Capt. Tsikata (rtd) mentioned again at NRC

Accra, Feb 9, GNA- A few hours after the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) had adjourned on Monday, the hearing of Captain Kojo Tsikata (rtd) former National Security Advisor, to Tuesday, another witness again mentioned him in his testimony.
The Witness, Mr Thomas Kwadjwo Benefo, a former soldier with Fifth Battalion of Infantry, said one DSP Acquah told him that Captain Tsikata had written a note on a toilet paper to Amedeka, one of the alleged killers of the three high court judges and the retired army officer, to say that Sgt Alolga Akatapore had ordered the killings.
He said the DSP had said Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) intercepted the note, meant to implicate Akatapore to be executed by ordering the murder of the three high court judges and a retired Army officer in 1982.
The Commission had earlier on Monday, been compelled to postpone an epoch-making evidence of Captain Tsikata to Tuesday to enable its Counsel to study an additional 40-paged-document to the first statement, which Dr Obed Asamoah, a prominent Accra Legal Practitioner, submitted on behalf of his client.
The appearance of Captain Tsikata was in response to two subpoenas from the Commission dated 21 October 2003 and 12 January 2004, both of which referred to a petition submitted by Mrs Jemima Acquah regarding the abduction and murder of her husband and two other High Court Judges and a retired army officer on 30th June 1982.
The Judges were, Mrs Cecilia Koranteng-Addow, Mr S.P Sarkodie and Mr A. K Agyepong. Major Sam Acquah (Rtd) was the army officer abducted from their homes on June 30 1982, during curfew hours.
Their decomposing and almost charred bodies were found later in a military range at the outskirts of Accra.

Mr Thomas Kwadwo Benefo, said the then Government of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) wanted to arrest Capt Nkrabea Effah Dartey for his alleged involvement in a coup.

Witness said the government of the day designed a plan to let a group led by one Awal to arrest him during the day and another group led by Amedeka to "take Effah-Dartey" away in the night.

Witness said the practice at the time was for a group to effect arrest of suspects of subversion and another group to carry out executions later to make it difficult to establish a line of disappearance of such suspects.

Mr Benefo who spoke of a number of attempts to arrest him said he escaped to neighbouring La Cote d' Ivoire for three years and later to Togo, for three days, but was arrested together with one Captain Ampofo on his way back home at the Tetteh Quarshie Circle by a team of soldiers led by RSM Jack Bebli.

Witness said he was blindfolded and sent to a number of places including, the headquarters of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), house of the Chairman Rawlings, the Police Information Room, and Cantonments Police Station.

Witness who said he was in chains for almost nine months, and one time when blindfolded, identified Baafour Assasie Gyimah, one Annor Kumi, Pattington, and Capt Tsikata, all then top men of the security apparatus, by their voices during an interrogation, and mentioned their names except that of Capt Tsikata for his own safety.

Mr Benefo said his interrogators wrongly accused him of being trained by Israelis for subversion, and molested him severely.

Witness said soldiers came to beat him in the night, and often booted his genitals.

He said he spent a period of seven years in detention, and was taken back from the Nsawam Prisons to the BNI and released later through and arrangement with Mr Peter Nanfuri, the BNI boss, to report after his release.

Witness said he wrote a note to Mr Nanfuri after reporting once to look for him, but the intelligence officer never followed up. Mr Benefo, then a Corporal, who said he had been pursued since 1982 spoke of being deprived of being commissioned a Warrant Officer, said his exit disrupted his career, adding that his colleagues were now serving at Sergeants.

He said Nana Bundai, Chief of Awutu, who was with him in prison for five years had told him he was incarcerated for allowing one Lt Col Ekow Denis who was then being pursued pass through his house.

Members of the Commission advised the Witness, who quoted extensively from the Bible to support his bitterness, to forgive and write his memoirs as a way of letting go off the pain in him.

Mr Abotsi Martei, a Witness from Teshie, said just at he had returned from fishing expedition, a soldier, Nii Darko approached him at home and asked him to give him money, but he was unable to give him as he did not have any catch that day.

After initially threatening to kill him if he did not give him the money, Mr Martei said the soldier fired into his waist and used the gun to hit the forehead of his 10-year old son, who cried during his ordeal. The Witness, who could not remember the date of the event, said he was later hospitalised for five months at the 37 Military Hospital, adding that the Military had not paid him any compensation since then, but said "I like soldiers now."

The Most Reverend Charles Gabriel Palmer Buckle, a Member of the Commission, after inspection described the scars of the Witness as "ghastly."

Commission Chairman Justice Kweku Amua-Sekyi informed the hearing that the Commission had a document in which Mr Martei had been named on a list of victims of shooting incident of the December 31 1981.

Mr Jonathan Dotsey Kpalam, from Toflokpo, a suburb of Ada gave evidence in which one person, Margaret Kuwornu, then seven month old pregnant, died after being hit by bullets from the Police numbering about 200, who carried a swoop on salt miners in a salt pond at the Songhor Lagoon in 1985.

He said Police came from a direction of the Vacuum Salt Limited, and added that two people, one of whom felt unconscious were also wounded. The Witness said Flt-Lt. Jerry Rawlings, then Head of State upon a report to the Gondar Barracks, later came for the body in the night, and promised victims of that swoop a compensation after the deceased was buried.

Mr Kpalam prayed for the Commission to assist the victims get the compensation, the then government promised the victims.