Mrs Anane Defends Dr Anane

My brothers abroad provided funds for Nicholas' upkeep - Mrs Anane

Accra, Feb. 23, GNA - Mrs Mercy Anane, wife of Dr Richard Anane, Road Transport Minister, on Thursday told the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) that his brothers abroad contributed funds for the upkeep of Nicholas Anane, son of his husband.

Mrs Anane made this revelation when she appeared before the Commission to testify in the case in which her husband is being investigated on certain allegations against him.

Following certain newspaper publications about the love relationship between Dr Anane and Alexandria O'Brien which resulted in the birth of Nicholas, and the subsequent petition to Parliament by Mr Raymond Archer, Editor-in-Chief of "The Enquirer" newspaper, asking the House to nullify his re-appointment, CHRAJ undertook preliminary investigations into the issues raised.

After its preliminary investigations, the Commission stated that as a fact-finding and an investigative body, it was clothed with the constitutional mandate to get to the bottom of the allegations made against Dr Anane by those publications and the petition. Consequently, CHRAJ is investigating the Road Transport Minister on three allegations - corruption, abuse of office and conflict of interest.

The three-member Investigative Panel chaired by Ms Anna Bossman, Acting Commissioner, had, therefore, made it clear that the Minister was not a criminal and that he was only being investigated over those allegations.

Continuing with her evidence, Mrs Anane who was led by Dr Philip Ebow Bondzie-Simpson, counsel for the Commission, told the Panel that his brothers' financial contributions towards the upkeep of Nicholas became necessary because Alexandria was complaining that his husband was shirking his responsibility of looking after her issue with him. Witness told the Commission that she came into contact with Alexandria sometime in 2001 at her husband's residence at the Airport Residential Area, then in the company of one white man called John Noah. Mrs Anane said she complained about Alexandria's dressing and after having verbal exchanges with her because of her behaviour, she left the house on the second day.

Witness told the panel that she later spoke to Alexandria on phone during which she complained about Dr Anane's refusal to provide money for the upkeep of Nicholas.

This, Mrs Anane said, resulted in her soliciting funds from her brothers abroad for the upkeep of Nicholas.

Witness told the Commission that after she read from newspaper publications of the presence of Alexandria in Ghana, she gave her husband an amount of 15,000 dollars to settle Alexandria's accommodation bill at the Esther Hotel at Airport.

Mrs Anane said her husband had so far refunded 125 million cedis, being the money he took to settle the hotel bill.