Konadu Boy Arrested

In a surprise move last Friday night, three gunmen abducted and detained one George Boateng, an aide of former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings.

Mr. Boateng, who was still under detention at the Cantonments Police Station as at yesterday, has been accused of being a 'threat to national security' because of his dealings with Nana Konadu and her 31st December Women's Movement. No charges have been preferred against him yet.

The Konadu boy was very vocal in the run-up to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential primaries where he appeared on several platforms canvassing votes for Nana Konadu, wife of the NDC founder, Jerry John Rawlings.

It is not clear whether Boateng's arrest has got any link with the FONKAR-GAME debacle, after the Sunyani congress.

It came a day after Sammy Awuku, a deputy communications director of the NPP, was attacked by unidentified gunmen at the Airport Residential Area where they broke into his car and made away with his laptop computer, leaving behind his cash, in a very suspicious operation.

The gunmen, apparently from National Security, reportedly grabbed Mr. Boateng after he left a meeting at the Aviance Cargo area near the Kotoka International Airport, where he works as a clearing agent, on August 5.

The National Security operatives were said to have been trailing him even before he went into the meeting with his friends who later drove off, before he was pounced on.

They reportedly shoved him with force into a waiting vehicle and held him for about an hour before dumping him at the Cantonments Police Station Friday night, after collecting all his cell phones from him, making it difficult for him to reach the outside world.

When DAILY GUIDE visited the Cantonments Police Station on Saturday afternoon, Mr. Boateng was still in detention and the officer on duty confirmed he was brought there the previous night by some security officers from 'Castle Annex' but could not tell what his charges were because no statement was taken from him.

"They said they had followed my movements and that realized that I was always having meetings with 'Madam' at the 31st December Women's Movement office at Ridge and that I am a threat to national security. Since Friday night, I have not been given a statement form. I have been denied my right to counsel. My wife and kids do not know I am here and I have not been given any food," George Boateng told Daily guide from his police cells.

Almost talking on top of his voice so the reporter could catch his words across the police counter, Mr. Boateng said: "They said they were from Castle Annex and when they put me in the car, we remained there for about one hour, during which period they made a lot of phone calls and I suspect one of the persons they called was the Operations Director at the National Security at Castle Annex. Later, they called several other people and finally drove to Cantonments where they told the officer on duty to ensure that I do not make any phone calls to anyone."

The police officer on duty explained to Daily Guide that their records had very little information on George Boateng and why he was in their custody.

According to the police files, one Inspector Charles Awuve at the headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) attached to the National Security was the best person to talk to because the case was a "castle case".

Inspector Awuve was however not on duty when Daily Guide called the CID headquarters. George Boateng is a front-liner of Nana Konadu's campaign team, Friends of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings (FONKAR).

He has represented the group on several radio and television networks but it is not yet official whether George Boateng's arrest has any links with his FONKAR-GAME activities as he told Daily Guide.

Sources said Nana Konadu was making frantic efforts to bail him as at last night, as she was said to have dispatched people to the police station to free Mr. Boateng.