Johannes Zikpi, the fourth accused (A4) person standing trial for allegedly plotting to overthrow the Akufo-Addo government, has denied the charge, insisting that he never made the attempt to conspire with anyone to remove the President from office.
According to him, the accusation by the prosecution – that he conspired with the other accused persons to forcibly remove a constitutional government can, therefore, not be true.
Johannes Zikpi told an Accra High Court, presided over three justices, Mrs. Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe, Mrs. Hafisata Amaleboba, and Mr. Stephen Oppong – on Monday, this week, that the accusation was false, because he did not know seven of the accused persons.
Giving his evidence-in-chief, A4 said he knew the deceased, Dr. Frederick MacPalm, through Col. Samuel Kodzo Gamali (A5), a senior military officer.
According to him, he had known A5 since 2015, and that the latter introduced him to the deceased in 2018 to assist him with the treatment of his high blood pressure. A4 further stated that the relationship between him and the deceased had been doctor-patient and nothing more.
He also denied the accusation that he was put in charge to procure a communication jamming machine to distort the broadcast of radio stations.
“I did not perform any role by way of working out any communication support or plan for any coup plot contrary to the claims of the prosecution.
“I did not propose the acquisition of Gota phones to any of the accused persons to conceal any communication contrary to the claims of the prosecution,” he added.
The accused further informed the court that some time ago, Dr. MacPalm informed him that he was having problems with his telephone communication at his hospital.
So the deceased asked him if he knew someone to who could provide him with a Gota phone to overcome his poor telephone network problems. As a result, he also approached a work colleague, Sergeant Ghartey, to help a friend to buy a Gota phone.
The court was informed that Sgt. Ghartey responded in the negative – that Gota phone was solely for the use of the security services and personnel, and that was the end of the matter.
He also denied being a communications expert, as put out by the prosecution, as well as sending message to the deceased (MacPalm) on March 9, 2019 at 20:26 hours that “we need communication jamming vehicles to stop transmission of all the radio stations except the one we shall use to announce to the Ghanaians that we have taken over….because most of the journalists are corrupt.”
He also denied hailing from Kpando Alloyi as purported by the prosecution, and that he was not the person identified as Zikpi Gums on the deceased’s phone.
A4 said his father was a farmer and not an army officer as indicated by the prosecution.
