Defence counsel for Dr Frederick Yao Mac Palm, one of the accused of alleged treason, has told Staff Sergeant Sule Kwadwo Awarf, prosecution star witness that the idea of the alleged coup d’etat plot has been his brain-child.
“The idea of coup d’etat has been your brain-child and you spared no effect to bring out various ideas and suggestions in furtherance of that,” the defence counsel said during a cross examination of the witness at Accra High Court on Monday.
However, Staff Sgt Awarf said that was not true, “if I was part, I would not charge him for him to pay us for our service,” he added.
The defence counsel insisted that Dr Mac Palm and Mr Bright Alan Debrah, alias “BB”, were just actively involved in activities of Take Action Ghana, (TAG), a non-governmental organisation founded by Dr Mac Palm.
Dr Mac Palm’s lawyer said he (Staff Sgt Sule), kept pushing BB that he should be serious and that his (Staff Sgt Sule’s) men were ready, but Staff Sgt Sule said that pressure came from Dr Mac Palm.
Counsel retorted that all the videos played showed that his client had not featured in any of them.
Yes, my lord, Staff Sgt Sule answered, saying that he (Dr Mac Palm) being the ‘big man’ cannot be attending meetings all the time, so they (Sule and BB) attended the meetings and later briefed him about the progress.
The lawyer said what Staff Sgt Sule told the court that they did the discussions and later briefed Dr Mac Palm was not true.
But, Staff Sgt Sule disagreed and said after their last meeting, he and BB proceeded to Dr Mac Palm’s hospital to brief him about the fee for the soldiers and where to get the weapons.
The lawyer told Staff Sgt Sule that in one of the videos, he proposed contract killing of the executives, but Staff Sgt Sule said he was asking Dr Mac Palm how he wanted it because he contracted them.
“What he wanted from us was what wedid for him.” Dr Mac Palm was asking whether we would chase the captives (President and key members of government) to their house one by one, so I asked whether it was in the form of contract killing and he said no, we should rather capture them and separate them in different places.
Defence counsel said, “What You told the court is not born by the video watched, nowhere did Dr Mac Palm object to anything in like manner,” the court heard.
Staff Sgt Sule said he didn’t speak louder because he was afraid someone might record him.
The Defence counsel challenged the date, time and duration of the video recordings and Sule insisted the device was not tampered with and it was used as it was handed to him by his superiors.
Dr Mac Palm, Chief Executive Officer of the Citadel Hospital, Donyo Kafui, black smith, BB, Freight Manager, Johannes Zikpi, Signaller with the Ghana Armed Forces, Warrant Officer Class Two (WO2), Esther Saan, Corporal Seidu Abubakar, Corporal Sylvester Akanpewu, Lance Airforce Corporal (LAC) Ali Solomon, Colonel Kojo Gameli and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Benjamin Agordzo, are being tried over varied alleged crimes, including conspiracy to commit crime, high treason, possession of weapons and abetment of crime.
They have all denied the offence and are currently on bail.- GNA