A High Court in Accra has set January 24, 2024, to deliver its judgement in the case of nine (9) persons accused of plotting to oust the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government through a violent coup.
The nine, made up of civilians, junior and senior military personnel as well as a senior police officer are before the court on charges of conspiracy and abetment of crime, and a substantive charge of high treason.
The court set the date yesterday after indicating that some of the defence lawyers had complied with its order by filing written addresses, although two of them are yet to do so and have been given up to December 13, 2023.
Donya Kafui aka Ezor, Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu aka Bright Alan Yeboah or BB, Lance Corporal Ali Solomon, Lance Corporal Sylvester Akapewu, Lance Corporal Seidu Abubakar, WO II Esther Saan Dekuwine aka Mama Gee and Johannes Zikpi, a civilian employee with the Ghana Armed Forces, are facing two counts of conspiracy to commit high treason and high treason.
ACP Dr. Benjamin Agordzo and Col. Samuel Kojo Gameli, on the other hand, have been charged with two counts of abetment of high treason each.
The accused persons, including two civilians, a senior police officer and six military officers are being accused of planning to usurp the executive powers of the state.
Subsequent to their plans, they are alleged to have hired the services of a local gun manufacturer (Donya Kafui) to produce improvised explosive devices (IEDs), guns and ammunition with which they intended to carry out their plans.
They are alleged to be members of a non-governmental organisation, Take Action Ghana (TAG), formed by the late Dr. Frederick Mac-Palm who was also standing trial until he died in March this year.
A civilian employee of the Ghana Armed Forces, Gershon Akpa, who is a weapons mechanic, is alleged to have agreed to sell two guns to the ‘coup doctor’ at a cost of GH¢7,000.
He allegedly took GH¢2,000 part-payment but returned the money later because he could not supply the guns.
The accused were put before the court on April 24, 2021, and on June 8, 2021 the prosecution began leading evidence and in the course of the trial called 13 witnesses, some of whom tendered guns, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a blacksmith’s equipment used in the manufacturing of the weapons and other ammunition confiscated from some of the accused persons during their arrest.
Some of the prosecution witnesses included undercover operatives who were able to infiltrate a WhatsApp group – Take Action Ghana (TAG) created by the accused persons where they allegedly planed the coup, as well as meetings attended by some of the accused persons where the alleged coup plot was discussed.
One of the prosecution’s witnesses, Deputy Staff Officer (DSO) Frank Aboagye, during his testimony also told the court that Dr. Mac-Palm was habouring the desire to become President upon the overthrow of government.
The court also heard audio tapes of the meetings attended by some of the accused persons and WOII Esther Saan, the only female among the accused persons was heard on the tape saying President Nana Akufo-Addo must be eliminated when captured on the day of the coup.
On July 25, 2023, accused persons were ordered by a three-member panel of the court made up of Justices Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, Stephen Oppong and Hafisata Amaleboba, all Justices of the Court of Appeal sitting as additional High Court Judges, to open their defence after finding that the prosecution had made a case against them.
They all opened their defence and denied the charges levelled against them and questioned the authenticity of the video tendered by the prosecution in proving its case.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak