Story Against Minister Lands Man in Trouble

THE AJUMAKO/Enyan/Essiam constituency chairman of the NPP, James Appiah Mensah who concocted a story against the Central Regional Minister, Mr. Isaac Edumadze has now been granted bail in the sum of ?2 million with one surety to re-appear today, Friday, October 26.

Appiah Mensah was thrown into prison custody for five days when he appeared before a Cape Coast Circuit Court presided over by this Honour Tom Bentil.

The accused was reported to have used the name of a banker, one Samuel Dickson Gyimah, alias Kofi Anokye, as the author of the publication of a story published in the Ghanaian Chronicle headlined "Ajumako/Enyan/Essiam demand probe."

The story published in the paper urged President J. A. Kufuor and the NPP administration to probe the Central Regional Minister, Mr. Edumadze for allegedly misappropriating the MPs' Common Fund for the Ajumako/Enyan/Essiam constituency.

The accused, who pleaded not guilty to the charge of forgery, was remanded in prison custody to be brought back on Friday, October 19, where he was granted bail.

Earlier, prosecuting, Chief Inspector Augustine Amonoo told the court that when the complainant, Mr. Kofi Anokye saw the publication, he became astonished and disturbed because his name and address were used as having authored the story.

As a result, he reported the matter to the Ajumako police who during investigations identified the accused as the culprit. Investigators detected that the accused typed the story at Vincent B. A. Consultancy at Mankessim and was, therefore, invited to the district police headquarters where the person who typed the story identified him on October 3.

When the case was called, the accused had not been brought from the Ankaful prison.

But his counsel, Mr. Kwesi Spio, himself an NPP elder, pleaded for bail to enable him interact with him (accused), stressing that he was sure if the accused was granted bail, he would not interfere with further police investigations.

Consequently, the accused was granted bail in absentia long before he was brought to court by two prison warders.