Bebli denies torturing Goka, others

Ex-Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) Jack, now Paul, Bebli, on Tuesday testified for the second time at the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) and denied leading a group of people to arrest and torture the late Mawuli Goka and three others.

His appearance was in reaction to a testimony by Christian Goka, brother of Mawuli and Mr Kwaku Baako Jnr., Editor of the Crusading Guide, which mentioned him as leader of a squad that tortured Goka and others. They had been placed in custody, tried by a public tribunal and executed for treasonable charges in 1986.

Baako, a Political Activist and Journalist, was in incarceration at the Ussher Fort Prison together with the late Goka and other political activists.

He had said in his testimony that Goka told him before his execution that Bebli led the late James Quarshie of the Forces Reserve Battalion and Tony Gbeho, described as a close associate of the then Chairman of the Provisional National Defence (PNDC), to remove them from the Police Headquarters to the Commando House at Labone, where they were tortured.

Under cross-examination by Joseph Amui, his counsel, Bebli who claimed amnesia due to an illness, confirmed knowing Quarshie. However, he denied he ever knew Gbeho, neither had he ever met or known Mawuli.

The packed audience, some standing in the warm public gallery, greeted Bebli's answer of "I cannot remember" to most of the questions with boos and jeers, as he denied the allegations of torture.

Bebli said he was suffering from memory loss and was just beginning to regain his memory. He added that he worked under pressure and needed the forgiveness of everybody he might have offended in the course of his work.

In the event, the Most Reverend Charles Palmer-Buckle, a member of the Commission told the audience that it was possible for a person to forget most of the things that happened in their lives after suffering from some kinds of diseases.

The Most Rev. Charles Palmer Buckle said Ghanaians owed it a duty to support Bebli with prayer and send out serious compassionate vibes to him.

He said that there was a tendency for people perceived as perpetrators not to show remorse if they feared that they might not be forgiven.