Arrest & Detention Of Four 64bn Soldiers

.....A Case Of Alleged Subvesion Or Murder?

Recent reports in sections of the Ghanaian media have claimed that the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) in collaboration with the Defence Intelligence(DI) of the Ghana Armed Forces(GAF) have arrested and placed in custody four(4) soldiers for their alleged role in the murder of Mr. Rokko Frempong, a former Deputy Managing Director of the Ghana Commercial Bank(GCB) in 2007. No official confirmation of these reports had been issued as we went to bed yesterday evening by the relevant authorities but initial unofficial double-checkings by The New Crusading GUIDE have confirmed the arrest and incarceration of the four military personnel except that the reasons put out by the media for their arrest and incarceration appear doubtful and even dubious.

Doubtful and dubious because our usually reliable sources within the Defence Intelligence(DI) of the Ghana Armed Forces(GAF) intimated to our roving intel scouts that the four soldiers were apparently apprehended by operatives of National Security on suspicion of being involved in some sort of subversive activities against the security of the State rather than the 2007 murder of the former Deputy Managing Director of the Ghana Commercial Bank(GCB) as being speculated by sections of the Ghanaian media.

“We were surprised to read in the newspapers and hear on radio that the four soldiers had been arrested because of their alleged involvement in the gruesome murder of Mr. Rokko Frempong. Surprised because initially and originally they had been picked up by the National Security operatives for alleged subversion. Now we read and hear in the media that they are murder suspects. That is an intriguing and amazing turn of events which requires some explanation and clarification from the appropriate quarters``, quipped our DI sources on condition of strict anonymity.

They contended that the powers-that-be who ordered the arrest may have realised that the suspicion of subversion was unfounded and instead of doing the sensible and honourable thing by releasing the four soldiers, they (powers-that-be) have rather resorted to the discredited old game of unofficially planting stories of dubious validity in sections of `friendly media` in order to rationalise and justify their faux pa.

“The Criminal Investigations Department(CID) of the Ghana Police had already investigated that murder and effected arrests of some suspects who were formally charged and indeed are facing prosecution in a court of competent jurisdiction. If we assume the reasons being given in the media for the arrest of the soldiers are true then won’t it be safe to conclude that the earlier Police CID investigations were bogus and the on-going prosecution of the earlier suspects/accused is therefore rendered redundant and ought to cease immediately?``, queried an agitated DI operative.

The agitated DI operative wondered if the Ghana Police CID and the Attorney- General`s Department have been formally and officially informed that the accused persons being prosecuted for the murder of Mr. Rokko Frempong are the wrong persons in the dock and therefore must be freed by way of a nolle prosequi filed by the Attorney-General? He contended that it would be strange if the accused persons continued to be prosecuted by the Republic for the murder of Mr. Frempong when new and fresh suspects have been apprehended by the BNI in collaboration with the DI allegedly for the same offence/crime.

“Even if it is the contention of the BNI, the DI and the Attorney-General(AG) that those who are already on trial collaborated with the four soldiers to commit the crime under reference(murder of Rokko Frempong), due process would require that the court is notified of the new development and the judicial process temporarily `arrested` for re-engineering so as to bring the new accused persons on board for effective and equitable prosecution especially when the prosecution of the earlier suspects/accused is still on-going otherwise there is a real risk of bringing the judicial process into disrepute and the realm of unnecessary controversy``, articulated the DI operative.

Meanwhile, a highly-placed Police CID source who also spoke to our roving scouts on condition of strict confidentiality, expressed surprise at the media reports and wondered where the reports originated from. He insisted that if it was indeed true that National Security had apprehended the four soldiers for their alleged involvement in the murder of Mr. Frempong the Police CID would immediately have been informed and actually invited to join if not take over the investigation considering the work already done by the Police CID and the AG`s Department. This, according to him, would boost consistency and enhance the work of State Security Agencies and Investigation/Prosecution Bodies in the fight against crime.

“As far as I know the Police CID has not been informed of this new development if indeed it is true .And it would be a serious omission if it is true and we are not part of whatever investigation that may be underway. This is not an entirely fresh case. Investigations were conducted, arrests were made, a docket built for the perusal of the AG`s Dept. and the case sent to court for prosecution which is on-going however slow it may be perceived. I don’t want to believe the reports or stories put out there by the media. Until we are officially informed that those reports are true I will consider them as merely speculative and even unfounded``, our CID source retorted.

He disagreed with the suggestion that the integrity of the earlier investigations conducted by the Police CID would be brought into disrepute if the media reports turned out to be true, arguing that Police criminal investigations everywhere occasionally suffers some inadequacies and limitations due to a variety of factors and that is no basis for indicting Police integrity. He pointed out that the same principle goes for the other security, intelligence and investigative agencies in the course of discharging their statutory functions in line with the laws of the land and for the public interest. “Let`s assume for a moment that the scenario being suggested comes to fruition. That would not be the first or the last time such a situation would occur. The BNI and DI also have had their own fair share of such problems or discrepancies. However, I doubt if we are dealing with a credible scenario. The reports of fresh suspects for the Rokko murder are speculative and lack evidential value from a police criminal investigative perspective. Trust me and mark my words``, our Police CID source who has had more than a decade`s experience in police criminal investigation work, confidently asserted.

In another development, a legal practitoner who also spoke to us on condition of anonymity, predicted that Government could be inadvertently drawn into a legal minefield and/or a political storm over the Rokko Frempong murder case if steps are not quickly taken to throw light on the recent media reports by way of authenticating the veracity or otherwise of the reasons put out by sections of the media for the arrest and incarceration of the four soldiers as well as clarifying the present status and the future of the trial of the persons already charged before a court of competent jurisdiction.

“The unconfirmed media reports could be potentially prejudical to the outcome of the on-going trial; the percepton of a parallel handling of the same case by the Police/AG in court on one hand and by the BNI/DI/National Security in fresh investigations on the other hand, can only spell confusion and chaos in the system and public mind, and it is certainly not the way forward in bringing true justice to the memory of the late Rokko Frempong and ensuring good governance and human rights in the country``, underscored the concerned legal practitioner. He advised the lawyers of the four soldiers to uphold the rights of their clients by insisting on an official clarification of the alleged reasons for their arrest and incarceration in the absence of which they (lawyers) should initiate legal action to stem the tide of apparent harassment and pre-empt possible malicious prosecution. A similar advice went out to the lawyers of the accused persons already facing trial to the effect that if indeed the State/Republic was to indicate that the media reports had any merit then they should take steps to bring to the attention of the trial court the new development and seek the appropriate remedy.

The concerned lawyer expressed surprised that former President Rawlings has found it expedient to issue a public statement on unauthenticated media reports and even more unfortunately played politics with the matter by seizing the opportunity to engage in his perennial criminalization of the New Patriotic Party(NPP) governments headed by President J.A. Kufuor from 2001 to 2005 and from 2004 to 2009. He said it was the height of irresponsibility and imprudence for the former President to have relied on mere media reports which had not been authenticated by officialdom, to issue such prejudicial public statements and seek political capital which has the potential to undermine the quest for true justice in the country.

He called on the Government or the appropriate authorities to quickly clear the air on the media reports by way of confirming or denying them, particularly the alleged reasons for the arrest and incarceration of the four soldiers. This, he argued, has become necessary against the backdrop of the highly publicised statement of the founder of the ruling party, former President J.J Rawlings. “It is a fact that the NDC while in opposition used the Rokko murder for political propaganda purposes claiming it was a case of `contract killing` without offering anything of evidential value to support their wild claims. Indeed President Mills then Candidate Mills was very vociferous in making those claims and it would appear as if a subtle but infantile attempt is being made to provide some credence to those wild claims by way of the planted reports in sections of the media and Mr. Rawlings` chracteristic effusions. If the ruling NDC and its apologists think this assertion is unfounded then they are challenged to quickly inform the public of the arrest of the four soldiers and provide reasons for their incarceration. This will be a welcome sign that President Mills and our government are committed to the principles of transparent and accountable governance which the NDC promised to pursue if it won power while it was in opposition and was campaigning for the votes of the good people of Mother Ghana``, concluded the legal practitioner.

The New Crusading GUIDE is closely monitoring developments on this unfolding drama (farce?) and will endeavour to keep our readers and the general public posted. Stay tuned.......