COP DENIES BEING INCAPABLE IN THOMAS OSEI TRIAL

Story: Stephen Sah
General Constable Joseph Frimpong of the Airport Police Station, yesterday denied that he did not give sufficient notice to road users at the Opeibea intersection where President Kufuor’s car was involved in an accident.
He, however confirmed that at the time of the accident the traffic lights at the intersection were working.
The policeman who was testifying under cross-examination by Mr Kwame Boafo Akuffo, counsel for Thomas Osei, the man at the centre of President J.A. Kufuor’s car crash disagreed with the counsel that he was not capable of manning the intersection single-handedly.
He said that as soon as he heard the siren blurring, he raised his hands and stopped all vehicular movement at all directions but Osei ignored him and overtook a taxi cab and run into the President’s vehicle.
Osei now faces seven counts of use of narcotic drugs, dangerous driving, negligently causing harm, driving under the influence of alcohol, failing to give way to a Presidential convoy and failing to effect change of ownership of vehicle, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Osei was discharged by the court on Thursday, December 20, 2007 after the prosecution had filed a nolle prosequi (unwilling to prosecute) but he was re-arrested when he stepped out of the court.
He was first arraigned before the Motor Court on November 16, 2007 and remanded.
Around 11.30 a.m. on November 14, 2007, Osei, who was driving a Mercedes Benz SE 500 saloon car in the inner lane along the Liberation Link from the direction of Aviance towards the 37 Military Hospital, drove into the rear side of the President’s vehicle, in spite of the fact that other motorists had been stopped to allow the President’s convoy to pass.
The driver of the President’s car and the driver of a VW saloon car were treated and discharged, while Osei was admitted for treatment.
The President escaped unhurt.
Investigations showed that Osei was driving under the influence of alcohol.
Constable Frimpong said after traffic had been brought to a halt other vehicles joined the queue of vehicles and that he turned to face the 37 Military Hospital direction of the road.
“It is not true that I did not give sufficient notice to the accused driver because after stopping all the vehicles from moving I turn my back for the Presidential convoy to face the opposite direction”, he said.
The witness agreed with the counsel that after arresting the accused person, he did not seek clearance from his superiors before he handed Osei to the President’s security men.
He further agreed that he had not been questioned about the incident but denied that the accused person demanded after his arrest why he alone had been arrested because there had been a driver before him.
Two other witnesses, namely Isaac Afoani, an employee of the Community Protection Unit and Reverend King Joe Osei Kufuor, the man whose VW Golf car was affected by the accident also testified in the case.
Afoani who said his first time of seeing a Presidential convoy was bemused by it and so he took advantage of being on duty at the Opeibea area to steal a glimpse of the President’s car.
According to him, he was stationed in the area on the day of the incident to drive away hawkers and while at post he heard a siren of the President’s convoy and a policeman in the middle of the road signalling vehicles to stop.
He said that he saw the dispatch riders come to pass and not quite long some vehicles followed but suddenly he saw the car of the accused person pull up at top speed overtaking a taxi cab in front of the car.
“I shouted hei, hei, hei and then the policeman standing in the middle of the road also raised his hands shouting stop, stop, stop but the accused did not stop and he almost hit the policeman who jumped aside”, the witness said.
He said that what he saw was that the car of the accused person hit the president’s car making it to hit an electricity pole before hitting a VW Golf.
He disagreed with the counsel that he was being used as a tool by the prosecution to testify in the case because it involved the President and reiterated that the accused person’s car overtook a taxi cab before hitting the car of the President.
Reverend Kufuor narrated his story about how the accident occurred but he had a hectic time during cross-examination when his credibility was brought to the fore.
Mr Akuffo who was privy to certain information about the witness stunned him and discredited his assertion that he was a man of God because the Reverend apparently had procured a passport under a false date of birth.
The pastor also could not answer favourable questions relating to how he procured his drivers’ licence, among other issues that were put to him.