Indian Lady Drags Kofi Wayo To Court

An Indian woman resident in Ghana has dragged Charles Kofi Wayo, the maverick politician and businessman to an Accra High Court, claiming compensation for aggravated assault and battery.

Wayo, the woman alleges, held her neck and attempted to strangle her amidst racial abuses, whilst subjecting her and her two children to public ridicule and contempt.


The woman, Mrs Greena Punjabi, a housewife said in her statement of claim filed by her counsel, Mr. Brookman Amissah that Wayo struck her Peugeot 307 saloon car with his fist repeatedly until the windscreen cracked in an incident, last December.


In a six-point statement of claim filed on March 13, 2002, Mrs Punjabi said Wayo assaulted her by grabbing her hair and yanking it violently, causing her considerable pain. According to the statement, Kofi Wayo got hold of her neck and attempted to strangle her, while hurling racial abuse at her during, which she sustained personal injuries and damages.


Mrs Punjabi said she sought medical treatment at the 37 Military Hospital after she lodged a complaint at the Airport Police station. According to the medical report, Mrs Punjabi suffered trauma and shock, contusion of the neck, which led to stiffness of the neck and pain in the right arm.


The statement also said Mrs Punjabi had to fix her windscreen at Prestige Motor Company Limited at the cost of ?3.5 million.


But in an interview with the Gye Nyame Concord, Wayo denied the allegation saying the woman rather hurled abusive, racist insults on a friend of his whose defence he went to.

Both Wayo and the friend, Nii Otu Vanderpuye from Nima told the ''Concord'' that Mrs Punjabi, if anything was to blame for her insulting behaviour.


''I crossed her car to meet Wayo when I saw him and she nearly knocked me down. When I complained, she hurled racial and abusive insults at me. And you know, Wayo, he didn’t take kindly to her insults so he jumped to my defence and asked why she should be using such words on me,'' Vanderpuye said.


Wayo also alleged that the woman rather attempted to assault him.


''She tried to slap me and I deflected her hand. I’m sure she thought I was some ordinary guy just walking on the streets ‘cause I was in shorts that day, you know''.


''I was just defending a Ghanaian'', Wayo said adding that he has handed over the writ to his lawyer, Mr Amarkai Amarteifio of Amarteifio Chambers.