The suspects
A
93-year-old Togbui Kuogo II has opened a new front in the quest for a Western
Togoland rivaling octogenarian Charles Kormi Kudzordzi, aka Papavi, in the
secessionist bid.
Unlike
his rival Papavi who is yet to be arrested as he remains in hiding, the
nonagenarian has been arrested in Tumu
in the Upper West Region where he was engaged with soliciting support from
traditional rulers in the northern parts of the country parts of which are
included in the imaginary Western Togoland.
Togbui
Kuogo was arrested in action as he was leading a team to canvass support for
their treasonous project.
Court Appearance
At
a Wa Circuit Court on Monday, Togbui and nine others were remanded in prison
custody to reappear on December 9 after they were accused of treason felony.
In
remanding them, Baah Forson Adjapong, the presiding judge, made it clear that he
did not have jurisdiction to sit on the case and was formally remanding them
pending their transfer to an appropriate court for prosecution.
Police Story
The
accused persons, according to a police detective, called on the Wa Naa, Naa Fuseini
Seidu Pelpuo IV, to seek his support in their secessionist project but were
driven away from the palace.
They
had come under the radar of the Upper West Regional Police Command which
directed the district commanders to be on the lookout for the secessionists.
When
they turned up at the Tumu Kuoro’s palace last Saturday on the same mission, the
police arrested all of them based upon a tip-off.
Key Suspects
Those
arrested and sent to court alongside Togbu Kuogo II included Ismail Dzirakor,
82; Hordiba Innocent, 68; Michael Hofe, 49; and Umborgarti Samuel, 54.
The
rest are George Lihor Klevor, 49; Mohammed Karim, 45; Emmanuel Kanu, 58; and
Maglo Tsey Mawuli, 34.
According
to police detective Sergeant Martin K. Debortse, the accused persons were travelling
around in a Hyundai Grace bus with registration GE 8212 – 11.
Confiscated Items
The
detective told the court that the police confiscated 10 mobile phones,
documents and maps showing their imaginary Western Togoland.
According
to the national security apparatus, they have stumbled upon vital evidence that
the suspects had already called on other traditional leaders in the Northern
Region over the Western Togoland agenda.
They
are said to have met the King of Dagbon Ya Na Abukari Mahama, the Bimbila and
Bawku chiefs.
New Groups
Togbui
Kuogu II, previously unknown, adds to an earlier group whose leader had told a
radio station that although he did not belong to Papavi’s Homeland Study Group
Foundation (HSGF) he shared their dream.
Daniel
Yevugah leader of the group which announced its presence shortly after Papavi’s
declaration of independence of Western Togoland recently explained that he is
the First Vice-President of the Concerned Citizens of Western Togoland.
He
claimed that their grouping was a legally registered body to educate their
people, who could be indigenes of the Volta Region and elsewhere about what he
said “the untold story of Western Togoland.”
Daniel
Yevugah did not find anything illegal about their secessionist project as he
called for an international adjudication in their matter in the event that they
are arrested.
International Adjudication
He
accused Ghanaian authorities of persistently ‘concealing’ their identities
using the recently created regions as a case in point.
Whereas
regions like Ahafo and Bono East were carved out of Brong-Ahafo and the like,
in the case of the Volta Region the authorities gave the name ‘Oti Region’
instead of his preferred Volta North and Volta South.
This
for him was unfair and represented a concealment of the identity of the people
of the region as he hosted hard questions from his host.
Legal Document
Daniel
Yevugah did not hesitate with his answers, a suggestion about a well rehearsed programme
by the leadership of those holding on to the ideals of the secessionist agenda.
He,
for instance, stated that “there is no legal document to show that we are
supposed to be part of Ghana.”
Ghanaian Passport
Daniel
Yevugah said he holds a Ghanaian passport because he is only a Ghanaian by
birth, saying “my forefathers voted to be in a union with the Gold Coast to
form Ghana. I can only be a Ghanaian by birth. Western Togoland and Ghana are
two separate countries.”
The
contradictions in this segment of his responses only exposed the confusion that
surrounds somewhat the thinking of the secessionists.
Main Declaration
Papavi
on Saturday November 10, at a spot not far away from the Police Training School
in Ho, declared a breakaway from the Volta Region, North West and some parts of
the Upper East Region calling it ‘Western Togoland.’
He
was whisked away in a waiting car and has since not been seen.
The
police later claimed Papavi and his boys tricked them into thinking that they
were organizing a funeral.
The five arrested and remanded at the Ho District Court after Papavi’s declaration included Peter Godfriend Edem, Mkpe Tornyi Kudjo, Kofi Agbeko, Agbenyega Akudzia and Ibrahim Tofa.
By A.R. Gomda
