An Accra High Court has condemned 6 individuals from the Western Togoland gathering to 26 years in difficult work.
Chris Akume, the lead attorney for the convicts, prayed for clemency for his clients before the decision was made. He said that his clients were first-time offenders who just wanted to know more about their past.
They joined a variety of platforms in an effort to learn more about their past. Sadly, this attempt to learn more about our history and quest for knowledge has brought us here.
There was never any intention to break the law. Since our intention was to quit or stop belonging to the banned groups that, for whatever reason, were unaware that they were banned, we are praying for this. It is deep rooted we didn’t intend to perpetrate any wrongdoing,” he told the court
Furthermore, Mr Akume likewise implored the court to lessen any custodial sentence since the convicts had proactively spent over 2 years in authority.
However, due to the fact that the nation’s security was at stake and the convicts had shown no remorse throughout the trial, the prosecution pleaded with the court to impose a deterrent sentence.
Kennedy Awunyo, Kwame Tornyevidzi a.k.a. Abizibey, Raymond Yao Blu a.k.a. Captain, Edem Nukornu a.k.a. FBI Commander, Jerry Kpeglo, and Sylvanus Seshie were all found guilty and each received a sentence of four years of hard labor, which is expected to run concurrently.
The third denounced, Raymond Yao Blu will anyway serve 6 years for an extra charge of taking in opposition to area 124(1) of the Criminal Offenses Act 1960(Act 29)
Managing Judge Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh noticed that giving a hindrance sentence at the caution of the court was fundamental.
According to the facts of the case, “Officers of the National Security Council, based on the intelligence gathered, embarked on an exercise to identify and arrest members of the Western Togoland Restoration Front who, on September 25, 2020, blocked the road at Juapong and Sogakope and set fire to two STC vehicles.” [Citation needed]
“On the same day, the same group also attacked the Aveyime and Mepe Police Stations, respectively, released prisoners from their cells, imprisoned police officers in their cells, stole weapons and ammunition from the police stations’ arsenals, and fled.
“The Western Togoland Rebuilding Front is a splinter association from the Country Study Gathering Establishment, whose fundamental goal is to withdraw from the Republic of Ghana. The aforementioned accused individuals were arrested after admitting to being Western Togoland Restoration Front members. They also admitted participating actively in the organization’s activities and meetings, contributing funds, and receiving funds for the organization’s operations.
Western Togoland stickers and flags were discovered during a search of Kennedy Awunyo’s room, the first accused person. The primary blamed individual got and dispensed assets for the Western Togoland Reclamation Front to guarantee that the plans of the association emerged.
During the raid on September 25, 2020, it was discovered that the second accused person, Kwame Tornyevidzi@Abizibey, had stolen one AK47 rifle from the Aveyime Police Station. The third blamed individual, Raymond Yao Blu@Captain, conceded partaking in Western Togoland’s gorilla military preparation after which he was given with a testament. A Western Togoland membership card and an army gorilla training certificate bearing his name and image were discovered during a search of the third accused person’s room.
The Western Togoland Restoration Front was also found to have received financial support from the third, fourth, and sixth accused. The activities of the accused and others in general would have disrupted the Presidential and Parliamentary elections on December 7, 2020, in the Volta and Oti regions, respectively, if not for the vigilantness of the security agencies. The accused have been brought before this Honorable Court for trial following investigations.
