"I am not a mercenary" - Witness

Accra, Oct. 12 GNA - Mohammed Achana Abdulsalam, a worker at the Survey Department in Tamale and a warrior of the late Ya-Na, on Tuesday refuted claims by the defence that he was one of the mercenaries brought in to fight for the Ya-Na.

He also denied claims that he fired a G-3 assault rifle from the top of a mosque during the Yendi crisis.

Mr Abdulsalam made this statement when Mr Solomon Atadze, a Principal State Attorney, led him in evidence at the ongoing Ya-Na murder trial at the Fast Track High Court in Accra. Mr Abdulsalam said on March 25, 2002, he was in Tamale when he heard on Radio Savannah that due to an incident in Yendi, the Bugum Festival had been cancelled.

He said he travelled from Tamale to Yendi to find out what the situation was on the ground.

Mr Abdulsalam said being a warrior and an in-law to the Ya-Na, his duty was to protect and defend the Gbewaa Palace. He said when he got to the Palace there was intense firing from the right side of the Palace dominated by the Abudus. Mr Abdulsalam said while in the Palace discussing the situation with the Ya-Na the firing started again and became more intense. He said at that time he and other colleagues had no choice but to take the shotguns in the Palace to defend the Ya-Na and other occupants of the Palace.

He said when the firing ceased, one could see that most Andani houses which were close to the Palace had been set ablaze by the Abudus. Mr Abdulsalam said on March 27, around 0900 hours, the firing started again. This time round the attackers were very close to Palace and they set the houses of the Ya-Na's wives on fire. He said he attempted to convince the Ya-Na to evacuate his household but he refused and rather asked him to leave. Mr Abdulsalam also said it was "the belief in Dagbon tradition that Ya-Na is a gift from God and that no cutlass and guns can harm him". Therefore, when he was leaving the Palace, he believed that the Ya-Na had his own means to finding a way out, he said. He said apart from the Ya-Na, the other persons who remained in the Palace were Alhassan Zakaria and Kojo Ngula. Mr Abdulsalam said when he got out of the Palace he saw Mohammed Champong, Moro Champong and Alhassan Baako who started chasing him. He said while he was running towards the Police Station he also saw Yakubu Abudu who said they would not harm him. Mr Abdulsalam said when he got close to the Police Station, Mohammed Champong shot at him many times and one Inspector Ben and other policemen who witnessed and fired warning shot to scare the attackers off.

He said later the police took him to the Yendi Hospital and on March 29, 2002 sent him to the Tamale Hospital for further treatment after which he wrote his statement. When asked by the defence how he became a warrior of the Ya-Na since he was not a Dagomba royal, he said the Ya-Na had the right to appoint anybody who was loyal to him as his warrior and not necessarily a Dagomba royal.

He said in Dagbon tradition, the chief warrior of the Ya-Na was the Kumbugu Na. Fifteen persons are on trial for their alleged involvement in the assassination of Ya-Na Andani and 30 others in March 2002. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges of conspiracy to murder and murder.

The accused persons are; Mohammed Habib Tijani, former Yendi DCE, Iddrisu Iddi, 76, Alhaji Baba Iddrisu Abdulai, 54, Kwame Alhassan, 53, and Mohammadu Abdulai, 57.

The others are; Saibu Mohammed, 34, Alhassan Mohammed Briamah, 40, Alhassan Ibrahim, Mohammed Mustapha and Sani Moro. The rest are; Baaba Ibrahim, Yakubu Usifu, Ahmed Abukari, Abdul Razak Usifu and Alhassan Braimah. Zakaria Forest, the man alleged to have cut-off the head and hands of the Ya- Na, is at large.

The prosecution's case is that sometime in March 2002, the Ya-Na and some of his elders were killed following a clash between the two royal gates in Dagbon, the Abudus and Andanis. After the clash, Idrissu Gyamfo and Yidana Sugri were arrested and prosecuted for the alleged murder but they were acquitted and discharged.

The government in a fresh attempt to find the murderers conducted a dawn swoop at Yendi during which 41 persons were rounded up. After screening them in Bimbilla, 33 were granted self-recognisance bail, while the rest were brought to Accra and subsequently others were arrested and were arraigned. The case has been adjourned to October 13, 2010.