"PNDC Had Suicide Squad"

The erstwhile Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), under Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings had a "suicide squad" which summarily killed those who were arrested on suspicion of wanting to overthrow the government.

A former soldier, Samuel Twumhene, who was arrested in 1983 for allegedly plotting to overthrow the then PNDC government with the help of the government of United States of America, yesterday revealed this to the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC). Twumhene joined the military at the age of 16 and was 22 at the time of his arrest.

"On the night of the third day of our arrest, three of my colleagues, Insor, Sgt Osei and Pitti, were picked by the suicide squad, sent out of the room and we heard gun shots amid shouts and wails by our friends, and Insor and Pitti disappeared," he told the commission.

"We learnt later that Pitti was shot in the stomach, his intestines came out, when he was trying to use his hand to push them back they shot his arm and when he fell down they thought he was dead so they took him to 37 Military Hospital", Twumhene continued.

According to him, Col. Asase Gyimah, member of the PNDC, on a number of occasions, called each of them for interrogation. "Asase Gyimah, time and again winked at Flying Officer Fordjuor and Kojo Lee (deceased) who stood behind us to slap us from behind during the interrogation, and at a point I was bleeding from my ears."

Twumhene told the commission that he traveled from Kumasi to Accra following information he received that a letter had been issued that he and some others should be discharged from the military. While in Accra, they, six of them were arrested in a house in Achimota, Accra.

Some other soldiers, including Cpl. Stanley Obeng Okyere, (who also narrated his story to the commission) were brought in two days after their arrest. "The 'suicide squad' came one day to finish us and as they were shooting, one of them (now deceased) who knew me saw me so I was spared" Stanley Obeng Okyere told the commission.

He said there were series of tortures at the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) under the former IGP, Mr. Peter Nanfuri, and that he met the late president, Dr. Hilla Limann, Capt. Effah Nkrabea Darteh, now deputy Local Government and Rural Development Minister, and the late John Kugblenu, former editor of the "Free Press". They were later sent to the Nsawam Medium Security Prison he said, adding that "they always recorded every proceeding when Nanfuri and his team interrogated us."

According to him, they heard gun shots amid shouts of "all soldiers come, all soldiers out" and that they came out and saw a vehicle parked outside to take them away. They met two police Mowags on reaching Achimota where hot exchanges of fire occurred so it became an issue of "run for your life"

He managed to escape but Jack Bebli, currently in jail for highway (gold) robbery, who was among those in the Mowag accosted him later and asked whether he was a soldier and among those released from Nsawam prisons which he denied. "I mentioned my name as Boamah when Bebli asked but he was not satisfied so he took me to police headquarters, gave me ?40.00 and left.

He was later transferred to Cantonments police station where Peter Nanfuri went and identified him as Twumhene and not Boamah. "Nanfuri came to Cantonments police station and said, "So Twumhene, you gave the name Boamah? OK you're not free yet so you will be picked tomorrow", according to Twumhene.

He was later sent back to Nsawam prisons where he was kept for eight years and eight months. He was released in 1992.

"I was not given a penny when I was released, my father, died while I was in prison but as prison customs demanded, I was not informed," he told the commission.