Victor Smith Raids Castle With Soldiers

THERE WAS pandemonium at the Osu Christianborg Castle, the seat of government, in Accra yesterday when Victor Emmanuel Smith, former aide to ex-President Jerry John Rawlings, led a group of soldiers in a typical coup d'état fashion to seize the keys to vehicles parked and others that had gone there to refuel.

Castle sources described the episode as a rough and near-violent one which attracted a small but scared crowd when Mr. Smith and the soldiers stormed the premises at about 2:30pm and after a series of inspections, demanded the full list of all official vehicles there and started the seizure of car keys.

The sources said while some of the soldiers were in uniform, the rest were in mufti and were believed to be members of the defunct 64 Infantry Battalion, popularly called the Commandos - a specially trained militia loyal to ex-President Rawlings.

They reportedly drove some of the Castle staff out of their offices and headed for the fuel station where they seized the keys to all state vehicles that had gone there to refuel.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Nana Bediako, who was in charge of Castle Security, disclosed that he had a call from Mr. Smith who informed him to go to the Castle and account for all vehicles in his custody.

ACP Bediako said the order from Mr. Smith came after he had already handed over all vehicles and the list of drivers under him to the former Chief of Staff and Minister for Presidential Affairs, Kwadwo Mpiani.

He disclosed that the vehicles that were handed over included the sleek BMW 7 Series that drove President Atta Mills to the swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday.

When Nana Bediako arrived at the Castle, one of the men reportedly told him: “You won’t leave here today.”

ACP Bediako was reported to have explained to the soldiers that there was a transitional team in place and that since it was not a coup d'état situation, there was no need to be hostile in handling such issues.

He added that it was simply impossible for one to steal a government vehicle and get away with it because it could not be licensed as a private vehicle without raising eyebrows.

When DAILY GUIDE reached Victor Smith, a member of the Mills Transition Team, on phone for an explanation, he confirmed that he indeed went to the Castle with a team of soldiers but said the rationale was to take an inventory of the official vehicles there.

He reminded DAILY GUIDE that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won the presidential elections and therefore had the mandate to take charge of state property.

Mr. Smith added that since all the official vehicles at the Castle belonged to the state, there was absolutely nothing wrong with him going to the Castle to take stock of them.

He alleged that some of the said vehicles had been sold to individuals and apart from the fact that the sales were not done through due process, payment had not been made. Mr. Smith said another reason why his team went to the Castle was to ensure that the said sold cars were not illegally sneaked out.

Meanwhile the transitional team set up to ensure the smooth handing over process is yet to complete its work.