reported to work," he said. "They did not apologise but rather reported me to my boss, Mr. E. T. Mensah."

He said he was invited to explain why he had withheld the salaries of the fearsome five, adding that he was let go after his explanation. Mr Okine said after a few days he was in his office when four soldiers came and picked him up, molested and humiliated him before his subordinates and superiors and took him to the Burma camp, where he was booted and made to use his fingers as fork in a garden for three days. "I was told by the soldiers that my boss, Mr E. T. Mensah ordered my arrest and torture," he said. "I was released only after one of the soldiers identified me as the junior brother of Major Seth Okine."

Mr Okine said on his return he returned to post but on consultation with his family and friends he asked for voluntary retirement in November 1986.

He said one month before the letter of approval of his retirement came in April, 1987, he was picked up on Sunday March 17, 1987 during morning devotion at James Town Boys School and sent to the Castle. He said at the Castle his clothes and shoes were removed, an amount of 960 cedis taken from him and he was shaved, adding that he was kept there for at least three days before being released. "After that I was picked up again to the Cantonment Police Station and detained there for three weeks for no apparent reason. All I was told was that my arrest was ordered by Mr. E. T. Mensah," he said. Mr Okine said he has retired from ACC and has since been receiving his pension benefits of a little over 250,000 cedis every month. Madam Vera Kwarley Quartey, a former staff of the ACC, corroborated the story of Mr Okine saying that he (Mr Okine) was her boss and she witnessed the arrest, molestation and unlawful detention.