IT SEEMS the dark days when arbitrary use of power during the Rawlings regime is gradually resurfacing.

The circumstances under which heavily armed police personnel on June 25 stormed the house of Mr. Osei Asibey-Anokye, who returned from his 23 years sojourn in the USA and threw him out of his house at East Legon is a sad commentary that many observers are praying not to witness especially in this dispensation.

On that fateful day, The Chronicle learnt, eight armed police personnel alleged to be acting upon the instructions of the Chief of Staff, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani, and DSP Nana Bediako, the second in command of the castle police, forcibly threw out Mr. Asibey-Anokye from his house at Adjiringono, East Legon, and have since taken over the house.

In a petition to President J.A. Kufuor filed through his lawyers, Mr. Asibey-Anokye stated that his investigations after he was thrown out of his house indicated that the police personnel who are still occupying his house acted upon the instructions of the Chief of Staff and DSP Nana Bediako. Both the Chief of staff and DSP Nana Bediako told The Chronicle in separate interviews that they did not know anything about the incident.

MPIANI

Mpiani told The Chronicle on telephone that he did not instruct any police to eject anybody from his house. “Let me repeat it to you that I did not instruct the police to throw anybody out of his house,” he said. “I will not take it kindly should you go ahead and publish this story,” he threatened. “If somebody has thrown you out of your house is the press the appropriate place to go why can he not go to court to fight his case?” the Chief of staff asked The Chronicle.

“Can somebody just get up and throw you from your home without cause?” He asked.

On his part the commander in charge of the castle police force told The Chronicle, in the presence of DSP Nana Bediako, that he had not sent anybody to eject and guard the said house. We operate within the confines of the law I cannot send police to throw out somebody from his house, the commander told The Chronicle.

DSP Nana Bediako also denied any knowledge of the case when his attention was drawn that the petitioner and some credible sources mentioned him and the chief of staff as those behind the police who had taken control of the house.

This reporter made a physical inspection of the house and actually met and spoke to the policemen wielding the dreaded AK 47 rifles and wearing unmarked uniforms.

NPP USA RETURNEE

In his petition, Asibey-Anokye said on June 25, last month he was in town when a call came through that the police had arrested his two nephews who were staying with him in his house at East Legon and sent them to the Legon police station.

He said upon the information he rushed to the police station only to be arrested because he had removed some stuff from the house. He said he was told that the order for his arrest was from the Castle. Asibey-Anokye noted that he was later released on self-cognisance bail.

When he was released he said he went to his house only to find eight heavily armed police personnel who prevented him from entering his house. “I therefore went back to the Legon police station to inform the officer-in-charge and he asked some policemen to accompany me there but the police guard at my house told the police from Legon that they take their instructions from the Castle and drove them away,” he wrote.

PETITION

Asibey-Anokye appealed to President Kufuor to intervene in order for him to have access to his house he has toiled to build. “It is a private matter with my wife and I am disappointed at the interference from the Chief of Staff. This is not the kind of government I expected when I was supporting the NPP materially while in the United States of America,” he pointed out.

They said I should contact DSP Bediako or the Chief of Staff, I followed up and met DSP Bediako at the Blue Gate and he confirmed that he sent the security personnel to the house but the case is for the Chief of Staff Asibey-Anokye narrated.

He said that he traced the Chief of Staff to his house at the Airport residential area and he confirmed that he ordered the guards to the house upon information from “my mother-in-law whom he knows from Jamasi in the person of Madam Auntie Bea.”

Giving the background to the case, Asibey-Anokye said he is having marital problems with his wife Regina Boateng Sarpong also known Regina Asibey who hails from Jamasi in the Ashanti Region.

As a result of the problems, he had to give up his house in USA for his wife. As things were getting out of control he relocated back home to have his peace of mind.

On his arrival last year he discovered with shock that his wife had changed the documents covering his house at East Legon into a joint ownership with him.

He said he also discovered that his wife had built extra houses from his remittance for the building and this issue is currently under investigation and a subject of legal tussle. He said he decided to stay in Kumasi when he arrived until he relocated to Accra recently.

The Chronicle learnt that the problems of Asibey-Anokye started when about two weeks ago he asked a houseboy to trim and cut some flowers that had over grown in the house.

When the flowers were cut his two brothers-in-law who were staying in the house before he arrived did not take kindly to it and ended up threatening him. He therefore reported the incident to the Legon police and as result they abandoned the house.

According to Anokye he decided to remove some of his belongings, which were shipped from the USA and kept in the house. This he said did not go down well with his mother-in-law and brothers-in-law who alerted the top government officials who in turn dispatched police to take over the house.

The policemen with no identification tags told this reporter that they had taken over the house.

“I do not know any Asibey-Anokye; we are now in charge of the house; we were sent here by some top man,” one of the policemen told The Chronicle.

Chronicle sources at the Legon police station confirmed the story and said they were aware of the presence of some police personnel guarding Anokye’s house but were tight-lipped about where the police personnel were drawn from.

The Nima divisional commander also told The Chronicle that he was not aware of the presence of the police at the house.