Gifty Kusi sat on disciplinary committee even before appointment - Rev. Asante-Antwi

The Chairman of the New Patriotic Party’s National Disciplinary Committee, Most Reverend Dr. Samuel Asante-Antwi has admitted that Madam Gifty Kusi actually sat on the committee even before her controversial appointment as a member of the committee.

Rev. Asante-Antwi stated this in court when he gave evidence for and on behalf of the New Patriotic Party and Freddie Blay, the party’s First National Vice Chairman, in the matter in which Mr. Paul Afoko is challenging his so-called suspension.

In his evidence-in-chief at paragraph 10 of his witness statement, Rev. Dr. Samuel Asante-Antwi who is also a former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, stated, “… On 21st October 2015, Plaintiff was again absent. The following members of the committee were present:

1. Most Rev. Dr. Asante-Antwi – Chairman

2. Madam Ama Busia – Member

3. Hon. Dr. Addo-Kuffour – Member

4. Hon. Gifty Eugenia Kusi – Member

5. Prof. Mike Oquaye – Member/Secretary

6. Alhaji Abubakar Abdul Rahman – Member

IT IS PERTINENT TO NOTE THAT ALL THE ABOVE-MENTIONED PERSONS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ALHAJI ABUBAKAR ABDUL RAHMAN, WERE PRESENT AT THE PREVIOUS SITTINGS OF THE COMMITTEE…”

However, under cross-examination in court, Rev. Asante-Antwi, contradicted himself by denying that Madam Gifty Kusi had sat on the Committee before the 6th of October 2015! This is exactly what happened during cross-examination of the former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, by lawyer Osafo Buabeng:-

“Q. In your earlier sittings was Madam Gifty Kusi one of the members of the Committee who sat on the 16th of September 2015?

A. My Lord, Madam Gifty was appointed by the parliamentary group with a letter dated 1st October 2015 to replace Lawyer Boafo who had not been attending sittings.”

It is also interesting to note that the Reverend Minister in his evidence-in-chief which is contained at page 5 of his witness statement stated, “…Hon. Mrs. Kusi was sworn into office by the 1st Defendant on or about the 7th day of October 2015 by the 2nd Defendant when the Plaintiff was not available to swear her in.”

Meanwhile, Rev. Asante-Antwi had earlier admitted that the Committee had sat on the 16th of September 2015 and that Gifty Kusi was part of that sitting! This is exactly what happened during cross-examination of the “Man of God”:-

“Q. Most Rev., you remember on the 16th of September 2015 your Committee sat to hear a petition by the Council of Elders at Alisa Hotel?

A. Yes my Lord.”

So, if the national disciplinary committee had sat on 16th September 2015 and all the members, except Alhaji Abubakar Abdul Rahman, “were present at the previous sittings of the Committee”, then it meant that Madam Gifty Kusi sat on the Committee even at the time she was not a member.

It is also worthy of note that the admission by Rev. Asante-Antwi that the national disciplinary committee sat to hear a petition at the Alisa Hotel makes nonsense of the allegation that it was rather Chairman Afoko who had wanted the Committee to sit at a hotel for the first time for its meetings. Rev. Asante-Antwi did not leave behind the false propaganda he and his cohorts had waged against Chairman Afoko in the media and in party circles but shamelessly brought same into the court room when in his evidence-in-chief at page 5 of his witness statement, he sarcastically stated, “…At this time, the Plaintiff had elected to be an ‘absentee chairman’ by staying away from known party offices, and desiring party activities to be conducted in hotels rather than at the 1st Defendant’s offices.” By the party Constitution, the General Secretary is the head of the party’s national secretariat. It is not the national chairman! (see page 47 of the NPP Constitution).

The Rev. Asante-Antwi also lied under oath in court when he admitted that he unsuccessfully tried to reach the National Chairman, Mr. Paul Afoko, for him to swear Gifty Kusi in as a new member of the national disciplinary committee! In Exhibit 16 (the letter Freddie Blay wrote to invite Gifty Kusi for her swearing-in) it is contained therein that Rev. Asante-Antwi, Gifty Kusi herself as well as Freddie Blay had individually tried to reach Mr. Afoko unsuccessfully for him to swear her in. It is interesting to note that they did not, however indicate the means by which each of them had tried unsuccessfully to reach Mr. Afoko.

As stated earlier, if Rev. Asante-Antwi had admitted that Gifty Kusi sat on the Committee’s previous sittings especially on 16th September 2015, why was there the need to swear her in on the 7th of October 2015?

It is important to state that Mr. Afoko in the year 2015 traveled only twice out of the country. The first one was in May 2015 when Freddie Blay illegally convened a Steering Committee which generated some furore in the media and in the party circles. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the party’s flagbearer attended that meeting! This was before the 16th of September 2015 when the Committee sat on the petition from the Council of Elders. The second travel was on December 25, 2015! Apart from these two foreign trips, Mr. Afoko had been in the country the whole of 2015.

During cross-examination of the Rev. Asante-Antwi on his alleged attempts at reaching Mr. Afoko, this is what transpired:-

“Q. In Exhibit 16, you are recorded that you have tried to contact the Plaintiff albeit unsuccessful, is that not so?

A. Yes my Lord, through his lawyer.

Q. Most Rev. Exhibit 16 is dated 6th October 2015, am I right?

A. That is correct, my Lord.

Q. The first time you came into contact with the Plaintiff’s lawyers was on the 6th October 2015, am I right?

A. That is correct, my Lord.

Q. So before the 6th of October2015, you had not made any effort to contact the Plaintiff on the swearing-in of Gifty Kusi, is that not so?

A. My Lord, that is not correct. By a letter dated 2nd October, we invited the Plaintiff, that is, the disciplinary committee invited the Plaintiff to appear before us on the 6th of October. The Committee was going to meet on the 6th of October, my Lord, he didn’t show up rather his lawyers came to the meeting informing us that his client is not well but that he cannot show up. My Lord, we accepted to speak to the lawyers at that meeting and it must be emphasized that this is the first time in the history of the disciplinary committee where lawyers were allowed to sit in. We interacted with the lawyers and adjourned the meeting. When they were about to leave, we gave them word that we have a business to transact and that the committee would be grateful if they could appear on the 12 of October because we have a business to transact for the party.”

Is the last question and the response to same not interesting? That was Most Rev. Samuel Asante-Antwi, the former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church and a former member of Ghana’s Council of State that advises Presidents of the Republic of Ghana.

Readers are to take note that the letter dated 2nd October 2015, which the Rev. Asante-Antwi referred to in his last answer above, is marked as Exhibit 5 which he tendered during his evidence-in-chief. When Lawyer for Mr. Afoko pointed out to Rev. Asante-Antwi that the letter dated 2nd October (Exhibit 5) did not raise any issue on the swearing-in of Madam Gifty Kusi, the former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, wobbled in his responses. During cross-examination this is what happened:-

Q. Most Rev., in Exhibit 5 you did not raise any issue on the swearing-in of Gifty Kusi, am I right?

A. Some issues are discussed when we sit. We were expecting the chairman to be present on the 6th so that we discuss the replacement issue and what need to be done.

Q. I am putting it to you that Exhibit 5 did not contain any issue on the swearing-in or membership of Gifty Kusi on the Disciplinary Committee.

A. My Lord, a copy of the letter from the Minority Caucus on the replacement of Gifty Kusi had bgeen sent to the secretariat. My Lord, that letter explained itself so we expect the chairman to know the progress of work of the Disciplinary Committee.”

For the benefit of readers, the content of Rev. Asante-Antwi’s 2nd October letter (Exhibit 5) is reproduced below:

“ INVITATION TO APPEAR BEFORE THE NATIONAL DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE

RE: COMPLAINT BY ALHAJI MOHAMMED AMINU AMADU AND ALHAJI SULEMANA YIRIMEA

Reference above, please find attached, two complaints lodged by Alhaji Mohammed Aminu Amada and Alhaji Sulemana Yirimea dated 1st October 2015 and 22nd September 2015 respectively.

You are kindly required to appear before the National Disciplinary Committee on Tuesday 6th October 2015 at the old Party Head Office at 9:30am to assist the Committee in its deliberations.

Once more, please accept the condolences of the Committee.

Thank you.”

From the above, it is surprising that Rev. Asante-Antwi would impute ill-motive to the Chairman Afoko in his evidence-in-chief when he stated categorically at page 6 of his witness statement that, “It is very instructive to note that plaintiff’s main object before and during the Committee’s sitting was to ensure that Disciplinary Committee would not be properly constituted to sit and deliberate on the complaints against him…It is for this reason that the Plaintiff made himself unavailable to swear Hon. Gifty Kusi in, though not a constitutional requirement. Plaintiff thought that by not swearing her in, she would not be able to perform her functions as a member of the Committee. The 2nd Defendant duly swore her in. It is ironic that the Plaintiff will object to this. The Plaintiff cannot profit from his own wrong in deliberately avoiding the swearing-in of Hon. Gifty Kusi.”

Rev. Asante Antwi and his cohorts were rather very desperate to satisfy the quorum requirement to be able to sit on the concocted complaints against the National Chairman otherwise why would he and Freddie Blay, the party’s First National Vice Chairman, lie that they had looked for Mr. Afoko without finding him. The truth is that Rev. Asante Antwi and his cohorts needed five members to form a quorum and with four members of the 8-member committee being absent for different reasons, the remaining four(4) could sit to have a valid meeting.

Hence, this fraudulent means to get Gifty Kusi on board.

Under cross-examination, Rev. Asante-Antwi was at his lying best when denied that Freddie Blay’s letter (Exhibit 16) as clearly stating that Gifty Kusi had to be sworn-in for the work of the Committee to continue.

“Q. Most Rev. the purpose of Exhibit 16 was to invite Gifty Kusi to be sworn-in to enable the Committee to proceed in its work, am I right?

A. My Lord, that is not correct. My Lord, I see a constitution of the NPP in the Exhibits and my Lord, with your permission if I can refer to specific pages dealing with composition, functions, jurisdiction of the National Disciplinary Committee.”