The man, identified as James K. Tawiah, is alleged to have tied the hands of his 42-year-old wife to a tree, covered her face before slashing her throat on a farm at Wassa Mampong in the Mpohor Wassa East District in the Western Region.

After that callous act, Tawiah bolted, but he hit a snag when he was arrested by the police at his hideout at Yamoransah in the Central Region on Tuesday.

The woman, whose name was given as Abena Kwama Boateng, was the mother of five children, including a two-year-old she was nursing before her death.

The suspect is currently in police custody, while the body of his wife has been deposited at the Effia-Nkwantah Regional Hospital.

According to the police, when the deceased’s body was discovered in the bush, it lay supine, with the face covered with a scarf, while the hands were tied to a tree.

The body, stained with blood, was almost covered with ants.

Speaking to graphic.com.gh, the Sekondi District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Mr Cephas Bediako, said the suspect, who hails from Edumfa in the Central Region, moved to Wassa Mampong after he had landed a job with the Disease Control Unit of the COCOBOD in the Mpohor Wassa District.

He said before the suspect got married to the deceased, he had a wife at Edumfa, but on relocating to Wassa Mampong, he married Abena, who already had four children from her previous marriage.

Later, the two had one child, bringing Abena’s children to five.

Chief Supt Bediako said police investigations had revealed that last Friday, the woman told her husband that she was no longer interested in the marriage.

The commander said to back her words with action, she travelled to her husband’s home town to inform his family that she was no longer interested in the marriage.

He said on Saturday, she returned to Wassa Mampong and about 12 p.m. on that same day she was said to have carried some seedlings for planting on her farm.

Chief Supt Bediako said the woman did not return home and the elders of the town, therefore, organised a search party to the farm, where it was discovered that she had been murdered.

He said after the act, Tawiah returned to the village and told his in-law that he was moving out of the town and would not return.

The police said after he was arrested at his hide out, the suspect had on him a suicide note comprising the direction to his home town, his father’s name and his sister’s telephone number.

He said the police were very fortunate to get him before he took his life, adding that on his arrest, the suspect broke down and wept bitterly when pictures of his dastardly act were shown to him.

Tawiah, according to the police commander, would be processed for court for him to be remanded into police custody while investigations continued.

The Cameroonian government has blacklisted Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, saying that he is an agent of Satan hoodwinking unsuspecting members of the public with “diabolical miracles”.

Cameroon Foreign Affairs minister Henri Eyebe Ayissi, in an official communiqué he issued last week titled The Devil Is In the House, described TB Joshua as a “son of the devil” pretending to be “a man of God”.

The minister warned hundreds of Cameroonians trooping to Lagos, South West Nigeria, for miracles in Joshua’s church, to desist from taking the trip or face the consequences as the country will not stand by them.

The communiqué written in French reads in part: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns those who by naivety or deception of Emmanuel TV’s captivating images, or even those who by hopelessness, envisage taking the pilgrimage to Pastor TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church Of All Nations in Lagos, that they will do so at their own risk.

“The Cameroonian government warns these pilgrims that they will face the consequences alone. This is motivated by the painful and shameful fact that Cameroonian men and women, in search of deliverance and blessings, once in that church, find themselves in bestial and pitiable conditions,” the minister said.

“Women are raped; pilgrims dispossessed of their belongings by armed robbers and left to sleep in the streets at the mercy of gangs. “Many cases of assassinations have even been recorded. And this is without other cases that are not recorded at the Cameroonian Embassy in Lagos with the victims too ashamed to narrate their infernal odysseys once they are out of Hell.”

Ayissi said that while the bible asked people to be discreet with gifts and donations to the poor, TB Joshua was seen daily dolling out bags of rice to indigent people.

Cameroonian newspapers which published the communiqué last week, had tales of hundreds of Cameroonians who sold their properties or borrowed money in the hope of getting miracles in TB Joshua’s church, only to be disappointed in Lagos.

The newspapers reported that Joshua’s TV station had gained popularity in Cameroon and many people were tempted to take the trip and receive healings and sudden blessings.

The papers noted that Joshua was now in many households in Cameroon and many people believed the flashy images they watched on television. One newspaper wrote in French: “Witnesses who come back from that pandemonium reveal that to secure an appointment with this Jesus-Christ-reincarnate, they had to spend 150 000 FCA (about N50 000) and the amount keeps going up, depending on the treatment and the case.

“This has led to confusion and disillusionment from Cameroonians, who on their way to Damascus, now find themselves refugees at the Cameroonian Embassy in Lagos.”

TB Joshua recently prophecied the death of the late Malawian President, Bingu wa Mutharika, who suffered a heart attack. Wa Mutha-rika’s death came days after TB Joshua predicted the death of a nation’s president.

In Zimbabwe, Zanu PF officials also appear very uncomfortable with the prophet’s prophecies. Zanu-PF legislator for Tsholotsho North, Jonathan Moyo, accused TB Joshua of being part of the conspiracy in the death of President wa Mutharika. He alleged that wa Mutharika had been killed by his enemies who used TB Joshua’s pronouncement to divert attention from them.

Recent State media reports insinuated that TB Joshua might not be allowed to enter Zimbabwe. This followed reports that the popular prophet intended to visit the country.

But many of TB Joshua’s predictions have come true. He has accurately predicted the death of Michael Jackson and the Polish plane crash, among other prophecies.

Pollsters IPSOS say Sarkozy would take 47 percent of the second-round ballot – a rise of one point – while Socialist rival Francois Hollande is still six points ahead.

Monday’s poll comes as a left-leaning news website claimed it has fresh evidence that Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign was offered financing by late Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi.

Mediapart claims it has a letter offering 50 million euros in funds. Sarkozy says he’ll file a complaint against the website.

Challenger Francois Hollande told supporters at a rally outside Paris on Sunday that Sarkozy was “without doubt headed for the exit.” Despite the socialist’s confidence, analysts say that he can’t necessary count on far-right support.

Surprisingly, neither can Sarkozy – according to the IPSOS poll. 54 percent of National Front voters now say they’ll switch to Sarkozy, down from 60 percent earlier.

Sarkozy plans to hijack at least one of Tuesday’s Labour day rallies to reach out to undecided voters.

Marches are held across France to celebrate the battle for workers’ rights.

National Front leader Marine Le Pen has promised that she’ll “comment” on the second round on Tuesday and is expected to tell supporters to leave a blank vote.

And that’s backed up by the latest opinion poll, suggesting as many as a third of National Front supporters won’t vote at all on Sunday.

The storm started after 1800 hours came with severe winds travelling at a speed of about 150 miles per hour.

Roofs of houses at the ICOUR block in Navrongo were ripped off compelling inhabitants to move to nearby houses.

Namolo nursery, primary and junior high schools which house about 500 pupils had its roof ripped off with major electrical polls also pulled down.

Mr Mark Woyongo, Regional Minister went round the Navrongo Township with members of the Red Cross and officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to inspect some of the affected homes.

He expressed his sympathy to the affected people and assured them of government readiness to help them with relief items.

The squall also affected portions of the Navrongo campus of the University for Development Studies. The roof of ECOWAS Male Hall accommodating about 44 students was ripped off.

Mr Alfred Marfo, an occupant of the hall described the incident as terrible.

The storm also affected Navrongo Senior High School were four dormitory blocks, two classroom blocks and seven staff bungalows had their roofs ripped off.

No casualties were recorded.

Source: GNA

Woyome Is So Concerned With His Own Glorification That He Does Not Realise What Turmoil He Generates & The Ammunition He Provides To The Opposition

The Special Investigations Team (SIT) of The New Crusading GUIDE has intercepted a confidential letter dated December 19, 2011 authored by Mr. Ray Smith, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of M-Powapak Ltd., to the President of Ghana, Professor J.E.A. Mills, concerning ‘the matter of Alfred Agbesi Woyome’. (See below for the full text of the letter under reference).

The letter which was accompanied by a ten (10) page ‘confidential document’ titled: FACTS AND OBSERVATIONS IN THE MATTER OF ALFRED AGBESI WOYOME, accused Mr. Woyome of “generating unnecessary havoc” and being “more interested in his own misguided political ambitions than working truly in the best interest of his party”.

“Over the years I have had close relationship with the person (Woyome) and I wish to make known to you (President Mills) the facts surrounding this matter since there is so much speculation and untruth being released in the public domain which is far from the best interest of your government”, indicated Mr. Smith in his letter to President Mills.

Underscoring that his (Smith’s) correspondence to the President was “very strictly a personal view”, Mr. Smith nonetheless hoped that “the attached document will be of some assistance to your investigation”.

In the attached ten (10) page ‘confidential document’, Mr. Smith, began by explaining the rationale for his decision to assist investigations into the ‘matter of Alfred Agbesi Woyome’ since it was his “understanding that this is currently of interest or importance to the Government since it is a potential source of embarrassment to the party (NDC) which must be dealt with”.

“In view of the fact that I and my wife have had years of contact with Woyome I believe that I can provide useful information. I will be as brief as possible to give some insight as to the character of this person (Woyome) and also to correct issues which he obviously interpreted wrongly during his various statements in the media”, volunteered Mr. Smith.

Mr. Smith recalled how well before he and his wife met Mr. Woyome, the two of them (‘the Smiths’) had been instrumental in introducing an Austrian Healthcare company to provide Regional Hospitals with concessionary finance provided by the Austrian Government.

“After Parliamentary approval the supply contracts were signed in December 1999. Following this we were introduced to H.E. the President Atta Mills, at the time Vice-President, and he kindly arranged for us to present development possibilities in a meeting of the State Council. As I recall this was some 3 months before Government changed hands in 2000”, Smith took the President on a trip down memory lane.

Mr. Smith said when they (he & his wife) met Mr. Woyome in February 2001, he (Woyome) complained that he had just formed a cleaning company with a Ghanaian businessman situated at GCB-Towers, but his (Woyome’s) partner had cheated on him and he (Woyome) wanted to withdraw.

“He was driving a very old car and was mostly accompanied by his brother Kobby Woyome. He obviously was embarrassed about the condition of his car and explained that he needed such a car as a disguise as his work does not permit him to drive a new car”, disclosed Mr. Smith.

He said from then onwards their relationship with Mr. Woyome developed into a friendship because he appeared to be a very genuine person with a passion to support Ghana’s social and economic development.

“He gave every indication that he was a trustworthy person. On this basis we worked together very well for a long time”, added Smith.

Narrating how Mr. Woyome was appointed a Hon. Vice-Consul for Austria in Ghana, Mr. Smith indicated that his wife, Mrs. Smith who was the Hon. Consul of Austria was at the time overloaded with the volume of work to be done and in the year 2004 it was recognised that a Hon. Vice Consul was necessary to ease the burden on her and she was requested to find a suitable person for the position of a Hon. Vice-Consul.

He explained further that because it was impossible to find a suitable Austrian National for the position of Hon. Vice Consul or a fluent German-speaker with the appropriate qualifications and characteristics, Mr. Woyome, “although not a German speaking was seen to have the right attitude towards Austrian/Ghanaian relations and therefore, provided that he could provide a suitable German-speaker, and cover his share of administrative costs, he could be considered for the position of Honorary Vice-Consul”.

Mrs. Smith, according to Mr. Smith, made such proposal which in fact was accepted by the Austrian Government. A contract was subsequently issued which Mr. Woyome accepted with all its conditions. One of the conditions which was verbally explained by a former Ambassador in Abidjan was that Mr. Woyome must share the operating costs of the Consulate with the Hon. Consul. Mr. Smith gave examples of Mr. Woyome’s chronic failure to fulfil the conditions of the contract, and indicated that Mr. Woyome’s claim in the media that he (Woyome) “controlled and financed” the Austrian Consulate was false.

He recalled that following his formal appointment by the Government of Austria, it was found that Mr. Woyome was advertising or projecting himself as “‘H.E’. Mr. A. Woyome”, and he had even placed that inscription or designation on his name-plate on the gates of his residence at Caprice in Accra”.

“Mr. Woyome was strongly advised to remove this and desist from the title since he was not entitled to be addressed as HIS EXCELLENCY in the position of the Hon. Vice-Consul. This appeared to have no effect and rumour had it that he was parading himself as “HIS EXCELLENCY” Consul Woyome in the Volta Region where he appeared to have influence. Also upon his appointment it was made very clear to Mr. Woyome that as an Hon. Vice-Consul he must be seen to have no participation in party politics whatsoever, in accordance with his diplomatic role requirements. In hindsight it is now clear that the above were ignored by Mr. Woyome and his position was manipulated in favour of personal interests and ambitions”, underscored Mr. Smith.

The term of Mr. Woyome’s appointment as Honorary Vice-Consul, Mr. Smith emphasised, ended on November 11, 2008 and it was not renewed by the Austrian Government”.

Mr. Smith also recalled how Mr. Woyome informed them (‘the Smiths’) that his brother, Kobby Woyome had intentions to contest the parliamentary seat for South Tongu. He said this disclosure surprised them because in “our private opinion Kobby Woyome was entirely unsuitable to run as an MP”. However, Mr. Alfred Woyome, according to “the Smiths”, “answered that he (Alfred Woyome) could get a lot of power through the position of his brother”.

“A lot of cash was needed and listening to rumours, many unpleasant things happened during the campaign”, intimated “the Smiths”.

Mr. Smith also gave an account of how during his absence from Ghana for four months in 2007, Mr. Woyome, his brother, Kobby and his (Smith’s) company’s book-keeper, one Eugene Gbemu had colluded to manipulate the company (M-Powapak Ltd.)’s financial records resulting in the company suffering huge financial losses.

“Alfred Woyome was faced with the evidence. To settle matters amicably and to cover his family interests he stated that he would take responsibility to replace all missing cash assets. This was in April/May 2008. These assets were later determined to be, after forensic audit, a total of GH¢245,450 (At this time the exchange rate to the USD was 1:1)”, Smith indicated in his 10-page ‘Confidential Document’ to President Mills.

He said it was only in November 2011 that Mr. Woyome found it necessary to redeem his pledge to replace the missing cash even though he failed to pay interest or loss of earnings that M-Powapak had suffered. He said Mr. Woyome redeemed his pledge because of the threat of legal action.

Mr. Smith said the consequence of the theft was as follows: “(a) Due to repeated promises of re-payment the accounts of M-Powapak Ltd. for 2008 were not completed, could not be; (b) If completed, the IRS would have investigated the reported shortfalls and the facts would have had to be made known; (c) With the continued non-payment all subsequent years of M-Powapak’s annual accounts have not been submitted, due to carry-over; (d) Any revelation of the facts would have led to serious repercussions for both Woyomes – and, especially perhaps, brought embarrassment to the party as Alfred Woyome and Kobby Woyome are known party members”.

THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE MATTER IS THAT ALFRED WOYOME, KOBBY WOYOME AND M-POWAPAK’S BOOK-KEEPER WERE COLLECTIVELY INVOLVED IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE WERE RELUCTANT TO TAKE THE MATTER TO COURT EARLIER WAS ANOTHER ASPECT. ALFRED WOYOME TOLD US CONSTANTLY THAT HE HAS EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL. HE HAS HIS PEOPLE IN THE NATIONAL SECURITY, BNI, CID, THE POLICE, ETC, revealed Mr. Smith.

He further disclosed that Mr. Woyome had also claimed that he (Woyome) had used the ‘missing money’ to “protect” them (the Smiths/M-Powapak) even though “he could never explain from what or of whom he had to protect us and certainly this is a fabricated story as there was no reason for such payments in our name…”

The 10-page ‘Confidential Document’ to President Mills also focused on the controversial GH¢51.2m judgement debt claim Mr. Woyome made against the Government of Ghana.

Mr. Smith made an interesting revelation to the effect that Mr. Woyome’s personal motivation for pursuing the GH¢51.2 claim against the Government of Ghana was that in the event that their joint (Woyome & Austro-Invest Management – AIM) claim succeeded then there would be a valid case for persons in previous government (NPP Administration) to be held liable for “Loss to the State”.

“Together we were responsible for the financing of projects which in hindsight were illegally cancelled by the previous Government. This has proven, by recent events, to be admitted. Clearly there was a case to be brought against the GoG for suitable recompense. THE POSITION TAKEN BY MR. WOYOME WAS THAT, IN THE EVENT OF SUCH A CASE BEING SUCCESSFUL, THEN THERE WAS A VALID CASE OF PERSONS IN THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR ‘LOSS TO THE STATE’. AND THIS WAS THE DETERMINATION OF MR. WOYOME FOR HIS PERSONAL REASONS. Under these circumstances there was no way in which the Directors of M-Powapak, both expatriates, and one of whom being Austrian Consul, the other, Director of AIM, could possibly contemplate involvement. IT WAS THEREFORE AGREED THAT MR. WOYOME WOULD PROCEED IN HIS NAME ALONE ON THE BASIS OF GOOD FAITH, AND IN VIEW OF THIS AN AGREEMENT WAS ESTABLISHED TO SHARE FUTURE PROCEEDS IN THE RATIO 5/9 – 4/9, articulated Smith in one of the attached documents to the main 10-page ‘Confidential Document’.He further revealed in the main ‘Confidential Document’ that when the court decided that their joint claim was justified they (‘the Smiths’) expected Mr. Woyome to fulfil the agreement Austro-Invest Management (AIM) and Mr. Woyome had signed. However, after many reminders and pressure, Mr. Woyome’s Lawyer wrote to ‘the Smiths’ to outline some expenses that had allegedly already been made out of the total amount won by a court order.

“Apart from an enormous sum of approximately 3.9 million Ghana Cedis for lawyers’ cost, an amount of Euro 2 million was for ‘other expenses’. We were astonished when we read this and requested Mr. Woyome through his lawyer to explain what this amount was used for. After three weeks and numerous reminders to Mr. Koka (Woyome’s Lawyer) we received another letter informing us that we are not entitled to any amount because we did nothing for the syndication and financial engineering of the projects,” lamented Mr. Smith to President Mills.

Sarkozy raised the immigration issue at a campaign rally as polls show he faces a tough battle for re-election in April and May.

“The Schengen agreement no longer lets us respond to the seriousness of the situation. It needs revising. We have to put into force for Schengen a reform that is as structural as the one we have just put in place for the Euro. We cannot leave managing the flow of migrants to the technocrats and courts,” President Sarkozy told supporters in Paris.

Centrist leader and presidential rival Francois Bayrou was quick to react:

“What does it mean to pull out off Schengen? I will tell you, it means to put in place once again the barriers and the borders and the customs officers between France and Spain, France and Italy, and between France and Germany can you believe it?”

Critics say Sarkozy ‘s proposal is aimed at trying to siphon off support from the extreme right, National-Front candidate Marine Le Pen who is snapping at his heals.

Most of the candidates including front runner Socialist Francois Hollande have in recent weeks tapped into French concerns over illegal immigration – concerns which have grown as the country struggles against recession.

While almost the whole of Accra and Tema were enveloped in total darkness, parts of the Ashanti, Western, Volta, Central, Eastern and Brong Ahafo regions were affected by the power outage which struck around 6.40 p.m. on Friday.

According to officials of GRIDCo, what caused the explosion was not immediately known but they suspected it could have been due to a manufacturer’s defect.

They, however, gave an assurance that the situation was under control and that everything possible would be done to ensure that electricity was made available to the public.

Explaining events leading to the blackout to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, Mr Eric Asare, the Director of System Operations, said GRIDCo had embarked on a project to replace some of its obsolete equipment, which was as old as 48 years.

He said the contractor had just finished changing one of them and activated the new one when it exploded, resulting in the blackout to a number of lines in Tema and tripping off all the thermal units in Takoradi and Tema.

“We managed to bring on stream power from the Akosombo and Kpong Hydro units to supply a number of places. After inspection, we removed the equipment from the network and we started working on the lines that went out to get them back on. By 11:35 p.m., we had managed to put almost everybody back on line.

“We are going to investigate what caused power supply to trip. We have not experienced any problem since midnight on Friday. The system has been restored to normal,” he stated.

Friday’s blackout is not the first time the country has experienced power failure of that magnitude.

In December last year, a nationwide power outage which lasted close to four hours was attributed to the explosion of one of the breakers in the switch room of the Volta River Authority (VRA).

A similar one also lasted almost 30 minutes on May 21, 2003 just when the then acting CEO of the VRA, Mr Jabesh Amissah-Arthur, had taken over from Dr Charles Wereko-Brobbey.

To improve the malfunctions in the energy sector, GRIDCo last year announced that it was raising about $230 million from local and international financial markets to invest in the country’s electrical energy infrastructure.

Under the initiative, which feeds into its long-term capital investment plan, the company was to receive 80 million euros from French companies, the Coface Group and Societe Generale, in partnership with the SG-SSB Bank.

Other collaborators are Korea’s EXIM Bank, which is contributing $70 million, the CAL Bank and the Standard Chartered Bank, which are providing $13 million and $25 million, respectively.

In respect of improving the obsolete infrastructure, Mr Asare said a number of similar equipment was replaced last year.

“This is work being done by a contractor and the equipment is under warranty. At the end of the project, we will make sure that whatever equipment is restored is up to the required standard,” he said.

With a combined 75 caps and six collective AFCON finals appearances for Ghana, the former defenders have extensive insight on what a nation requires to claim glory in Africa’s biggest football spectacle even though they never quite made it onto the winner’s podium.

They join an elite panel of analysts which boasts former winners in South Africa’s Neil Tovey, Doctor Khumalo and Shaun Bartlett, Nigerian duo of Stephen Keshi and Daniel Amokachi along with Cameroons Joseph-Antoine Bell.

Having set aside a 24-hour channel dedicated to the event, SuperSport will broadcast all 32 matches live and for the first time in the splendor of High Definition as well as two magazine programmes Hello Africa and Masterplan.

Hello Africa will include reports from reporters stationed in Franceville, Libreville, Malabo and Bata. There will also be previews, memorable moments and viewer interaction. Moreover, every Sunday award-winning presenter Robert Marawa will present Masterplan, an analysis show designed to get to the heart of team tactics and strategies.

As a first step more buses are to be imported by the government to improve public transportation to reduce the burden on the public.

Additionally, the government has directed the early payment of workers’ salaries for January, 2012 and the clearance of all salary arrears of workers by June, this year.

The Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, announced this at a meeting on Friday between the government Economic Management Team and stakeholders to discuss the current economic situation in the country, especially the recent fuel price increases.

According to a statement issued in Accra on Saturday and signed by Mr Baba Jamal, a Deputy Minister of Information, the Vice President assured the public that the government had put in place a mechanism to ensure that further increases in the world prices of crude oil would not affect fuel prices locally.

The meeting was attended by stakeholders including the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Ghana Employers’ Association (GEA), The Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), Ghana Bankers Association and Ghana Chamber of Commerce.

The statement said the meeting, which was frank and fruitful, discussed the effects of the recent fuel price increase and the reasons which occasioned such a hike.

The statement said while sympathising with the government on the current increases in the world price of fuel and the huge sums the government used in subsidising the product, the meeting encouraged the government to do more in cushioning workers against the economic situation in the country.