Owusu Bempah Finally Released...Goes Missing Again

The beleaguered Director of Operations of the Friends Of Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings (FONKAR), Ernest Owusu Bempah, has been officially granted a police enquiry bail. The FONKAR firebrand was detained at the offices of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for over 48 hours and was reported to have gone on hunger strike. His colleague, Alhaji Nasir, confirmed that Owusu Bempah had been released. He was however unwilling to disclose his present location. The outspoken FONKAR executive alleged on Accra-based OmanFM that First Lady, Mrs. Naadu Mills received US$ 5 million from the embattled businessman, Alfred Woyome, who is being tried in the infamous judgment debt saga. The First Lady has however denied the allegation. Owusu-Bempah honored an invitation to the Bureau of National Investigations for the allegation on Wednesday but was transferred to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Headquarters for further interrogation and was later charged provisionally for publishing false information meant to cause fear and panic and was detained. But his Lawyers were unable to make contact with him. According to Lawyer Duah Agyeman, they waited endlessly for their client�s arrival in court Thursday following claims by the police that he (Bempah) would be brought to court for prosecution to begin after his arrest Wednesday. However, his friends and sympathisers were treated to a no-show. After being locked up for two days, he was allowed visitation rights on Thursday night, but some of his FONKAR colleagues who saw him at the BNI office allege that he had been tortured and accused the government of masterminding his arrest for no apparent reason. FONKAR even issued a statement in connection with his incarceration, saying they are appalled by the continued silence of the presidency on the matter, accusing the presidency of having a hand in his torture and continued detention. More soon.