The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Citadel Hospital, Dr Frederick Yao Mac-Palm, has told the High Court in Accra that he had never planned with anyone to discuss coup d’état or jamming equipment.
Dr Mac-Palm, the first of the 10 persons standing trial for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government, said CCTV installations in his facility that could vindicate him have been taken away by the police.
The CEO of the Citadel Hospital together with Donya Kafui alias Ezor (A2), Bright Allan Debrah Fosu,(A3), Johannes Zikpi (A4), WOII Esther Saan Dekuwine (A6), CPL Seidu Abubakar, (A7), LAC Ali Solomon, (A8), CPL Sylvester Akanpewon, (A9) are facing two charges of conspiracy and high treason, have all pleaded not guilty.
Col. Samuel Kodjo Gamelie (A5) and ACP Benjamin Agordzo have each denied a charge of abetment.
Dr Mac-Palm opened his defence on Tuesday, February 21, had his Witness Statement read in open court, and same adopted as his Evidence-In-Chief.
He told the court, “I must confess that I have never discussed any issue or topic relating to coup d’état or jamming equipment with A4 (Johannes Zikpi).”
He told the court “I am aware that the Police and BNI (now National Bureau of Investigation) extracted my communications (WhatsApp chats and sms messages) with A4 so they should have provided any such evidence to support their allegation.”
About his engagement with ACP Dr Benjamin Agordzo, Dr Mac Palm said, “I want to put on record that we (Take Action Ghana) were attracted by stance (both local and international) on the need for good governance, effective separation of powers and checks and balances in Ghana and Africa as a whole. Same with COP Kofi Boakye and Chief Supt. Tsoboo we made contact with all of them and they all shared ideas with us.
He added that Dr Agordzo (A10), “even bought into the Medical Outreach program and supported the one intended for the Agbogloshie market with GHc2,000.”
“I want to put on record that the Police, Military Intelligence, and BNI are purely engaged in selective arrest and prosecution of people of certain extraction because they did not find anything incriminating in my WhatsApp chats with Col. Ntem, A5 (Samuel Kojo Gamelie) COP Kofi Boakye, A10 (ACP Agordzo) yet they have fabricated stories against A5 ( Gamelie) and A10 (Agordzo) just for holding charges.”
The Accused said, “as to whether I have had any dealings with A6 (WOII Esther Saan Dekuwine) A7 (CPL Seidu Abubakar, A8, LAC Ali Solomon) and A9 (CPL Sylvester Akanpewon) I want to say that it was after my arrest and subsequent appearance that I realised they have been joined to this matter because prior to that I might have seen or met them once but did not know them personally.”
“I want to put on record that the Citadel Hospital had 24hrs CCTV coverage capable of having both voice and motion recordings and considering that the nefarious activities of the prosecution and its star witness (PW3) could have been exposed if the CCTV and its accessories remained on the facility, the arresting officers removed the CCTV and the drives, carted them away and have refused to bring its content before the Court.
“I say that if the Military Intelligence, BNI, and the Police want to show that they were aware that I was planning a coup d’état and there was surveillance, then they should show to this Court any recorded conversation I had with any of the accused persons prior to my arrest and not the manipulated audio and video recordings already tendered,” Dr Mac Palm told the court.
Vision of Take Action Ghana
Dr Mac-Palm, who told the court that he is a Medical Doctor by profession said until his arrest in 2019, was the Chief Executive Officer at the Citadel Hospital located at Alajo, Accra.
He said he was trained in the United States of America but returned to Ghana and practised as a General Practitioner for over 10 years until 2019.
“Because of my passion for helping the poor and vulnerable in our society, I have since 2018 been organising medical/ social outreach programs to help in educating the target audience on personal care and hygiene, social and personal wellness,” Dr Mac-Palm noted.
He told the court that “in view of my desire to increase the self-awareness and wellness of the ordinary Ghanaian, I joined a group of well-meaning Ghanaians to form a non-governmental organisation (an NGO) named Take Action Ghana (TAG) in or about July 2019.
“The aims and objectives of TAG are mainly to mobilise, sensitise and educate the citizenry, especially at the grassroots. About their basic and fundamental rights. TAG also aims at speaking against the ills of our society- corruption, malfunction, nepotism, tribalism, bureaucracy. TAG also aims at joining the various groups pushing for the review of the 1992 Constitution for improved governance and development.”
Dr Mac-Palm said between October 2018 and January 2019, “TAG organised a number of Health outreach programs in cities/towns like Wa (Upper West), Otareso (Eastern Region), Asankregua (Western Region), Kpando (Volta Region) during which TAG delivered free Healthcare and donated drugs, about one hundred (100) bags of cement towards the construction of Healthcare facilities in these communities.”
Formal & Informal groupings
He told the Court that, the TAG leadership planned to have several groupings (formal and informal) within TAG and it therefore purposed to have professionals or specialised groups for Economist, Traders, Teachers, Health Workers, Police, Soldiers, Legal, Banking, Accounting, Governance, Engineering, Sports etc.
The first accused said, “the leadership of TAG embarked on attracting and retaining some respectable Ghanaians including Dr Mensah Otabil, Brig. Gen (rtd) Nunoo-Mensah, Ishmael Yamson, Arch-Bishop Duncan Williams, Mr Brian Sapati, Sampson Anyeneni, COP Kofi Boakye, ACP Benjamin Agordzo (A10), Chief Supt. Tsoboo and others.”
“It is worth mentioning that A3 was part of the early joiners and de-facto organiser for TAG, so he (A3) promised to engage Nurses, Soldiers, Policemen, and Traders for TAG.
“I am aware that A3 made contact with his target audience in an attempt to propagate the ideals, vision, and message of TAG. For that reason, he met some soldiers, policemen, and traders,” Dr Mac-Palm noted.
Agent’s provocateur
While narrating his side of the story he said “I was invited to meetings with some of the TAG targeted audience during which I shared the vision, message and outlook of TAG,” and “as a matter of fact, I have never in my life at any meeting instigated attendees to revolt against the Government or talked about Coup d’état.”
He pointed out to the court that “it was through A3 that I met PW3 (Sgt. Sule Awarf) who was very passionate and enthusiastic initially but later became Agent’s provocateur.”
He told the panel that, “PW3 (Sule Awarf) instigated about 90% of our conversations, topics and discussions. It is therefore not surprising that even his concocted audio and video recordings tendered in as evidence before this Court as Exhibit D had a lot of lull when PW3 was not talking/leading the discussions.”
“I say that it was PW3 who suggested the need for us (TAG leadership) to acquire weapons for protection (after we were attacked by armed robbers during one of our outreach trips on the Bole Bamboi stretch of the road).
“It was PW3 who introduced the discussion around getting AK-47 and even promised procuring some. He (PW3) again brought A2 as someone he (PW3) had worked with in the past and stated that A2 could manipulate pistols with further assurance that he (PW3) could get his superiors to have them (the pistols) licensed,” Dr Mac-Palm told the court.
He said told the court that “PW3 continued in the pursuit of his wicked agenda by planting the smoke grenades on me. This assertion is because he brought the grenades and stated that it is not dangerous but could be used to ‘blind’ people if being chased.
Orchestrator
“It is a fact that PW3 orchestrated the whole incidence around the testing of the pistols he caused A2 to manufacture at the Laboma Beach in Teshie so we could be monitored.
“I want to state without any doubt that it was PW3 who planted all the exhibits tendered before this Court simply to win favour before his superiors (PW1, PW2 and others),” the first accused told the court.
Dr Mac-Palm told the court that “I have known A5 as a respectable senior officer of the Ghana Armed Forces through a former schoolmate (Col. Ntem) and both of them were patients at my hospital.
“But our relationship was strictly doctor-patient and there was not a single occasion that we discussed anything bothering on revolutionary tendencies or coup d’état”
He told the court that on the day of “my arrest by the military men at the Hospital, I asked my senior nurse and assistant Carlister Badoo to call both Col. Ntem and Gameli to inform them of my arrest.
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“I know for a fact that the prosecution does not and cannot bring to this Court any evidence of prior conversation I have had with any of these two military officers as they have alleged.”
He also told the court that the fourth Accused is someone “I met through A5 (fifth accused) when he (A4) accompanied A5 to the Citadel Hospital one evening.
“We became friends more especially because he hails from the same village as me.
He (A4) even recommended an IT person to fix my CCTV and fence my Dodowa residence as well as reduce the cost of communication via the use of a mobile phone type referred to as GOTA, which he said could cost GHȻ2000,” Dr Mac-Palm told the court.
Hearing continues on Wednesday, February 22, for Cross-examination