My brother not a devil - Paintsil’s sister

Tina Paintsil, sister of embattled former Ghanaian international player John Paintsil, has come out to defend her brother, who is in the grips of the law for allegedly assaulting a police commander and stealing his wife’s car.

Paintsil was to be hauled before court on Thursday May 26 for allegedly punching DSP Basintale during interrogation at the East Legon Police Station after his wife, Richlove, filed a complaint that the player had stolen her car. He was detained on the night of Tuesday May 24, and was released on bail Wednesday night.

The sister of the ex-Black Stars right back said in spite of the unfavourable reportage John Paintsil has suffered, she could vouch for his integrity.

“His wife has been doing her best to paint him black. But John is not a bad person. When God blessed John in the family, he didn’t become selfish. He helped all his siblings…” she revealed on Accra100.5FM’s morning show, Ghana Yensom, on Thursday May 26.

In a tell-it-all interview on the programme, Ms Paintsil said the former Fulham defender’s wife constantly brought home troubles, which the footballer and his family had tried to countenance and deal with over the years. She explained that the family had been careful in the handling of such issues, taking into consideration Mr Paintsil’s standing in society.

“Because my brother is a public figure, we are very careful with our actions. That is why we have just entertained her regarding all the happenings in the marriage, but this time around that’s not going to be possible because it is too much.”

Ms Paintsil said Mrs Paintsil (whom she had known as Comfort Bob, until she changed her name to Richlove almost immediately after marrying her brother) had been a constant source of mental torture to her husband.

She said her sister-in-law was fond of taking items belonging to her husband without his consent and selling them. According to her, Paintsil once bought equipment to start a sachet water project, but unknown to him, his wife had sold them off without his say-so. In similar fashion, she had some air conditioners at the footballer’s residence removed and fitted at a mansion which had been put up by the footballer for her in-laws.

Mrs Paintsil, it emerged from the interview, was behind the abrogation of a contract between John Paintsil and an Israeli club a few years back. His wife was said to have conspired with a neighbour to conceal his passport, as she was not in favour of her husband playing in Israel, causing him to miss the deadline for reporting to the club’s camp.

Ms Paintsil also said her brother’s wife had also been involved in unauthorised withdrawals from the player’s bank accounts, often succeeding by stealthily taking leaflets out of his cheque book. Mrs Paintsil was also accused by her sister-in-law of lodging a false case of stabbing against the husband at the same East Legon Police Station where the footballer was recently detained.

She also alleged that Mrs Paintsil had taken to conduct not befitting of a married woman, often returning home from town in the dead of night in skimpy clothing.

She said the family has done its best to rescue the troubled marriage, though all have ended up in vain due to Mrs Paintsil’s attitude.