Drama in COCOBOD CEO’s office:

…Over missing 254,000 pounds sterling

FORMER GHANA’S High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Mr. Isaac Osei who is currently the Chief Executive officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board has encountered a former law student of the University of London, Chancellor Oppong Kyekyeku Kohl in his office.

The COCOBOD Chief Executive is currently aspiring to become the parliamentary for the Subin constituency in Kumasi.

While he is trying to cool off the heat brought to bear on him by a group calling itself Concerned Youth in Subin which is calling for his disqualification in his bid to represent Subin in Parliament come an encounter with the London trained law student who is accusing him (Osei) of stealing his 254,000 pounds sterling and has engaged him in a serious law suit.

The COCOBOD boss is accused of intercepting a parcel containing two cheques for 100,000 and 154,000 pounds being compensation from the Senate House of the University of London and the Home Office respectively, a first class LLB Certificate and a letter to enable him obtain a visa to return to London were allegedly dispatched to Mr. Isaac Osei for onward transmission to him in Ghana since November 15, 2003 but has been kept for reasons best known to himself.

On April 1, 2008, Chancellor Kohl met him for the first time when he led a bailiff, Mr. Abdulai Mohammed of the Appeals Court of Ghana to serve copies of an Appellant’s statement of claim on the COCOBOD Chief Executive personally for his response amid drama.

Earlier, on January 24, 2008, a bailiff Takpim Simon had served a similar service on Isaac Osei through her secretary, Miss Ruby Adu at 11.15 am.

But the Appeals Court insisted that the statement of case be served on Isaac Osei and two other defendants personally before judgment is passed.

On the day in question Chancellor and the bailiff stormed the offices of COCOBOD and after several efforts, the bailiff managed to serve the former envoy with the copies of statement of case and additional grounds of appeal in his office at exactly 3.20 p.m. on April 1, 2008.

The CEO who did not want any scene to be created in his office quickly collected the service and pleaded with Chancellor Kohl not to make too much fuss about the situation. "That is okay, I now have it", he said repeatedly to cool Kohl’s temper. Abdulai, the bailiff, has confirmed the incident at Osei’s office.

In a written submission filed before the Court on May 5, 2007, as amended on January 22, 2008, the appellant, dissatisfied with the Kumasi High Court 7 ruling which struck the case on February 1, 2007, sought five reliefs which were served on the defendants.

Chancellor Kohl is claiming a total amount of 254,000 pounds sterling being compensation paid him by the Home office and the Senate House University of London allegedly received by the defendants on November 15, 2003 at the instance of Snaresbrook Crown court on March 25, 32003 after appellant had been declared victorious in the lawsuit.

Out of the amount 154,000 pounds was for wrongful remand both at Pentonville Prisons and Maudsley Hospital in London for five months (October 30-March 29, 2003) and 100,000 as a result of administrative error the University of London claimed over his LLB examination for not adding all the last answers written on supplementary sheets of all the five papers.

He also seeking Law certificate awarded him by the University of London, interest on the 254,000 pounds from November 15, 2003 till when judgment is passed, monthly deprivation of the use of the law degree certificate awarded to Appellants to date and cost.

The appellant accused the defendants of "stealing" two cheques covering a total of 254,000 pounds sterling the equivalent of ¢5,003,800,000 (GH¢ 500,380) belonging to Chancellor Oppong Kyekyeku Kohl.

Stating the grounds for appeal for a reversal of the High Court ruling, Chancellor Kohl said the judge erred in his ruling because the suit against the defendants was based on direct evidence and not on hearsay or speculation.

He further stated that there was no wild allegations in statement of claims as claimed by defence counsel saying the GH¢4,000 cost asked for by the defense counsel was not granted because the court felt they (defendants) did not deserve it since once could not benefit from his own crime.

According to him the suit was incompetently handled and fundamentally wrong and that there was no motion application filed by the defendants to have their names struck out.

The appellant said the judge did what he had not been asked to do and that knowing very well that there was some merit in the plaintiff/appellant case defendants could not appear in court to give evidence upon which the court gave its ruling against the fact that none of the defendants ever filed their defence.

He said the trial judge should have entered judgment in default of appearance and defence instead of striking it out and prayed the Appeal Court to reverse the wrong verdict and enter judgment against the defendants or the order of the trial court.

The lawsuit which has traveled to the Appeals Court is a follow up to two petitions to the President on August 3, 2004 and May 25, 2005. When the president seemed not bothered about it Chancellor Kohl lodged a complaint with the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), which also failed to act on the matter since it was reported to it on November 15, 2004.

But the former Ambassador Osei denies having received any such parcel from the University. As at October 12, 2004 Osei denied receiving anything of the sort.

According to a correspondence of March 19, 2004 signed on his behalf by a Minister Counsellor and Head of Welfare and Consular at the Mission, Mr. J. Magnussen, the envoy stated that enquiries into the matter have not been positive because " we have not received anything meant for you (Kohl) in this office".

In spite of the denial, Chancellor Kohl still accuses the former Ghana’s High Commissioner at 13 Belgrave Square in London of stealing his LLB certificate in law and two cheques as compensation for wrongful remand (remand No. JM6720).

After his release, one Mrs. M. Bankole, an immigration officer ordered his deportation after being detained for four days.

The aggrieved student says the former High Commissioner is suspect and that he is unable to tell the truth after the initial denial.

Chancellor Kohl says he needs the certificate to train as a barrister. "I want to have the money back (original cheques or replacement) without engaging in any unnecessary litigation with agents of the government", he has said. E N D.