Story: Stephen Sah
POLICEMAN TESTIFIES IN OSEI'S CASE


THE prosecution today (Thursday) preferred an additional charge of failing to effect change of ownership of vehicle against Thomas Osei, the man at the centre of President J.A. Kufuor’s car crash.
Following that the old charge sheet which contained six charges was substituted with a new one to reflect the additional charge while the plea of the accused was taken again.
Similarly, the particulars relating to the use of narcotics was also amended to indicate that the accused used cocaine because traces of the narcotic were found in his urine.
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.
The facts of the case are that 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 the 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.
The first prosecution witness, General Constable Joseph Frimpong of the Airport Police Station who was on duty at the Opeibea intersection on the day of the incident narrated to the court how the accident occurred.
According to him, he was at post and at about 11.30 a.m. he received a call from President Kufuor’s security that the President was about to pass to his office and, therefore, he should be on the alert.
Constable Frimpong said when he heard about the siren of the Presidential convoy, he stopped all vehicles but suddenly, he heard the sound of a moving vehicle which happened to be the vehicle of the accused person.
He said the vehicle of the accused overtook other vehicles to hit the vehicle on which the President was and after the accident he went to the accuser person’s vehicle to hold him before the President’s security detail took him away.
The witness said the accused person realising what he had done put his hands on his head while the President’s security brought out their guns.
He said that he called a few people around to push the vehicle of the accused person which was in the middle ofd the road and went for a stone and marked the point of impact before moving the vehicle.
Constable Frimpong said that he then called the office to bring a towing vehicle to tow the vehicle of the Presisdent and that of a VW Golf which was affected by the accident.
He said during cross-examination that when he heard about the moving vehicle the car of the accused person was almost near him and that he would not know whether the traffic lights were showing green since he had stopped all vehicles from moving.
The witness disagreed with counsel that the accused after the incident exclaimed “Who is this crazy driver?” while he was also not a ware that after the incident security at the point where the accident occurred had been beefed up with soldiers and policemen.
He agreed with counsel that sirens were blown by other vehicles and blowing of it was not automatic that the President was passing by.