The group of suspected Coup d’état plotters infamously called the “Kitchen Knife Coupists” have finally been slapped with treason charges after several days of indecision.
The charge sheet reads: “Conspiracy to comity treason felony 2. Treason felony 3. Possession of explosives, firearms, and ammunition”. It was read out to the alleged coup plotters in court today, October 9, 2019.
Even though late September this year, the Akufo Addo administration has raised red alert that the coup plotters were planning to oust the government and destabilize the country, the three alleged conspirators were on September 24, 2019 arraigned before a Kaneshie Circuit Court and were surprisingly slapped with five simple charges such as conspiracy to manufacture arms and ammunition without lawful authority and possession of explosives and firearms without lawful excuse.
None of these charges originally included treason, the standard offense for alleged coup plotters. The inconsistency of the charges forced the circuit court judge in Kaneshie to send state prosecutors packing, saying she had no jurisdiction over such a case.
The charges were reviewed eventually to include treason.
Dr Frederick Yao Mac-Palm, Dornyah “Ezor” Kafui, a local gunsmith and Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu aka BB or ADC, a freight manager are in the eye of the storm of the controversial coup attempt.
The conspirators are reported to have recruited military officers in August 2018 to participate in the coup. The alleged military accomplices include a senior military officer- Colonel Samuel Kojo Gameli and a civilian employee of the Ghana Armed Forces Gershun Akpa.
The new charges come on the back of criticisms and skepticism by many Ghanaians who thought the government’s story was not adding up, even though the government claims the group had been under surveillance for over 15 months. When they were busted, their weapons included crudely manufactured local guns, some smoke grenades and a kitchen knife described by the Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah as a “Long Knife” much to the amusement of the Ghanaian public.