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Herman Hesse denies instigating fan violence against Hearts of Oak board
Hearts of Oak National Chapters Commitee chairman, Herman Elvis Hesse, has denied claims accusing him of inciting fans to attack board members of Hearts of Oak.
Hesse has been blamed by Sowah Odotei, board member at Hearts, for firing up fans of the club at the CAF Confederation Cup second-leg tie at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The 54-year-old football administrator was videoed in an altercation with Hesse, and explained to JoySports: “During the recess, one of the deputy organizers of the NCC approached me and said they were going to beat me and Alhaji Akambi at the end of the match if Hearts did not qualify. He’s called Sabatu or something.
“He was standing next to the NCC chairman so I went to him and asked why he allowed one of his people threaten the life of a director. And he told me ‘we cannot continue to gag the supporters’. So I felt I needed to tell him he was behaving irresponsibly and he couldn’t do that. If you feel the club isn’t doing well, you can express your opinion but you cannot threaten the lives of people.”
At the end of the game, Sowah and Akambi were held in the stadium by police for 3 hours, as fans vandalised cars belonging to the duo in an activity Sowah described to JoySports as fans ‘following through with the threat they made’.
However, in an interview with JoySports, Hesse strongly denied gauging the violent conduct of fans witnessed at the stadium.
“Some of the supporters were captured on video, they were captured on camera [so] it wouldn’t be difficult to identify them. The could be asked questions, whether me (he said hitting his chest) Elvis, spoke to any of them or incited them against anybody, and I know I’ll be vindicated at the end of the day.”
Source: www.myjoyonline.com
The prosecution has officially rested its case in The Republic v Solomon Asamoah & Another, the high-profile legal battle commonly referred to as the “Sky Train” case.
The Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai announced the development, praising the state’s team of hard-working prosecutors for successfully anchoring the state’s evidence before the High Court.
The criminal trial centers on the former Chief Executive Officer and the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).
The duo stands accused of illegally authorizing and paying out US$2 million to a foreign company without obtaining board directives or other mandatory statutory approvals.
State investigators have confirmed that the disbursed millions cannot be found.
Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, the accused persons moved the court for an opportunity to file a submission of no case.
The presiding judge granted the application, ordering the defense to submit their arguments by June 8.
The outcome of the June 8 filings will decide the fate of the trial:
With this, if the judge finds the defense’s submission convincing, the accused will be acquitted and discharged however, If the judge dismisses the submission, the court will order the accused officials to take the stand and explain why they should not face prison sentences.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Member of Parliament for Akuapem North, Sammy Awuku, has expressed deep sorrow following the sudden passing of Isaac Batsa, the constituency secretary for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) lawmaker issued a statement on Tuesday reacting to the news, which has shocked the local political community.
Mr.Awuku praised the late NDC secretary for his bipartisan approach to local governance.
He noted that despite their different political affiliations, Batsa consistently rose above party lines to serve the constituency with diligence.
The MP revealed that the news was particularly shocking given that he had last interacted with Batsa just three days prior on Saturday.
Concluding his statement, Sammy Awuku extended his heartfelt condolences to Batsa’s family, the constituency and regional executives, and the entire NDC fraternity, wishing the deceased peaceful eternal rest.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
