Soldiers Angry With Gbevlo Lartey

Lt Col Larry Gbevlo-LarteyA dangerous cold war between the National Security Coordinator, Lt Col. Larry Gbevlo-Lartey and several ex-soldiers, including National Security operatives who were recently ordered to leave the service, has sent families of the soldiers fleeing Ghana undercover, into exile.

This development is happening at a time the Security Advisor to the President, Brig. Joseph Nunoo-Mensah, has warned that the country’s security is highly polarized on the basis of party politics.

DAILY GUIDE can report that some of the angry ex-soldiers have sent their wives and children to Nigeria and Israel, and one of their key spokespersons was secretly detained overnight at the National Security headquarters after he turned down a GH¢10,000 offer to betray his colleagues who are demanding compensation.

The ex-soldiers, some of whom served in the Ghana Armed Forces with Gbevlo Lartey, are demanding compensation over what they described as wrongful dismissals from the National Security.

The sacked soldiers alleged that they were dismissed mainly because they joined the National Security during the administration of a different political party.

They have directly accused Gbevlo-Lartey of being the main blockade to their compensation and accordingly formed a group to demand their money.

A number of them who spoke to DAILY GUIDE said after the group presented a petition to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), they observed that everywhere they went, they were trailed by persons suspected to have clandestine motives.

The sacked officers, who were trained at the expense of the tax-payer, alleged that they are being victimized and sacked mainly because they joined the security service during the administration of a particular political party.

They cited the case of the officer who was driving Mrs. Rawlings when her husband was President, saying he was the same person who drove President Kufuor for the eight years he was in power.

“The driver’s name is Osafo Addo and he is still there now,” one of them pointed out, explaining that he was behind the wheels when President Kufuor had the near-fatal accident at Opeibea House intersection.

“There are many people like that who were enlisted before Kufuor came to power but he worked with all of them.

We can mention hundreds of names including the current Chief Protocol Driver at the Castle, Mark Kyei Ahigwa; he was there before 2001 and became the head of Kufuor’s advance team. He is still there now and drives Victor Smith.”

“Why the selective dismissals of those who joined the service under a particular government?” another sacked operative wondered in an interview with DAILY GUIDE.

By Halifax Ansah-Addo