Bawumia disgraces Marfo, Awuku & Agyapong

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) star witness, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, yesterday embarrassed one of its overzealous Deputy Communication Directors, Sammy Awuku over his raid on the Israeli company, Superlock Technologies Limited (STL), with armed thugs, claiming it was stealing votes for President John Dramani Mahama.

According to Dr. Bawumia, the NPP had to run away from the spurious allegation against the Israelis because the party could not find evidence to back their claim, which was widely also pushed by one-time Press Secretary to President John Agyekum Kufuor, Kwabena Agyapong at a press conference.

Mr. Agyapong and others had instigated the attack on the Electoral Commission (EC), claiming it had contracted the foreign company located at Dzorwulu in Accra, to receive and transmit results electronically to the EC strong room, and that the company was manipulating the results to favour the NDC. The allegation was flatly denied by the EC.

So tense was the December 8 situation that security personnel had to cordon the building located in the Ayawaso-West Wuogon Constituency, to prevent the NPP supporters led by Sammy Awuku from raiding the company.

During the melee, the security personnel arrested an NPP executive Michael Omari-Wadie, trying to blast an Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) high-voltage transformer near the building. Many threw stones, smashed cars while others were seen carrying weapons, including guns and machetes perhaps to kill.

Dr. Bawumia’s confession yesterday, that the NPP did not have evidence to buttress their claim against STL, was in response to a question from the lawyer for the NDC, Tsatsu Tsikata as to why he, Nana Akufo-Addo and Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey had abandoned the claim against the Israelis.

The three petitioners had in their first writ claimed “that on 8th December 2012 while provisional results of ballots cast in polling stations were being declared, and voting was still underway in some polling stations, it came to the notice of some members of the public that the offices of Superlock Technologies Limited (STL), a security installation and Information Technology (IT) company was receiving the results of the elections before transmitting to 2nd Respondent [Electoral Commission] in its ‘Strong Room’.

The writ claimed “that a team of NPP leaders, led by Hon. Osafo Marfo, went into the premises of STL and confronted the officials of the company in the presence of the media and police officers, whereupon the STL officials said that 2nd Respondent was their client with whom they had an agreement to provide IT services by, among others, receiving all results of votes cast and faxed from the regional offices of the 2nd Respondent before transmitting to the ‘Strong Room’ of 2nd Respondent. This encounter, including the said response of the said STL officials, was broadcast live by the electronic media to the general public”.

According to them, “this arrangement of 2nd respondent with STL was made without the knowledge of either the petitioners’ party or the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), to which the NPP belongs, and where all matters concerning elections were discussed. This secret arrangement and concealment provided the opportunity for tampering with the results of the elections”.

But Dr. Bawumia, explained that he and the two others had to abandon the claims against the company, President Mahama and the NDC following a demand on them “to supply further and better particulars” to back their claim that the foreign company was manipulating figures for President Mahama.

Questioned as to whether he was aware of the tension that the false claim generated, leading to a visit to the company by the ex-Nigerian President General Olusegun Obasanjo, who was in Ghana as an electoral observer, and denied that there was truth in the NPP allegation, but Dr. Bawumia said he was unaware of the tension and the subsequent visit of Mr. Obasanjo.

Also, asked whether he was aware of Mr. Yaw Osarfo-Marfo’s visit to the company during the attack on STL, Dr. Bawumia responded in the negative, insisting the allegation against STL, has long been abandoned.

Mr. Osarfo-Marfo was allowed into the building but came back without confirming or denying there was something untoward going on in the building, unlike, President General Obasanjo.

The hearing of the election petition case was adjourned to Monday, May 6, 2013, after a five-hour cross examination of Dr. Bawumia by Mr. Tsikata.

Copiously missing from yesterday’s hearing were Hackman Owusu Agyeman, Kofi Konadu Apraku, Yaw Osarfo-Marfo, Ameyaw Ekumfi all former Members of Parliament (MP), have been unemployed for some time now after leaving the House. Adjoa Sarfo, the incumbent MP for Dome-Kwabenya, was also not in court.

Day 10 of the hearing of the substantive case saw Dr. Bawumia answer questions targeted at the data represented in the affidavit evidence submitted by the petitioners.

Lawyer Tsikata sought to prove that the petitioners had duplicated, triplicated and quadruplicated some of the pink sheets submitted as evidence. Before the court rose, Justice Atuguba instructed the lawyers representing the petitioners and respondents to “sort out the exhibits in the order you intend to submit it.”

He instructed them to meet ahead of the 9:30 hearing time to work out all outstanding issues relating to documents they intended to tender into evidence.

During Mr. Tsikata’s cross-examination, the president of the nine-member panel of Justices at the bench hearing the election petition case, Justice William Atuguba, told the key witness, Dr. Bawumia, that he had the legal privilege to incriminate himself.

Justice Atuguba’s comment follows a reminder and warning to Dr. Bawumia, by Mr. Tsikata, Counsel for the third respondent, NDC, that, he stood the risk of perjury if he did not tell the truth in court.

Mr. Tsikata’s reminder and warning was strongly objected to by the Lead Counsel for the Petitioners, Mr. Philip Addison.

Mr. Addison described Mr. Tsikata’s warning and reminder as amounting to “threatening the witness”. However, Justice Atuguba said Dr. Bawumia had “the privilege to incriminate himself” in court.

Mr. Tsikata has been cross-examining Dr. Bawumia, the second petitioner, for the past three days. He has been making efforts to bring Dr. Bawumia’s evidence-in-Chief into disrepute through the cross-examination.

The petitioners, Nana Addo, together with his running mate, Dr. Bawumia, and the party’s National Chairman, Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey, are challenging the validity of the 2012 presidential polls.

They claim there were widespread irregularities as well as strategically planned rigging, through the collusion of the first respondent, President Mahama, and the second respondent, the EC.

They, therefore, are praying the Supreme Court to annul results in 11,138 polling stations, where they claim, massive and strategic rigging occurred.

Dr. Bawumia has been under cross-examination for the past week after he was led in evidence by his Lead Counsel, Philip Addison.