General

ASANKRAGWA, A FARMING community in the Wassa Amenfi West district of the Western region was thrown into a state of shock last Monday when one Kojo Antwi, the driver of a Kia truck with registration number GR 390 W, allegedly rammed into some supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the area, injuring four of them.  

The four, Yaw Asante, a mason; Mary Egyir, farmer; Paul Kobina Owusu and Yaa Akyaa, both traders, who sustained severe injuries, were taken to the Asankragwa Catholic Hospital for treatment.  

When DAILY GUIDE visited the hospital on Tuesday two of the victims, Paul Kobina Owusu and Yaa Akyaa had been discharged while the other two, Mary Egyir and Yaw Asante were still on admission.   Narrating how the incident occurred in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, Yaw Asante, 50, said on Monday December 15, at about 5.30pm, supporters of the ruling NPP in the area held a meeting with the constituency executives of the party at the Asankragwa Catholic Junior High School.  

According to Asante, the meeting, among other things, was to discuss the performance of the NPP in the December 7 general elections in the constituency and to re-strategise towards a resounding victory for the party’s flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the presidential run-off on December 28. 

He said after the meeting the NPP supporters, numbering about 500, decided to dance to some brass band music in front of the school.  

He intimated that in the midst of the excitement, the Kia truck, from nowhere, ran into the crowd injuring four of them.  

The driver of the vehicle, Kojo Antwi, according to the victim, did not stop but drove into a nearby bush where he left the vehicle and bolted.  

This angered some residents of the area who allegedly set the Kia truck ablaze.  

A senior nurse at the hospital, Mr. Anthony Crentsil told DAILY GUIDE that the four were admitted at the facility with wounds and lacerations on their foreheads, bleeding profusely, so their wounds were sutured and were currently responding to treatment.   The defeated NPP parliamentary candidate for the Amenfi West constituency, Madam Agnes Sonful told DAILY GUIDE that the case had been reported to the Asankragwa police.  

She alleged that after the December 7 elections which the NPP lost in the constituency, supporters of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had been terrorising supporters of the NPP in the area.  

“Now my life and that of NPP supporters in this area are in danger as NDC supporters in the constituency keep on threatening our lives daily with guns and knives,” she lamented.  
When contacted, the Asankragwa district police commander, ASP Albert Adiita confirmed the incident had been reported to them but said no arrest had been made and that investigations were ongoing.  

He however indicated that the driver of the Kia truck which was involved in the accident reported himself to the police at Samreboi, a few kilometers from Asankragwa, and was in police custody.  

ASP Adiita gave the assurance that the Police in Asankragwa would soon take custody of the driver for further investigations.

From Emmanuel Opoku, Asankragwa

President Kufuor has debunked claims contained in leaflets circulating nation-wide that he has stashed GH¢998 billion at the Prudential Bank.

He says neither he nor his ministers have any money at the said bank.

He explained further that those leaflets were calculated attempts by opponents of the government to cause disaffection among the populace, as well as throw dust into the eyes of the people to enable the opponents to win power.

President Kufuor debunked the lies during an encounter with the media in Sunyani yesterday to thank Ghanaians for their support for him and his government, as well as solicit their votes for Nana Akufo-Addo in the presidential run-off slated for December 28.

He spoke in Twi and interspersed it with English. He was accompanied by Mr Gabby Nketiah, Ghana's Ambassador to Korea; Mr Ernest Akubuor Debrah, the Minister for Food and Agriculture; Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, and some regional executives of the party.

The President also debunked claims by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that it had won majority seats in Parliament and said that was not true, since the NDC won 113 seats and the NPP 108, adding, “As I speak with you now the four independent parliamentarians-elect have declared to be on the side of the NPP in Parliament, since they were all NPP members who, one way or another decided to go solo.”

He said opponents of the government who were going round preaching that they were honest and humble, as well as men of integrity, were the worse off, saying the records were there for all to see which party had been sincere and honest in its rule.

He, reiterated his call on Ghanaians not to return the opponents of the government to power to further push back the wheels of progress.

President Kufuor said during his tenure as President, he always placed the national interest over that of partisanship and, therefore, urged Ghanaians to vote for Nana Akufo-Addo, since he also stood for that.

“When you vote for Nana Akufo-Addo you are voting for the rapid socio-economic development of the nation, yourself, the future and that of your children's children.”, he said.

President Kufuor thanked the people of the Brong Ahafo Region for rallying behind him and his government throughout his eight years in office and exhibiting the same support for Nana Akufo-Addo, the presidential candidate of the NPP, and voting massively for him.

He asked all Ghanaians, especially those whom he might have offended in one way or another during his tenure, to forgive him. He called on such people to vote for Nana Akufo-Addo to become his successor in the December 28 run-off.

President Kufuor thanked all Ghanaians for ensuring peaceful elections and urged them to do same during the December 28 run-off.

He recalled that many were those who had predicted violence, chaos and confusion during and after the December 7 polls, saying nothing of that sort occurred.

He thanked God Almighty and the people for preserving the peace and stability of Ghana.

President Kufuor said the nation was on the threshold of economic prosperity and, therefore, urged Ghanaians to vote massively for Nana Akufo-Addo during the presidential run-off, since he was the one who had the capacity and the political will to lead the nation into that era.

He debunked rumours making the rounds that there was 'bad blood' between him and Nana Akufo-Addo, saying, “If there was such a thing between us, I would not have appointed Nana Akufo-Addo as the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General and later Foreign Affairs and NEPAD during the eight years of my administration.”


Source: Daily Graphic

If, as they say, the voice of the people is the voice of God, then the good Lord must have a rich sense of humour. One look at some happenings in what would turn out to be the first of two rounds of the 2008 national elections and the point is amply made.

Talk of a national election variously billed as the last showdown with escalating stakes immediately reigning in the spectacle of spurious opinion polls of doubtful motives. And they were many, from within and without they came predicting figures low and high for their candidate. It was poignant that national opinion polls could become so commonplace as to be reduced to the status of newspaper rejoinders.

And so today, an international group would publish its polls, tomorrow a Ghanaian group would not only rubbish the said polls but would also actually proceed to publish its own polls freshly delivered from the research field and a direct response to that poll result which they initially disagreed to.

Of course, with this will spark an Internet war replete with vile insults and coarse vituperative language. Ei! So do people have the capacity to conduct nation-wide opinion polls at three-day intervals? But all along, the voice of God was rearing up to find free expression in the laughter of the people. December 7 will show. You can do your Internet wars and outdo each other in the insults department.

You can even lie about your achievements but December 7 will show. And God will have the last laugh. And the good people of Ghana did; 49.13 per cent for Nana Akufo-Addo and 47.98 per cent for Prof Atta Mills, thus ushering in a second round slated for December 28.

And while we are at it, did your polls also predict the observed trends in the Parliamentary elections? I guess not!
But still the God who knew the end from the beginning saw a run-off, not that ‘one touch’!

Sophistication is now a popular word with which the Ghanaian electorate may be described. If you doubt it, listen to a voter's comments from Tema as reported by the Ghana News agency.

“At Tema Community One, some voters who voted for the NPP in the first round told the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday that they would change their voting pattern in the second round to enable the NDC win the presidential race to correspond with their majority win in Parliament.

They explained that even if the NPP won, ruling the country would be difficult for them since the NDC would use their majority in Parliament to sabotage its policies. So, you simultaneously think the NDC is capable of both sabotage and the capacity to form the next government? Insightful! Well, it is the voice of the people, the voice of God teaching humility to power brokers. Power belongs to the people after all and power ought to be used on behalf of the people, for the good of the people!

Between and betwixt, NPP’s Atta-Kennedy would recount a voting day story of the conduct of a policeman from the Central Region, where he had gone to vote. A ruckus had erupted over some issue or the other. A patriotic policeman walk up to the folks and blare out, “Did you listen to the BBC this morning? This morning the BBC said the eyes of the world are upon us, so please, everybody should behave!” Very touching, very patriotic!

In another police story, we are educated on politically incorrect ways of handling the scorching African sun on voting day. Finding the heat unbearable, some voters had hoisted their….errm..umbrellas whereupon officers of the peace pointed out that the umbrella was a political symbol! Agyei! I guess a case could alternately be made for riding to the polling centre on voting day on the back of an elephant, the reasoning being that the elephant would be explained away merely as a means of transport.

O! African politics couldn’t be sweeter.
Then would come a video clip to be shown quite often on Metro TV during and post the first round of election 2008. During the run-up to the elections, some political parties would pay close attention to the vigilance of their party polling agents. This posture will be informed by past experience.

Specifically, as has been said repeatedly, lots of the elections are won or lost at the polling station. Indeed, stories abound as to how four years ago, party agents from different parties were freely mingling while sharing laughter and food.

Traditional Ghanaian hospitality, one would say, but these were serious elections o! Indeed in the end, so unprofessional and compromising had the relationship/vigilance become that some party agents would unwittingly be reported to have signed an empty results form before the end of the polls so that “we can go home early”. In the event, less honourable minds with evil intentions would be given free reign to.

Not this time, which is where the Metro TV clip comes in. The clip showed an elderly man, upwards of 60 years monitoring the counting with every ounce of energy he could muster. Late into the night, sleep must have proved to

him to be a formidable opponent and with his eyes closing, this man, whom, for the purposes of this story, we will call Alhaji, said no way! Right before our very eyes, Alhaji would use fingers of both hands to pull down his lower eyelids, protrude his eyeballs and refuse the spirit of sleep as he counted along “79, 80, 81…”

That was funny.

My last reverie is rooted in the Weija Parliamentary and Presidential elections. I must concede that looked at from the point of view of stealing the people’s verdict, this is no laughing matter. Looked at however, from the lighter side of the story as narrated on Joy FM, it is indeed seriously funny.

In Weija, one aspirant is originally declared winner. Was recounting ordered and re-ordered? I still don’t know. What is not in doubt is that the incumbent disputed the election results whereupon it was decided to ferry all ballot boxes to the District Electoral Office to sort out the matter of which ballot boxes to include and which to exclude in the counting.

And then the plot thickens.

For the exodus to Amasaman from Weija, ballot boxes are loaded unto three KIA trucks. Midway, one KIA truck breaks down. The fan belt is torn, it is discovered. The other KIA trucks have meanwhile long gone. Are the party agents still with the trucks? Which trucks? Which party agent has gone with which trucks? Calls are made.

Miraculously, one driver says he has a spare fan belt and would thus return to replace. Right on cue, a ‘Good’ Samaritan truck appears from nowhere and is commandeered to assist.

Ballot boxes (still under contention) are offloaded from the break-down KIA truck unto the ‘Good’ Samaritan truck. Right there and then, driver with spare fan belt arrives, replaces the torn one and presto, the KIA truck is good to go to Amasaman, whereupon the ballot boxes under contention are offloaded yet again from the ‘Good’ Samaritan truck back unto the KIA truck! Ebei!

I mean I know the story is kind of a long winding one bordering on the incredible but I swear, I heard it with my own ears, so we might as well finish its telling.

At Amasaman, NDC agent complains that the seals of some boxes are broken. Israel Laryea from Joy FM does a double take. The electoral officer concurs. The police officer also agrees that the seals are indeed broken but there is a…..logical explanation to all this from the two, “Well, you know how bad our roads are….you yourself saw how bumpy the one we just used was.... The bumpy roads may be responsible for the broken seals…!” Aba!

Wow! E hard o! Fitting, I guess that the matter is going to be settled in a court of law, albeit leaving us with the distinct impression that the truth may after all, never fully be known.

Come what may, God willing, we shall do this again come December 28, 2008. But within all man’s fussing and fighting, one must never forget that God, who knows the end from the beginning, knows the next President and the good people of Ghana whose voices He would use would inevitably have the last laugh.


Credit: Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey
Source: Daily Graphic

As part of moves to enhance the living conditions of beneficiaries of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), government has announced that it would increase the allowances of beneficiaries by the end of December.

This was revealed by the Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Nana Akomea, at a symposium to commemorate the programme's second anniversary at the National Theatre in Accra.

Currently, members receive allowances ranging from GH¢50 (¢500,000) to GH¢200 (¢2million) in the various programme modules.

In an interview with the Daily Guide, Nana Akomea indicated that discussions were still ongoing as to how much money would be used to supplement the existing earnings.

The NYEP, which was launched by President John Agyekum Kufuor in October 2006 at the Kaokudi Park in the East Ayawaso Constituency, sought to give direct intervention to job seekers in the country.

According to Nana Akomea, the programme has since given job opportunities to 109,000 young people in every district across the country at an annual cost of $100 million.

The Minister further hinted that a draft bill to institutionalize funding for the youth employment and youth enterprise has been filed for Cabinet's policy approval. When approved, "we would have given to the nation a dedicated statutory pool of funds to support youth employment and young people with bright businesses entrepreneurial ideas.”

He proclaimed also that the final draft of the National Youth Policy was ready for Cabinet's consideration and further ratification by Parliament.

Nana Akomea noted that if surpluses were to be generated for investments to provide jobs, then the national income must exceed national needs.

He indicated that the last two years had recorded an incredible six percent growth rate, observing that it is the "highest since 1984, when we embarked on economic structural adjustment".

Beneficiaries of the NYEP took turns to pour out their grievances to the Minister. "We are being maltreated by our Supervisors at our various places of work," said some of them, while Community Policing Units advocated that they be enrolled into the Police Service since their efforts equalled that of Police personnel.

Others also complained about the delay in receiving their allowances among others.
.
In response, Mr. Akomea said his outfit would engage in discussions with the various authorities to avert such occurrences, and asked the beneficiaries to report anyone who subjects them to marginalization, harassments or any form of embarrassment to the Ministry.

He noted also that support would be provided to those who want to better their results in order to enhance their chances of achieving higher laurels.

The Secretary-General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), Kofi Asamoah, lauded the initiative by government and congratulated it for seemingly reducing unemployment in the country.

He argued that since employment was a socio-economic initiative, it should be treated with all seriousness.

Mr Asamoah called on government to give incentives to companies which took beneficiaries of the programme into their fold.

He however requested government to depoliticize the recruitment process of the programme, and stressed its continuity by every government.


Source: Daily Graphic

The Madina Police have arrested a 24-year-old driver from Assin Fosu,  Kwaku Asare who claims to be a magician/spiritualist, for allegedly causing his victim’s GH¢1,500 to vanish into thin air under the pretext of doubling the money. The suspect was said to have promised the complainant, Kwame Armah that he could double the said amount, but only succeeded in turning the money into pieces of paper.

The suspect, when arrested, however insisted that he was capable of doubling money and that the complainant hired him to do that.

Indeed at the police station, the suspect demonstrated to DAILY GUIDE how he could make money vanish and reappear.

Narrating the incident to this paper at the Madina Police Station, the Divisional Crime Officer, Chief Superintendent Beatrice Amoako said Armah, a cement block manufacturer at Madina Samampom, had a call from a friend who wanted to buy some cement blocks.

The customer was directed to come to the factory for further discussion on the business, and when coming, he brought the suspect along.

C/Supt. Amoako stated that the friend introduced Asare to Armah as a spiritualist who could help him (Armah) in his endeavours.
She said immediately after the introduction, the suspect started talking about some evil forces which he said were responsible for the woes of Armah.

According to the Crime Officer, the suspect warned Armah that if he did not take immediate steps to cast out the evil forces, his life and business would be in danger.

Complainant was said to have been alarmed by the ‘revelation’ and thus asked suspect to help him.

The suspect, according to C/Supt. Amoako, told the complainant to bring all monies he had in his possession for a special prayer to be offered on them.

The complainant was said to have brought some cedi notes and some dollars totaling GH¢1,500 and he was told by the suspect to put the monies in an envelope, together with a broomstick. Armah complied and suspect feverishly started praying over the items.

C/Supt. Amoako indicated that Asare, after the prayers, warned the complainant not to open the envelope immediately but wait for him (Asare) to go first.

After what seemed to be 30 minutes or more, the complainant opened the envelope only to find out that the money had turned into pieces of paper.

Mr. Armah, who was said to have become hysterical, combed the area for the suspect but did not find him and so reported the matter to the Madina Police.

Luck however smiled at him when he spotted the suspect at the Madina Zongo Junction and with the help of a policeman on duty at the area, suspect was arrested and sent to the Madina Police Station.

Asare had since denied the allegation, and said the complainant contracted him to double his money for him which he agreed to do.

According to the suspect, he charged GH¢150 as his ‘consultation’ fee and that he was good at such spiritual feats.
C/Supt. Amoako said the police were investigating the matter after which the suspect would be arraigned if found culpable.

By Wisdom Peter Awuku

Catholics in Ghana will not go to church on election day, Sunday, December 7,2008, to enable them exercise their franchise.

In a gesture uncharacteristic of many Christian faiths, the church has decided to celebrate the Eucharist of Sunday, December 7 in the evening of Saturday, December 6, in line with liturgical norms which dictate that "the observance of Sunday and of solemnities begin with the evening of the preceding day".

The Catholic Bishops Conference, which took the decision and conveyed same in a Pastoral Letter, urged all Ghanaians to live in peace because "we are one people, with a common destiny".

The date for this year's general election, which falls on a Sunday, has generated serious concerns among the Christian community in view of the day being a sacred one to Christianity.

Some churches and Christians have even requested a change in the date fur the elections but the Electoral Commission (EC) has remained resolute.

Sunday, December 7, 2008 is a special day on the Christian calendar and for the Catholic faith in particular because it marks the celebration of the Lord's Supper or Mass, during which a priest presides in the person of Christ to celebrate the memory of the Lord, a ritual popularly known as the Eucharist.

"Sunday has a special place in our life.

We want a general dispensation and urge through Christ.

"As Christian citizens, we ought to be concerned about the country's stability and growth; we should seek to promote the common good and interest in all activities," the Bishops indicated.

They advised Ghanaians to refrain from acts of provocation and violence, ethnic bigotry, intolerance, insults, insinuations and intimidation.

The Bishops expressed concern about certain attitudes, positions, statements and actions that did not only suggest but also reinforce violence in the body politic, adding, "In as much as we appreciate the crucial nature of Election 2008, we would also like to remind all of us of the need to preserve and deepen the peace we enjoy as a country."

They urged the political parties to also call to order any of their members who might be found engaging in any unacceptable behaviour that undermined the principles of democracy and also obscured facts and truths by which voters were to make informed decisions.

The Catholic Bishops reminded the EC that every election had its own peculiar challenges which must be .addressed and, therefore, encouraged the commission to undertake broader stakeholder consultations to address the challenges to deepen its integrity and that of the electoral process.

They called on all political parties to stick to issues that would promote the growth of the people, while asking them to strengthen their internal systems and structures to curb incidents of hooliganism and intolerance.

On the media, the Bishops stressed the need for the highest sense of responsibility and professionalism in the discharge of their duties.

"We call on the media to preserve with pride their noble duty to inform and educate and to promote an intelligent debate of issues. A high level of circumspection will be of great benefit to the country," they advised.

The Bishops commended the law enforcement agencies for their diligence and call to duty so far but called on them "to be proactive, decisive and professional in addressing and responding to lawlessness".

They urged Ghanaians to seek divine guidance in selecting candidates and casting their votes, while recommending to the leaders of the political parties to have regular periods of sober reflection for divine guidance and assistance.

The Bishops further asked politicians to let their utterances and activities be guided by the spirit of Christian charity, while they did unto others what they wanted others to do unto them.

They called on Ghanaians to join in prayer for the wisdom and right judgement to select leaders for the country and prayed that God would preserve the people from falsehood, intolerance and violence and grant the nation grace and peace to serve Him in true freedom and peace.



Source: Daily Graphic

The powerful Casalesi Camorra clan is believed to have been behind the massacre at the Italian town of Castelvolturno, in which six African immigrants including three Ghanaians were slaughtered.

Police reports said the incident began with the shooting of an amusement arcade's 53-year-old Italian owner, known to have had links with the Casalesi.

Twenty minutes later, in another part of town, the six immigrants were mown down in a 120-round hail of fire from semi-automatic pistols and Kalashnikovs.

Three Ghanaians, two Liberians and a Togo national were shot dead at an ethnic clothing shop where local residents often brought clothes for minor adjustments.

A third Liberian died in hospital the morning of the following day. One suspect, 29-year-old Alfonso Cesarano, was arrested on Monday in connection with the murders and police are seeking two fugitives. Police said the murders were drug-related but also ''a signal'' that the Casalesi were still strong in the area despite a raft of recent arrests.

The Casalesi clan is one of the most feared Camorra outfits. Its criminal empire was exposed in Roberto Saviano's worldwide bestseller Gomorra, now also a film that won the second prize at Cannes this year.

La Russa also said Monday that the deployment of 3,000 troops in major Italian cities will be extended for another six months ''in light of the great success'' of the initiative - part of a wider government crackdown on crime.

The soldiers were sent in August to join police on patrols of nine cities and to guard sensitive sites such as embassies, government buildings and immigration holding centres across the country for a provisional six-month period new task force of 500 soldiers who will be deployed in cases of ''criminal emergency'' in response to a recent wave of Mafia crime.

Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said ''the majority'' of the troops would be sent to help fight the Neapolitan Mafia in a bloody fief north of Naples following the worst ever Camorra massacre last week.

The soldiers will flank the 400 extra policemen sent to the province of Caserta on Monday to beef up protection after a string of Mafia murders this year which culminated in the shooting of six West African immigrants and an Italian on Thursday.

Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa stressed that the 500 troops will be in addition to the 3,000 soldiers deployed alongside police in major Italian cities this summer.'' The troops (in Caserta) could be deployed for three months and (perform) the functions of manning check points,'' La Russa explained.

Italy's anti-mafia prosecutor, Piero Grasso, hailed the decision. ''We need to put into play everything that can be useful in resolving the problem,'' he said.

But the opposition Democratic Party's deputy House whip, Marina Sereni, described the decision as ''belated'' following Thursday's massacre.

''This government continues to use cosmetic stunts for dealing with crime such as deploying soldiers in the big cities, but it has abandoned whole areas of our country to organised crime,'' Sereni said.

This will be the second time since the 1990s that the army has been sent in to combat Mafia crime in southern Italy.

Some 150,000 soldiers were sent to Sicily in 1992 following the murder of anti-Mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.

They stayed on the southern island until 1998 in an operation dubbed Sicilian Vespers. The Italian government weighed sending the army to stop a turf war in Naples itself two years ago, but eventually decided against it.

Series of activities lined up to commemorate the 46th anniversary celebration of the Third Battalion of Infantry on Monday got started with a clean up exercise at Sunyani Municipal Hospital.

It was followed with the presentation of gift items to Compassion Is Love In Action Orphanage at Yawhima, near Sunyani.

The week-long celebration is under the theme: “Homecoming of The Great Scorpion Fraternity”.

At the Municipal Hospital, a number of the soldiers’ wives assisted their husbands as they swept and weeded the premises.

The group was later joined by the Commanding Officer of the Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Amoah Ayisi.

The Commanding Officer told newsmen the idea was to show that civilians and the military were partners in development, and a lot could be achieved through the partnership in nation building.

Lt. Col. Ayisi said the programme was also designed to enable the soldiers to draw from the experience of past or retired colleagues in charting a new way forward.

He expressed optimism that this would further strengthen and deepen the military/civilian relationship.

The Battalion presented assorted items worth GHC500 to inmates of the orphanage, which included milk, bags of maize and rice, and quantities of yam.

The Reverend Mrs Charlotte Osei Kwarteng, General Manager, who received the items, thanked the soldiers for the gesture and expressed the hope that the programme would help demystify the wrong perception by members of the public against the military.

Other programmes lined up for the celebration are sporting activities, military parade, get-together, blood donation, agoro show and anniversary parade.


Source: GNA

The Ashanti Regional Police Commander has cautioned the general public to be careful when transacting businesses involving the five, 10, 20 and 50 Ghana Cedi denominations since they could be given fake currencies.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Kwame Ayesu Opare-Addo made the caution in Kumasi on Monday at a press briefing to announce the arrest of four suspected fake currency dealers.

George Agyemang, 45, Twum Adjei, 41, both car dealers had in their possession the various denominations with common serial numbers when they were searched after the arrest.

They also led the Police to arrest two others, Mallam Awal, 35 and Nuhu Musah, 42 at Mamobi in Accra.

DCOP Opare-Addo revealed that, on August 18 this year at 11 am, the Police had a tip off that a group at a Hotel in Kumasi had in their possession a huge sum of Ghanaian fake currencies and were exchanging them with genuine ones.

He said the police traced them to the Silicon Hotel at Kentinkrono, a suburb of Kumasi where the first two were arrested.

DCOP Opare-Addo said another accomplice known as Adam is on the run.


Source: GNA

EX-CONSTABLE FUSEINI Alidu Konlanbik, the alleged ‘killer cop’ who shot a colleague while he was on night duty at the Agricultural Development Bank at Agona Swedru in the Central Region, was remanded in police custody last Tuesday when he made his first appearance at the Osu Magistrate Court.



Before his Worship, Bart Plange Brew, the accused was charged with three counts of attempted murder, stealing and causing unlawful harm to a public officer, and is to reappear on September 19, 2008 pending further investigations.

A collaboration between DAILY GUIDE and the Police Administration led to the arrest of ex-convict Konlanbik, who was described by the Police as ‘armed and very dangerous’.

The suspect was traced to his hideout at Alhaji, a suburb of Accra where he was busted by Police at about 9:00pm.

Konlanbik was being hunted for shooting his former colleague, L/Cpl. Joseph Adoa in the chest, left leg and right palm while the victim was on night duty with a civilian watchman,

Ebenezer Aikins, at the Agricultural Development Bank at Agona Swedru in the Central Region on August 6, 2008 at about 20:45pm.

After shooting the policeman, the accused and his two accomplices bolted with the officer’s AK 47 rifle with registration number 7221, loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition.

The suspect joined the Police Service in 2002 with Service Number 36004 but was dismissed after stealing two service rifles at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) in Accra on April 24, 2003 and consequently sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.

However, he was released on January 31, 2008 by the Prison authorities upon appeal to make him serve six years instead of 10 years.

Briefing DAILY GUIDE at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters on Wednesday, the Public Relations Officer,

Inspector Joseph Benefo Darkwah said the suspect has denied the offence but further investigations are underway.

Asked what happens if he is not found guilty, Inspector Darkwah stated: “It is too early to come out with such predictions as investigations are still ongoing”.

The source noted that the victim, L/Cpl. Adoa is responding to treatment.

By Nathaniel Y.Yankson