LATEST (18:00GMT): Mr. Luke Butler and his lawyer have been to the Australian High Commission to make a formal complaint about the illegal taking and retaining of his passport by the Ghana immigration
Luke Butler faces Immigration boss today
... After Minister of Aviation orders revocation of licence ...Ghanaian jobs on the line as dark clouds envelope foreign investors
Monday, May 09, 2005 -- CHRONICLE intelligence has gathered that Mr. Luke Butler and his Ghanaian wife, Simone Butler have been summoned to appear before Ms. Elizabeth Adjei, the Boss of Ghana Immigration Service, after his passport was taken from him last Friday by the Deputy Director of Immigration, Mr. Gyamfi, on the orders of the Chief of Staff, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani.
On Friday, the Chief of Staff, who doubles as the Minister of Aviation, ordered also without the backing of any law, the withdrawal of the Carrier?s Licence of Afra Airlines. There is clear indication that Ghana International Airline, the Mormon-owned company has ordered that they will not countenance any competition from any quarters, and Mr. Mpianim, their main man is carrying out their agenda.
Mr. Butler was however not maltreated, but simply asked to prepare a statement which he did, and volunteered information with supporting documents.
Butler?s lawyers informed the immigration officers of the illegality of taking his Australian passport and also asked for it to be returned.
Mr. Butler is currently waging a brave war to save his investments in Ghana, and has been speaking out after appeals to the President and Papa Owusu Ankomah, the Minister of Interior did not yield any results.
But in a bold and principled rallying cry to save the soul of the ruling party and the reputation of the Presidency, the brother of the President domiciled in the UK wrote a powerful open letter posted on Ghanaweb, asking that the President should not yield to the forces of darkness who are urging him to sign a deportation order against Butler.
The name of Kwame Nkrumah is always mentioned, not the Boss of Immigration or CID when the disgraceful case of ?Shawcross in? Shawcross out? is recalled,? he counseled. {See Ghanaweb of yesterday)
One of the classic textbook tactics of isolation and Defamation usually adopted by repressive regimes the world over are intimidation, isolation and defamation for centuries. And it is being used by Richard Anane, among others within the government.
Butler has responded to the NPP Government?s open invitation to businessmen to come and invest, and he went one better. He chose to move to Ghana - invest, employ and live here, even when Government was pursuing loans from hairdressing saloons and faceless elements.
Last week the boss of the Ghana Investments Promotion Centre, Mr. Kwesi Abeasi, promised to protect Mr. Butler.
