A Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Languages (GIL), Mr Isaac Osei, yesterday told the Accra High Court that he and seven experts used three months to transcribe the audio visuals of Dr Frederick Yao- Mac-Palm, a medical practitioner, and others, standing trial for alleged high treason and abetment of crime.
He said the team worked four times in a week at the Military Intelligence Unit, where a room was reserved for them to ensure confidentiality.
“I constituted a team and we went to the police CID Headquarters and collected the audios and videos and they told us that in order to ensure confidentiality of the work, a room has been reserved for us at the Military Intelligence Unit where they took us and it was from that place that we did the whole work,” the witness told the court.
He continued: “It was a secured room where we kept all our apparatus and only went in the following day to request the keys to continue to work till we finished.”
Mr Osei, the sixth prosecution witness, was led in evidence by Mrs Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Appearing before a three-member panel of judges presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, the witness said that translators used their own equipment, including laptops and that “we listened to the audios and watched the videos and transcribed them to the best of our knowledge.”
Mr Osei, who holds B.A in Linguistics and B.A in teaching Spanish as a foreign language, said after listening, watching and transcribing the audio- visuals “we printed the final copy for the CID. I signed all of them by my position as the leader of the team and printed them on the institute’s letterhead.”
Asked what happened after he printed and signed the documents, he explained that,” initially, we printed one copy of the whole document and submitted same to the CID.”
So far, Colonel Isaac Amponsah, the Director in Charge of Operational Intelligence at the Defence Intelligence Department of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF); Major General Nicholas Peter Andoh, Chief of Staff; Staff Sergeant Awarf Sule of the Defence Intelligence Department; Henry Ekow Ghartey, a soldier with Signals Regiment and Staff Sergeant Jonas Yeankye Kofi Natornah, a Physical Training Inspector at the General Headquarters Training School, all of the GAF, had testified as prosecution witnesses.
The other accused are ACP Dr Benjamin Agordzo, Colonel Samuel Kodzo Gameli, Donya Kafui, Bright and Alan Debrah.
The rest are Ofosu Yeboah, Johannes Zikpi, Corporal Seidu Abubakar, Lance Corporal Ali Solomon, Corporal Sylvester Akanpewon and Warrant Officer (II) Esther Saan Dekuwine.
They have all pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit crime to wit; high treason, high treason and abetment.
The accused belonged to a group called Take Action Ghana and allegedly plotted to overthrow the government.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
