I had sex with Abodam

Happy Charpel, an ex-girlfriend of Ghana’s renowned hip-life artiste, Emmanuel Botchway, popularly known as Kwaw Kese, yesterday testified under oath that the musician was her lover.

Charpel, who has alleged that Botchway had defrauded her of £7,000, told an Accra High Court where the case is being heard that the hip-life artiste, also known as Abodam, had sex with her in a hotel room when she arrived in the country from London, where she is a supervisor at a company called Tescon.

The hip-life artiste has pleaded not guilty to defrauding his former lover and has been granted GH¢15,000 bail.

He is alleged to have admitted to receiving £1000 from her and not £7000 as she was claiming.

The complainant made these revelations under cross-examination by counsel for the musician, Ms. Naa Nortey, who asked what she meant by she and Abodam were “very good lovers”, in the facts of the matter before the court.

She told the court, presided over by Justice F. Abanga, that she arrived in the country on Ghana International Airlines (GIA) on January 4, 2009 and was picked up by the musician and his friends to the Torica Lodge, off Spintex Road where she stayed for a month and three days.

Ms. Nortey asked her whether she came back into the country after staying for three months last year, to which she explained that she indeed returned but could not remember the exact date, noting that she came and left in a hurry.

When she was asked how much she had on her on arrival in January 2009, she stated that she carried £7,380 but failed to declare the amount at the airport.

The witness had earlier alleged that she gave Abodam the £7,000 on January 4, 2009- the night she arrived- but when counsel for the accused person asked her what time she arrived, she said she arrived late in the night but gave the money to Abodam the next day.

Consequently, counsel for the accused person suggested she was not being truthful to the court to which she denied.

In addition, she told the court that some friends in the United Kingdom (UK) sent her money to cater for herself after she had given her ex-lover the £7,000 to use in developing a piece of land she had acquired at Prampram.

This was after Ms Nortey had asked her how she was able to pay her hotel bills of GH¢35-a-day, for more than a month during her stay in Ghana.

The complainant, who claimed she did not have any dependants, stated that the building was at its foundation level when she gave him the money.

The case has since been adjourned to May 28, 2009.

Meanwhile, Ms. Charpel is to return to her London base today.