The Deputy Minister of Lands and Forestry, Thomas Broni, has denied ever snatching somebody?s wife or breaking up anyone?s marital home.
He, however, admitted knowing Ms Martha Nkrumah, the woman at the centre of a sex scandal that has been dragged into the limelight. Minister Broni has however, vehemently denied any untoward relationship with the lady. He was reacting to a newspaper publication in an exclusive interview in his office on Monday.
The newspaper had alleged that he (Broni) has coveted a certain Martha Nkrumah, 34, wife of a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Tony Osei Tutu. The deputy minister also denied the allegations that he has lured Martha Nkrumah from her marital home, using power, influence and money.
He admitted that he met the woman in 2001 when he returned home from England. However, as soon as he realised that she was married, he immediately severed all relationship with her, and warned her not to make any contact with him anymore.
He said despite that, Ms Nkrumah?s common law husband has since then been threatening him, and has sent warnings that he should make sure his wife returns to the marital home, or he would embarrass him in the media.
According to Broni, Martha?s husband claims that it is because of him (Broni) that his wife deserted the marital home. However, the lady, upon further probing, claimed that Osei Tutu has not married her properly, and has been quarrelling frequently with her parents.
Broni said, ?The woman is not a tuber of yam or chicken that I can just pack or tie up and return to Osei Tutu. As for chicken, sometimes even if you tie it up and sent it somewhere, it can always return,? he stated.
The minister said he did not tell the woman in question to leave her matrimonial home and could, therefore not instruct or convey her back to her husband. He added that he has not refused to comment on the issue but has opted to do so in a more formal way. ?I remember a man came to my office, who gave his name as Alfred Ogbamey of the Gye Nyame Concord, but could not meet me because I had travelled to Nkawkaw. He took the issue with that and never came back,? he claimed.
He stated that he has never met Osei Tutu in his life, and he is not familiar with the suburb of Accra where it is claimed he (Broni) has rented a house for the woman. ?I don?t even know where she lives,? he stated, and wondered whether he did was newsworthy. He remarked: ?I really wonder why a newspaper would devote its whole front-page for such a story.?
Concord claimed the deputy minister told the newspaper that he has never had any affair with the woman and she is not his lover. He said Osei Tutu was making false allegations against him, and he would seek legal redress for dragging his name into disrepute.
Ms Nkrumah herself, according to the newspaper, was evasive in response to the queries. Whiles not denying or confirming the allegations, she threw a query, ?Does having children with somebody make the person your husband??
People in and around Accra who turned in to an Accra radio station on Monday were shocked as they listened to Tony Osei Tutu, a member of the Young Elephants Forum of the NPP dig into the mud. Osei Tutu alleged that Thomas Broni had lured his wife of 17 years from the marital home, and all his efforts to get his wife, Martha Nkrumah, back home to take care of their infant children, have been futile.
Traumatised, Osei Tutu, has petitioned President Kufuor to help resolve the issue or allow him to handle the matter his own way, since according to him, all efforts to resolve the issue through friends, have failed.
?Sir, I have been able to withstand these traumatic events calmly, so far, by means of prayers and also by the realisation that my party is in power and it is headed by a man we all adore. For this reason, a violent reaction might rock the boat. Therefore, I took counsel from friends urging me to confide in a respected party elder to intervene on my behalf,? he said.
