Another group of six persons standing trial in connection with violent demonstration in the Volta Region in calling for the separation of the region from the rest of Ghana have been handed a total of 26 years in hard labour prison term.
The six, who were members of the prohibited ‘Western Togoland Restoration Front’, an offspring of Papavi’s Trans Volta Togoland Group, were convicted on May 20, 2023, by an Accra High Court presided over by Justice Mary Yanzuh, which found them guilty of the 19 charges levelled against them.
This bring to eleven, the total number of people jailed for their involvement in the violent acts that include the burning of two STC buses in Ho and a raid on the Aveyime and Mepe police stations where guns, a police patrol vehicle and other items were stolen.
Raymond Yao Blu alias Captain, Kennedy Awunyo, Kwame Tornyevidzi alias Abizibey, Edem Nukornu alias FBI Commander, Jerry Kpeglo and Sylvanus Sheshie, were each sentenced four years’ imprisonment in hard labour for attending meetings of a prohibited organisation, participating in a campaign of a prohibited organisation and being members of a prohibited organisation.
Raymond Yao, Edem Nukornu and Sylvanus Seshie were also sentenced to four years for making contributions to a prohibited organisation, while Kennedy Awunyo was again sentenced to four years in jail for accepting contributions of a prohibited organisation.
Kwame Tornyevidzi alias Abizibey, who was also found guilty for stealing an AK47 rifle from the Aveyime police station, was sentenced to six years while Raymond Yao was also sentenced for another two years for unlawful training.
The sentences are to run concurrently, all the convicts will each serve four years in prison except Kwame Tornyevidzi who would serve six years in hard labour.
Justice Yanzuh, in handing down the sentences, indicated that circumstances of the case and the evidence led by the prosecution demands that the sentence serves as deterrent to others who harbour the intention to do same.
Charges
The convicts were charged with 19 counts made up of six counts of attending meetings of a prohibited organisation, one count of participation in a campaign of a prohibited organisation, three counts of making contributions for the benefit of a prohibited organisation, a count of accepting contributions for the benefit of a prohibited organisation, six counts of being a member of a prohibited organisation, stealing and unlawful training
Prosecuting Facts
The prosecution’s facts, according to court documents, indicated that officers of the National Security Council, based on intelligence gathered, embarked on an exercise to identify and arrest members of the Western Togoland Restoration Front (WTRF) who, on September 25, 2020, blocked the road at Juapong and Sogakope and set fire to two STC vehicles.
It said on same day, the group of people also attacked the Aveyime and Mepe police stations respectively, freed the inmates in the cells, locked up the policemen on duty in the cells, took arms and ammunitions from the armoury of the police stations and bolted.
It indicated that investigations led to the arrest of the accused persons who admitted being members of Western Togoland Restoration Front.
The prosecution stated that, they also admitted playing active roles in its organisation and activities, such as attendance of meetings, contribution of funds and the receipt of funds for the running of the organisation.
The prosecution stated that, when a search was conducted in the room of the first accused person, Kennedy Awunyo, quantities of Western Togoland flags and stickers were found.
The first accused person also received and disbursed funds of the Western Togoland Restoration Front to ensure that the plans of the organisation materialised.
The second accused person, Kwame Tornyevidzi alias Abizibey, was found to have stolen one AK47 rifle at the Aveyime Police Station during the raid on September 25, 2020.
The facts stated that, the third accused person, Raymond Yao Blu alias Captain, admitted participating in Western Togoland’s gorilla military training after which he was issued with a certificate.
It further stated that, when a search was conducted in the room of the third accused person, a Western Togoland membership card and an army gorilla training certificate in his name and with his picture embossed on it, were found.
Again, the third, fourth and sixth accused persons were also found to have contributed funds for the running of the Western Togoland Restoration Front.
But for the vigilance of the security agencies, the activities of the accused persons and others at large would have led to the disruption of the presidential and parliamentary elections on December 7, 2020 in the Volta and Oti regions respectively.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak