Controversy over Bamba's bribery attempt tape

A controversy has ensued over a tape recording of the attempted bribery offer to The Chronicle Chief Investigative Reporter, Raymond Archer, by a former Deputy Minister in the Office of the President, Alhaji Moctar Bamba.

It all started yesterday when the Minister of Information, Nana Akomea, announced to journalists attending the government?s weekly press briefing that he had personally asked the editor of the paper for a copy of the recording on Bamba?s case two weeks ago and that he was yet to yield to his request.

?Ladies and Gentlemen I have personally asked the editor of The Chronicle newspaper for a copy of the recording on Bamba?s case. It is about two weeks now since I made that request; if the editor makes that tape available, it will be passed on to the appropriate officers who would review it and take the necessary action,? Akomea said.

But the editor of The Chronicle, Kojo Omaboe, later in the day dismissed Akomea?s statement saying, ?The minister only asked me, among other things, whether the aspect of the bribery offer made by Bamba was on tape and I said `Yes` but he did not request that a copy be given to him.?

According to him, the minister also asked him whether he had listened to the tape himself and he said no, but told him they were waiting to hear Bamba deny the story on any of the radio stations and that would the time they would play the tape for all to hear.

The Chronicle editor stated, ?I went on to tell Akomea that Bamba is not aware that we have the tape and as far as we know, we haven?t heard Bamba denying the story about the bribery attempt. Akomea did not ask for it.?

Omaboe said even if the minister had asked for the tape he would not have given it to him.

?If the minister was really serious he should have officially written to the paper to ask for it,? he said, adding that they only had a telephone chat, during which he confirmed that the paper ?accidentally? recorded the ?bribery conversation? between Bamba and the crack Chronicle reporter.

Nana Akomea?s claim that he had asked the newspaper to make available a copy of the tape recording was made in response to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flag bearer, Prof. Evans Atta Mills? allegation that the government had done nothing to address allegations of corruption with specific reference to the Alhaji Bamba scandal.

?Prof. Mills cites the Alhaji Bamba case as a special category. Ladies and Gentlemen, there are two substantive issues in this particular case,? the minister went on.

?The first involves issuance of dud bank cheques. The bank involved is prosecuting the matter in court, as we speak. The second involves forgery of signatures on letterheads of the office of the President. This matter is under Police CID investigations.

?The man mentioned in the reports in the meantime has resigned but his resignation is without prejudice to any ongoing or further investigations,? the minister noted.

However, The Chronicle news editor and author of the story, Mr. Archer said it was sad for the minister to tell Ghanaians that he had asked the paper for the tape two weeks ago when in fact he had not done so.

Mr. Archer suggested that the minister?s enquiry about the existence of the tape and what he said could be put in a better way than he did yesterday.

?All the minister should have done in asking for a copy of the tape was to say that it was part of their research effort to respond to the allegations made against the Government by the NDC Flag bearer.? Archer said.

?If they are setting up a committee to investigate the attempted bribery allegation, we will be glad to submit a copy of the tape to the committee but not to any minister.? Archer said.

?If Akomea is the chairman for that committee, why not, we will give him a copy should we be called to submit a copy of the recording.?

Mr. Archer, in a series of stories written on the Alhaji Bamba scandal gave a narrative account of how the former deputy minister attempted bribing him with a car and cash to ?kill? a story about his involvement in fraudulent activities.