The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) continues run from the claims of being heavily financed with illegal cash from the deadly narcotic drugs, had finally been halted by its own Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.
The MP, who prides himself as the only Ghanaian politician, who speaks the truth no matter whose axe is gored, has opened his mouth too wide sinking everybody including, Nana Akufo-Addo and his spokesman, Eugene Arhin on whether he (Nana Addo) knows David Kojo Anim, owner of Le Baron Hotel in East Legon – Accra, who has been arrested over drugs and money laundering in the UK.
But details coming from painstaking checks are that Kennedy Agyapong, did not speak the entire truth when he granted an interview on Adom FM’s “Dwaso Nsem” programme on his party’s relationship with the busted drug trafficker and money launderer, and the support he has been given the NPP.
For instance, this is not the first time Mr. Anim, has been arrested for narcotic drug trafficking. In 2003, he was busted with two others namely, Joseph W. Nwabueze and MacDonald Chimandas Vasnani, over the importation of 48 kilogrammes of narcotic drugs hidden in sacks of rice imported into Ghana from Guyana South America.
The Mpraeso-born Anim and two others were, however, set free in October 2003 by an Accra Circuit Court presided over by Emmanuel Ankamah, thanks to the legal prowess of his lawyer, Mr. Yonny Kulendi, against weak case from the Attorney-General’s Department, then led by Papa Owusu Ankomah.
Earlier, Mr. P.K. Aggrey, a tribunal chairman, sitting as an additional circuit judge, had to set free the three men for lack of evidence against them, even though they were busted for concealing the 48 kilogrammes of narcotic drugs in a 20-footer container, numbered PONU364517 onboard a shipping vessel called, Walurundi which arrived in Tema on September 15, 2003.
Both Kennedy Agyapong and Nana Addo, are reported to be long-time associates of Mr. Anim, who is said to be both a card-bearing member of the NPP, as well as a financier. He poses as a shipping agent, aside his hotel business.
Unconfirmed reports are that apart from donating Chinese motorbikes to the NPP to support the party’s 2012 Parliamentary and Presidential campaign in January 2012, there was a secret meeting held inside the Le Baron Hotel located in the American House area at East Legon, which was attended by Nana Addo, who allegedly came in a white jaguar saloon car.
Present, were a pharmacy owner, Real Estate Developer and businessmen, numbering about 30 (names withheld), all suspected to be drug dealers. They included two females.
Also present at the meeting was Ebenezer Kofi Antwi Nkansah alias Azure, who has also been arrested in UK.
The meeting was to solicit for funds for the NPP’s 2012 Parliamentary and Presidential campaign from the soft-spoken Anim, who is a father of four children and a holder of a Belgian passport.
Also, on January 10, 2012, Florante Atienza, a Philipino associate of David Anim, was arrested on a Belgium Interpol Warrant on drug charges at Kotoka International Airport (KIA), when he was leaving Ghana after a visit.
The Philipino, was to be extradited to Belgium, however, efforts by David Anim, rather led to his deportation under a bizarre circumstance.
The media, especially “The Herald” has drawn a link between the NPP and owner of Le Baron Hotel and had concluded that the two had so much in common to the extent that ahead of the 2012 general elections, he donated a cash amount of US$2 million to the NPP, a claim Kennedy Agyapong, has denied flatly.
“You see, my party and my friend, it’s difficult. But I saw a publication that, he gave 2 million dollars. If the banks will speak the truth they will tell you what is happening to that hotel for him to give NPP 2million dollars. Is not true, it is not true”.
“He contributed, yes, he contributed 100 motor bikes. The patriot, the patriot I talked about and people were fighting me yes, that is true. But for him to give NPP 2million dollars, where is he going to get it from? China patriot motorbikes how much is it”, he said?
According to him, aside the popular 100 “patriot motorbikes” which Mr. Anim donated to the campaign, he personally cautioned his party folks not to go ahead and do something, which he refused to mention in the last Wednesday interview.
The legislator intimated that he criticized those party folks, who were burnt on engaging Mr. Anim for donations for the campaign to be wary, as going ahead to do that had the potential to bring disgrace to the party’s 2012 flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo.
He continued that he had to stand on his grounds to tell them to stop, but will not go any further in the interview to clear doubt that indeed the party folks, whose names he failed to mentioned took whatever they were gearing up to receive or not
“You see now they have included all of us? You let me stop here, because he is my friend. Now they have seen that Kennedy Agyapong speaks the truth. You see now Nana Addo who has no idea who he is has been dragged in the case. I criticized them in 2012 that this thing you are going to do, if you go ahead, you will disgrace Nana Addo”.
“I stopped them that, no, don’t take anything there. Knowing he was exposing some of the things that need not to be brought into the open shut himself up saying ,“anyway am going too far so let me stop here”.
Mr Agyepong, has meanwhile been captured on camera in a meeting with the busted drug dealer (see front page).
According to the electoral laws of Ghana, political parties are barred from collecting funds from drug dealers to support their activities, especially during the electioneering campaigns.
At least, it is clear in the interview that, Mr. Agyapong, who has severally been tagged by his political opponents as a cocaine dealer, did not take only the so called motorbikes, but knew that his friend, was busily doing drugs but went ahead to take gifts from him to manage the NPP.
“I will not deny that he is my friend, why will I deny if he is my friend??? Where God has placed me, I will be a fool to do drugs”.
“I say the day you will hear that I have been arrested for drugs; Ghanaians should jubilate, because I must be daft to do that. With where God has placed me as at now”?
“But that is the business the person has chosen to do. Me, Kennedy Agyapong, am I the person to go and stop him?? You understand I can’t stop him”.
“But I will never deny that I go there, I go there. Any time I want to rest before I go home, to beat the traffic, I go there. They have a nice pizza, I enjoy it.”
The MP intimated that periodically, he went to Mr. Anim, who has been described by the London Metropolitan Police as the leader of a global drug cartel, hotel to relax and knows several other people, who go there just as he does.
Regrettably, he said he could not advice his friend not to do the illegal business, because he was an adult who had chosen to dabble in that business.
Meanwhile, The Herald has also gotten pictures of the Chinese motorbikes, being assembled in the Le Baron hotel, prior to it being handed over to the NPP (see front page).
