Jack Bebli denies shooting witness' legs

Ex-Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) Jack Bebli, on Tuesday denied allegations of shooting made against him by Alex Kwabena Nsiah, a 36-year-old witness at the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), saying he had never known Nsiah in his life.

Jack, who swore on the Bible, told the Commission that he had converted from traditional religion and become a born-again Christian worshipping with the United Church .

He is serving a prison sentence for his role in the robbery of gold when a gang ambushed a bullion van in the Central Region. Bebli added that he never believed Nsiah's story, saying throughout his life, he had never shot a bird let alone a human being and to have fired at Nsiah's legs.

Nsiah who limped on a false leg to the witness seat told the Commission that Bebli led a group armed men on an operation on 17 August 1983 in which Bebli fired at his legs.

Nsiah said after closing from work on that day he rode a motorbike towards Alajo to look for food when suddenly he heard sounds of gunshots. As people ran helter-skelter in the heat of the melee, Nsiah said he stopped at the side of the road.

Bebli came out from a Peugeot 504 car and called him a foolish boy. He then heard of a gunshot and a bullet hit his right leg and penetrated into his left leg. He said Bebli pushed him into a Land Rover vehicle and made him lie on top of a number of dead bodies and drove off.

They ended up at the 37 Military Hospital and when it was found out that he was not dead, he was sent to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, with the excuse that he was not a blood relation of any military officer to be treatment at the hospital.

Nsiah said there was no improvement in his condition at Korle Bu and he was sent to Larteh in the Eastern Region for herbal treatment. He said his brother-in-law, who was a policeman, arranged for him to be brought back to the 37 Military Hospital, where his right leg was amputated.

He said while on admission in the 37 Military Hospital, Police kept surveillance on him. Upon his discharge from the hospital, he was sent to the Police Information Room, and an hour later taken to the headquarters of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), where Mr Peter Nanfuri, then BNI boss ordered that he should be sent to the BNI Annex cells and locked up for two days.

Nsiah said when he was brought back to the BNI Headquarters, Nanfuri and a Naval Captain Baafour Assasie-Gyimah interrogated him about some soldiers in the Northern Region. He said he told his interrogators that he had never been to that part of the country and had no acquaintance there.

Back to the BNI Annex, Nsiah said he met Sgt Alolga Akatapore, former member of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), Captain Guseini Gambo and one Afriyie all political detainees in the cells.

His interrogators again asked him to tell the truth about his acquaintances in the Northern Region and he maintained his earlier position. Nsiah said upon his release, he engaged the services of a lawyer and he was given 523,264.25 cedis as compensation.

He initially declined to accept the money, but obliged on the advice of his brother-in-law, who footed his medical bills. He asked for resettlement from the state. During cross-examination by counsel for Bebli, Nsiah said he never knew Bebli personally but had seen him on motorbike several times before the incident. He said there were other people in the car when Bebli came out to talk to him.

Bebli said he had denounced his first name Jack, which he described as "devilish", and was now called Paul. He said throughout the previous night when he prayed, God never revealed to him that he had ever shot Nsiah to admit culpability and ask for pardon.

Bebli claimed that he had had 64 years of service as a policeman and ex-guardsman to Ghana 's first president Dr Kwame Nkrumah, as well as other prominent political figures, including the late Krobo Edusei and Komla Agbeli Gbedemah.

Despite this national service, he claimed, he was rather jailed on "an allegation of gold robbery". Now Nsiah was also accusing him of having shot him.

Speaking in broken English Bebli said: "I will tell the Commission that after all the suffer, I suffer for the Ghana , this is the reward. "We should let bygone be bygone. The Bible will tell on the last day if my story is not true, but I will take it easy."

Bebli, formerly in Charge of the Police Commando Unit, told the Commission that 57 personnel worked under him on day and night patrol duties to "protect the nation". He said their ammunitions were checked after their duties, but he did not know all the operations the personnel were engaged in at the time.

Bebli said the personnel on duty often engaged in brawls with drivers, mostly taxi drivers, over traffic offences, but said he was unaware of an operation codenamed "Search and Destroy" carried out by the Commando Unit. He also denied using a Peugeot 504 car for an operation as alleged by Nsiah in his testimony.

Hearing continues.