General News of Wednesday, 25 September 2019

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Coup d’ etat plot claim doesn’t add up, government didn’t think through properly – Bernard Mornah

Bernard Mornah play videoBernard Mornah

The National Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Bernard Mornah, has cast doubt on the alleged coup plot by a medical doctor and two others.

According to him, the story that the alleged coup plotter has deposited GH¢7,000 to procure 10 AK47 doesn’t add up because one AK47 is in a range of GH¢10,000 and a pistol is in a range of GH¢15,000.

“You go and pick up a knife… maybe meant for peeling cassava or yam and you come and put it together and say that you have uncovered a plot to overthrow an elected government in Ghana… I think that they did not think through properly,” he said.

He added that the intention of the Information Ministry has backfired because their statement issued to tell Ghanaians about the attempted coup is not prompting the needed sympathy.

Background

Government over the weekend announced the detection of a planned attack on the Jubilee House by a combined team of CID and BNI operatives.

According to a statement from the Information Ministry, the planned attack was intended to destabilize the country. The said operation, the statement indicated that took place on Thursday, September 19, 2019.

The three people arrested for allegedly possessing arms, explosive devices and ammunition in Alajo and Bawaleshie, in the Greater Accra Region were remanded into the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).

The suspects are Frederick Yao Mac-Palm, a medical practitioner; Donya Kafui, alias Ezor, a blacksmith; and Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu, a freight manager.

One of their accomplices, a man identified only as Sule is currently on the run.

The three have been jointly charged for conspiracy to commit crime to wit manufacturing of arms and ammunition, possession of explosives, firearms and ammunition without lawful authority.

Two of them faced two extra charges.

Donya Kafui faces charges of manufacturing six pistols and manufacturing 22 explosives while Mac-Palm faces an additional charge of possessing 22 explosives, six pistols, three hand grenades without lawful authority.

Adjournment

The court presided over by Ms Rosemond Dodua Agyiri remanded the three persons after their charges had been read to them and translated to them in two local languages of their preference to reappear before the court in two weeks.

While Kafui had his offence translated in Ewe, Debrah opted for the Twi language.

Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Sylvester Asare told the court that the accused persons were arrested over the weekend and pleaded with the court to remanded into the custody of the BNI to enable the police continue with its investigations.

They arrived at the court at about 1:20pm with two of them Ezo Kafui and Bright Ofosu handcuffed together while Mac-Palm had his two hands chained.