Accra, June 01, GNA – Defense counsel for Dr Frederick Mac Palm says the audio recordings between his client and the Operative of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) allegedly done by the Operative was manipulated to incriminate his client.
Detective Chief Inspector Michael Nkrumah, an investigator with the NIB and the prosecution’s witness, said that could not be true.
“The said recordings were edited just like the videos recorded by Staff Sergeant Sule Awarf,” the lawyer stressed but the witness denied it.
In a cross-examination of Detective Chief Inspector Nkrumah, the Counsel reminded the witness that in his evidence -in-Chief on May 9, 2022, he testified that the NIB operative, an undercover investigator, posed as a patient to infiltrate Dr Mac Palm’s territory and the witness agreed.
Defense Counsel said: “You will agree with me that just like the video recordings done by Awarf, the recordings of the NIB Operative is prone to the manipulation by either the recorder or his superiors,” but the witness in his answer said he did not think so.
The prosecution’s witness agreed with the counsel that the audio recordings were done in 2019, on four different times at Dr Mac Palm’s Citadel Hospital but denied that they were recorded on the days the Operative visited the Hospital as a patient.
The defense counsel denied suggestions that his client recruited Colonel Samuel Kojo Gameli in pursuit of the alleged agenda to overthrow of government, saying that Colonel Gameli had been a patient to Dr Mac Palm since 2012 but Mr Nkrumah said per the investigative team’s evidence, the doctor/ patient relationship started rather in 2014.
The lawyer, in ascertaining whether the prosecution had evidence of the conversation between his client and Colonel Gameli concerning the overthrow, he asked: “In the course of your investigation, did the military Intelligence Unit give you any evidence of Mac Palm recruiting Gameli?” And had the response, no.
“Did you for a fact gather any evidence to confirm the assertion that Dr Mac Palm recruited Colonel Gameli?” To which the witness said, “yes during the interrogation of Gameli, he indicated that Mac Palm informed him of his (Mac Palm’s) intention to overthrow the government and when asked why he (Gameli) did not inform the Military High Command, he said he was waiting for the right hour.
Asked whether the investigator still stood by the evidence-in-chief that Mac Palm and Gameli met at the Citadel Hospital to discuss the alleged overthrow, the witness answered in the affirmative and said that was recorded, adding that they did it with Mr Johannes Zipki.
The Defense Counsel asked how the recordings done by Awarf were handled by the Military Intelligence and how they were extracted from the devices and transferred unto the external drive before handed over to the investigator, questioning their authenticity.
The witness said he did not bother to check how they were handled because he knew those who handled them would be in court to testify, however, he said both the audio and video recordings were authentic though some of them were combined.
Dr Mac Palm, Colonel Gameli, Zipki, Donya Kafui, Bright Alan Debrah, Warrant Officer Class Two Esther Saan, Corporal Seidu Abubakar, Lance Airforce Corporal Ali Solomon, Corporal Sylvestor Akanpewon and Assistant Commissioner of Police Dr Benjamin Agordzo are in court over high treason.
They have denied charges, including conspiracy to commit high treason, possession of firearms without authority and abetment of crime.
They have all been granted varied bail sums and conditions.
GNA