Castle Power On Display

..... Chief Of Staff Admits Involvement
MR. KWADWO Mpiani the Chief of Staff at the Castle Osu, has confirmed the chronicle’s yesterday lead story (Return Of Dark Days: Castle Power On Display) that linked him and DSP Nana Bediako with the ejection of Osei Asibey-Anokyi, a Ghanaian returnee from the United States of America (USA), from his house at East Legon.

Mr. Mpiani denied knowledge of the incident when he spoke to The Chronicle on Monday. He surprisingly beat the retreat when he admitted during a newspaper review programme on Peace FM, that he was aware of the case.

But the Chief of Staff did not tell the host of the programme, Kwaku Owusu-Frimpong, why he told The Chronicle that he knew nothing about the case.

In admitting his involvement Mpiani revealed how the mother-in-law and brothers-in-law of Asibey-Anokye had constantly called to update him on developments between them and Asibey-Anokye.

The Chief of Staff also admitted that he was approached by Asibey-Anokye over the case as captured by The Chronicle and that he asked a police officer at the Castle to tell his people to handle the case properly after he (Mpiani) was briefed by Asibey-Anokye’s mother-in-law and brothers-in-law about the case.

Last June 25 police stormed the house of Mr. Osei Asibey-Anokye, who returned from after 23 years sojourn in the USA and threw him out.

It seems the dark days when arbitrary use of power during Rawlings regime is gradually resurfacing.

Chronicle learnt eight armed police personnel alleged to be acting upon the instructions of the Chief of Staff and DSP Nana Bediako, second in command of the castle police detachment, forcibly ejected Mr. Asibey-Anokye from his house at Adjiringono, East Legon, and have since been occupying it.
In a petition to President J.A. Kufuor through his lawyers Asibey-Anokye stated that his investigations indicated that the police acted upon the instructions of the Chief of Staff and DSP. Bediako.
This reporter made a physical inspection of the house and actually met and spoke the policemen wielding AK 47 rifles and wearing unmarked uniforms.
Asibey-Anokye said in his petition that on June 25, he was in town when he had a call that the police had arrested his two nephews who were staying with him in his house and sent them to the Legon police station.
He said he rushed to the police station only to be arrested because he had removed something from the house. He said he was told during his arrest that the order for his arrest was from the Castle.
Asibey-Anokye said that he was later released on self-cognisance bail only to find eight heavily armed policemen occupying his house and prevented him from entering.
I therefore went back to the Legon police station to inform the officer-in-charge and he asked some policemen to accompany me to the house but the guard police at my house told the police from Legon that they take their instructions from the castle and drove them away.”