Guard expresses shock at minister?s behaviour

MR. JOSEPH DENNIS Abraham, a member of the Municipal Assembly task force who was allegedly battered by the Central Regional Minister, Isaac Edumadze, has expressed shock at the action of the minister.

Speaking to The Chronicle in an interview yesterday, Abraham said he had tried to explain things to Mr. Edumadze but he would not listen because he was highly annoyed on seeing his vehicle locked up by the task force.


?I?m very disappointed at the way and manner the minister treated me in the face of the general public,? the middle-aged guard told the paper.


Abraham, 61, told the paper that he was unable to meet his hospital expenses of ?150,000 after police had issued him medical form. He maintained that he did not know that the vehicle which was locked up by Nana Adabie, the chief officer of the municipal task force and his group belonged to the minister since the car was not recognized as one of the officials? cars.


Abraham was expected to make available his medical report to police at the time of filing this report. Police say they would investigate the matter after they had received the medical report.


However, a press release issued by the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and signed by Mr. Clarence Lartey, the regional Public Relations Officer and circulated among the media houses on Wednesday night accused the municipal task force of intentionally locking up the minister?s vehicle and causing a stir at the Kotokuraba Market which is the Central Business District (CBD) of the municipality.


According to the release, the Minister, Hon. Edumadze, had stopped the vehicle safely at a point, with the engine and hazard lights on to have a word with some market women nearby when the vehicle was locked up by the task force led by one Nana Adabie.

It continued that when bystanders drew the attention of the task force to the fact that the minister was handling the vehicle, the task force replied, ?who is he?? and drove off to their utter surprise.


It added that the task force did not bother when an associate of the minister who was sitting in the vehicle pointed out to them that Edumadze was returning to move the vehicle.


?It took about 20 minutes of efforts by an assembly member who happened to be around to have the vehicle unlocked while the minister was waiting, with many people converging on the scene to witness the drama,? the release concluded.


In a related development, Mr. Edumadze has denied touching the 61- year old man on Joy FM and made direct allegations against the publisher of The Chronicle, accusing him of nursing an agenda to ?destroy? him.


The publisher has declined to comment. Nana Kofi Coomson has an ongoing legal case against the Minister which is yet to be concluded. He has been forced by the action to defer his studies in the UK.