The late Charles Kolmi Kjordje, aka Papavi Hogbedetor
Four people, including the founder of the Western Togoland Reconstruction Front (WTRF), one of the banned groups campaigning for the separation of parts of the Volta and Oti regions from Ghana, have been sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison. Ta.
The group’s founder, Michael Kwabula (also known as Togbe Yesu), who was to become the first prime minister of independent Western Togoland, was sentenced to five years in prison with hard labor and an additional GH¢12,000 for failing to do so. He was fined cents. He will also spend a year in prison.
The court, chaired by Justice Mary Yanzu, also sentenced traditional leader Nene Kwaku Agblom, police officer Corporal Abednego Zuleke Mawena and military WO1 Emmanuel Hayford Afed to four years each. handed down the verdict.
In addition, they were each fined 4,800 Gryns and face a further three months’ imprisonment if they fail to pay the fine.
The Western Togoland Reconstruction Front (WTRF) is a descendant of Papavi’s Trans-Voltaic Togoland group, which led an illegal campaign to separate parts of the Volta and Oti regions from Ghana.
Mr. Michael Kwabla said he established the WTRF because the leadership of the Homeland Research Group Foundation was progressing at a very slow pace in achieving independence from Ghana.
He convened a meeting of the National Executive Council of the WTRF, where discussions were held on how to secede from the Republic of Ghana, and at one of the meetings of the National Executive Council, a draft list of the envisaged ministers of the state was presented. was discussed.
The convicts were part of a group that blocked roads and torched two STC vehicles in Juapong and Sogakope in the Volta Region on September 25, 2020, as part of their campaign to demand secession from Ghana.
On the same day, some members of the WTRF also raided the Aveime and Mepe police stations respectively, freeing inmates in their cells, locking on-duty police officers in their cells, and stealing weapons from the police station’s armory. They stole ammunition and assaulted them.
This brings the total number of people jailed for taking part in violent demonstrations in the Volta Region demanding separation from the rest of Ghana to 21.
They are members of, convene meetings of, or attend meetings of prohibited organizations in contravention of section 2(1)(1) of the Prohibited Organizations Act 1976 (SMCD 20). He was charged with six counts of attending a meeting of a prohibited organization. Making donations for the benefit of prohibited organizations.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charges, but at the end of the trial the court determined that the prosecution, led by Joshua Sackey, a senior state’s attorney in the Attorney General’s Office, was able to prove the defendants’ guilt. did.
Justice Mary Yanzu said there was evidence to show that the convicts were senior members of the WTRF and were part of a plan to separate parts of the Volta and Oti regions from Ghana.
She ruled that the group could not be said to be a harmless and peaceful organization of people that had nothing to do with secession from Ghana, as one of its defense lawyers, Andrew Vautier, argued. .
She added that the prosecution had led strong and convincing evidence that the Western Togoland Reconstruction Front was a proscribed organization.
Defense lawyers had prayed the court to consider the more than three years the convicts had been in custody during the pendency of the case and to sentence them to fines that they had already served.
Mr Sackey opposed the plea for mitigation, asking the court to set the maximum sentence as a deterrent to others who wish to do the same.
In sentencing the four, Justice Yanzu said Michael Kwabla had chosen an aggressive route to achieve independence for the state and that the act of lowering the Ghanaian flag while declaring “independence” was an insult to the Republic of Ghana. He said that there is.
Regarding Kwaku Agblom, the court said his position as police chief was held to a high standard and he was obliged to abide by the law, instead stating that he was a senior member of a proscribed organization and was not responsible for the attack on the police station. He said he participated in the plan. Where the weapon was stolen.
The court also found that a police officer, Corporal Abednego Jereke Mawena, and a soldier, WO1 Emmanuel Hayford Afedo, disregarded the oath they took to protect the territorial integrity of Ghana and instead committed reprehensible acts against the nation. It was determined that he was engaged.
Written by Jibril Abdul Razak