The panel of three judges presiding over the trial of 10 people, including a Medical Doctor, and senior police and military officer, has expressed its displeasures over how counsel for ACP Dr. Benjamin Agordzo attempted to ambushed the court with documents he had failed to file.
According to the court, counsels for ACP Agordzo was given an opportunity to file his disclosures, but failed on the claim that they had filed an application at the Supreme Court challenging it ruling.
The Justices – Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, Hafisata Amaleboba and Stephen Oppong – also declined Dr. Agordzo’s counsel, Kormivi Dzotsi, holding Martin Kpebu’s brief from tendering and cross-examining the first accused, Dr. Frederick MacPalm, on matters relating to the undisclosed documents.
The court recounted the stress Mr. Dzotsi subjected its staff to at a point whereby they had to close at 10:00pm, and at the end the same person would refuse to file those documents he deemed relevant to his case.
Nevertheless, Mr. Dzotsi indicated to the court that there was no instance that his client and the alleged leader of a coup plot discussion anything relating to a coup plot.
He also indicated that his client had never been part of a group formed by Dr. MacPalm called Take Action Ghana (TAG) executive platform.
The counsel stated that Dr. MacPalm even had a big fight with one Dr. Sam, one of the founding members of TAG, because of his reckless comments on the WhatsApp group page.
He added that ACP Dr. Agordzo’s use of ‘big bang’ in his chat with Dr. MacPalm had nothing to do with a coup plot.
Legal Aid Commission
At the last two sitting, the third accused, Bright Alan Debrah, refused the suggestion of the Direction Public Prosecution (DPP) to seek assistance from the Legal Aid for a lawyer, which he vehemently refused.
However, yesterday he returned to court without a lawyer, saying all the lawyers he engaged were charging so much, and that he could not afford the fees, giving the fact that he was out of a job for the past four years.
All the 10 accused in the conspiracy to commit high treason and treason are Dr. Frederick MacPalm, Sonya Kafuk aka Ezor, Bright Alan Debrah Ofosu aka Bright Alan Yeboah aka BB, Johannes Zikpi, Col. Samuel Kodzo Gameli, WOII Esther Saan Dekuwine, Corporal (Cpl) Seidu Abubaka, Lance Corporal (LAC) Ali Solomon, Cpl Sylvester Akanpewon, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ASP) Benjamin Kwasi Agordzo.
The following are some of the happenings in the court yesterday:
The court, therefore, made an order to the Director of Legal Aid Commission to assist A3 with a lawyer.
Court: The last time you told this court that you do not want a lawyer from the Legal Aid, and that you will engage your own lawyer.
Debrah: Things are difficult for me. I’m pleading with the court if it could get me one from the Legal Aid. I will appreciate it.
BC: There is no appearance for A3. He is now says that he is not able to meet the financial obligations put up by lawyers. The Director of Legal Aid is, therefore, ordered to provide a lawyer for A3 before March 13. This is to give the new lawyer time to study the documents and conduct the cross-examination of A1 on March 13.
Cross-examination
Q. You first made contact with A10 on 8 November, 2018. Is that correct?
A. I can’t recall the exact date, but I believe it was within that period.
Q. Kindly open your chats with A10 in Exhibit AE (screenshot of chats). Do you confirm that was the first time?
A. Yes, it is.
Q. From Exhibit AE the first time you made contact with A10 was 8 November 2018?
A. That is correct, according to the WhatsApp chat.
Q. On 9 November 2018, you had a conversation, voice call, with A10?
A. I wouldn’t know that for sure. I don’t see any invitation here for a voice call.
Q. Do you confirm that you spoke to A10?
A. According to this chat, I can’t confirm.
Q. I put it to you that there was a voice call between you and A10 at the time?
A. My Lord, that will be highly possibility based on the nature of the chat hit in a not confine that.
Q. Subsequently, you forwarded a chat to A10 at 15:50 hours?
A. Yes.
Q. Apart from this information you sent to A10 about TAG, did you bring any other goal or objective to his attention throughout your chat?
A. No.
Q. At the time you contacted A10 you had cut links with Dr. Sam who was a member of the TAG platform?
A. As far as time is concerned I will not readily remember, but I think so.
Q. Apart from your chats with A10 on the goals of TAG, he was added to other platforms, namely TAG think tank and TAG Springboard which was later created?
A. Yes.
Q. At no point was the word coup d’état used in these platforms?
A. That is correct.
Q. You also confirm, do you not, that A10 was never added to the TAG executive platform?
A. If can rightly recall, the TAG executive platform comprises of these other platforms like Springboard, Think Tank and TAG Legal Platform; we did not have any platform named TAG executive platform, if my memory serves me right.
Q. I put it to you that there was, indeed, a TAG platform as distinct from TAG Think Tank and TAG Springboard?
A. My Lords, I will not dispute it since it is here, but what I am saying is that I do not remember creating a TAG Executives platform. Probably from the earlier inception of the group there might be something like that, but subsequently the TAG executive platform included all the other platform such as Springboard, Think Tank and others.
A. A1 was never on this TAG executive platform, I put that to you?
A. Factually, I wouldn’t recall.
Q. Read your very first comment on that page to the hearing of the court.
A. Thanks, Bright…
Q. Read the next one.
A. ‘Media omitted’. I don’t know what that is. Sorry guys…
Q. From the chats it was agreed that if something is out on the general platform it must be agreed upon by the executives?
A. I believe.
Q. I suggest to you that individual opinions which are not agreed upon by the rest of the group are not a decision of the group?
A. That is so.
Q. You, therefore, agree with me that comments from one Dr. Sam like coup d’état are not the position of TAG. Do you?
A. Yes, my Lords. I do agree with that.
Q. I heard you had a big fight with the said Dr. Sam and threatened to report him to the BNI on his comments on coup d’état, is that not so?
A. Yes, I remember.
Q. In that fight with Dr. Sam you mentioned that you had instructed A3 to record him (Dr. Sam) for his reckless comments. Do you recall?
A. I do not recall, but it could be possible.
Q. In your conversations in TAG Springboard you did indicate that the approach of TAG to seeking change is “spontaneous but non-violent approach.” Do you recall?
DPP objects that the lawyer is quoting from a document that is not in evidence. Question expunged.
Q. There is evidence before this court that on 28 November 2018 A10 made a promise to contribute to the medical outreach that TAG was embarking on. Is that not so?
A. He actually contributed GH¢2,000.
Q. In your conversations with A10, you did indicate after your meeting with him at Coconut Groove Hotel that he should link you up with Sampson before he leaves for abroad. Do you recall?
A. I want a clarification on who Sampson is.
Q. I put it to you that the said Sampson in your WhatsApp conversation with A10 is a lawyer by name Sampson Larbi Anyenini?
A. Yes. I quite remember that.
Q. There is also evidence from your chat that the said lawyer, Sampson Lardi Anyenini, advised TAG not to proceed with its plans to seek constitutional interpretation on the powers of the National Security Council to arm its operatives until the Ayawaso West Wuogon had completed its work?
A. I do not recall having a discussion with ACP or lawyer Anyenini advising us, but I can recall telling ACP after the Ayawaso West Wuogon that the incident was unheard of for someone to slap an MP, so we needed to demonstrate. I remember A10 telling me that we needed to wait.
Q. I put it to you that there is evidence from Exhibit AE where A10 informs you on March 4, 2021 that the lawyer said we should hold on for a while…?
A. I did not read meaning into it like that, but if it is on the paper, then so it is.
Q. A10, according to the prosecution, wrote a speech for you to be read after the overthrow of government by TAG. Do you recall?
A. Yes. I recall the allegation the prosecution made.
Q. What do you say about that allegation?
A. It is falsehood. It is never true, because A10 and I never ever discussed overthrowing the sitting government.
Q. In your conversation with A10, you sent to him a WhatsApp post on what John Dzibril said about Ghana?
A. I cannot vividly recall that unless I see it.
Q. Subsequent to this conversation, you created a platform named TAG Springboard?
A. I recall creating the TAG Springboard, but the chronology of events I cannot vividly recall.
Q. At a meeting with A10 at Coconut Grove Hotel, there was no discussion about coup d’état?
A. There was not.
Q. On the contrary A10 introduced you to Superintendent Toobu as someone who could help promote your good governance agenda of TAG?
A. That is correct.
Q. He later introduced you to Superintendent Toobu, and you met him one-on-one?
A. That is so.
Q. And throughout that period there was no mention of unlawful overthrow of government?
A. No.
Q. In your conversations with A10 he used the expression ‘Big Bang’. Do you recall?
A. Yes, I do, my Lords.
Q. That discussion was in relation to creating groups for TAG, including TAG Security or TAG Police or TAG Military?
A. That is correct.
Q. The prosecution alleges that by the use of ‘big bang’ he was encouraging coup d’état?
A. I repeatedly said we never discussed Coup d’état on any of our platform. The word big bang as far as my knowledge serves me is a word associated with major changes in any situation or environment and in any particular point in time.
And of course, one of the objectives of TAG is to cause change in a corrupt system as we deem it I would like to say that TAG had that intention of demonstrating our displeasure until we saw change.
So if ACP Agordzo used the phrase big bang I didn’t think at that time and even now read the meaning of coup d’état in that phrase.
Q. Finally A10 was not the only person who made cash donations to the cause of TAG. Was he?
A. He was not, my Lords.
Q. Indeed when he joined TAG one of his Majo or concerns was how to raise funds from civics society organisations to supports its activities.
A. That is correct.
