Nana Ababio, aka Ben Lord, and Nana Gyekye have been charged with conspiracy to murder

A High Court in Accra has set February 11, 2025, to hear the case of Nana Berima, also known as Ben Lord, who years ago, shot and killed Lance Corporal Michael Danso, a soldier, at Kasoa Millennium City.

When the matter was called on Tuesday, counsel for the accused, Ben Lord, drew the court’s attention to a formal bail application they had filed.

Nana Ababio and Kofi Ano Gyekye, also known as Fiifi, are standing trial for their involvement in a land dispute that allegedly led to the death of the slain soldier, Michael Danso.

The accomplices of the accused, Oteng and Salisu, are said to be at large.

Nana Ababio, aka Ben Lord, and Nana Gyekye have been charged with conspiracy, while Ababio is facing an additional murder charge.

Ababio is currently in lawful custody, while Gyekye has been granted bail in the amount of GH₵1 million with two sureties to be justified.

As part of Gyekye’s bail conditions, he was required to deposit his passport with the court registry.

It will be recalled that on April 30, 2024, around 4:00 PM, Lance Corporal Michael Danso, along with two of his colleagues, Lance Corporals Abdul Omar Raham and Ametus Matthew, drove to the Millennium City Police Station in a Rav4 vehicle to report a case, where they encountered the tragic death of their colleague.

Meanwhile, watch the latest compilation of Twi news below:

By Iddi Yire

Accra, Jan 30, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama has appointed Professor Ransford Gyampo, a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, as Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA).

Prof Gyampo replaces Kwesi Baffour Sarpong, who was appointed in December 2024, under the erstwhile Akufo-Addo Administration.

Profile of Professor Ransford Gyampo

Born on March 31, 1977, Prof Gyampo is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Centre for European Studies of the University of Ghana, with 14 years of teaching and research experience.

Prof Gyampo holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Ghana and at Tufts University in Boston, United States.

His research interest lies in Youth Empowerment and Development, Governance, Democracy, and Natural Resource Management.

Until recently, he was a visiting scholar at the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of South Florida, United States.

He currently serves as a Visiting Professor to the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom.

For 14 years, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the Governance Unit of the Institute of Economic Affairs, leading several research projects and playing a key role in the Institute of Economic Affair’s (IEA) Socio-Economic and Governance Surveys.

For 10 years, Prof Gyampo also served as Coordinator of the Ghana Political Parties Programme, a programme that brought together the leadership of Political Parties with representation in Ghana’s Parliament to discuss issues of national importance in a non-partisan manner and to propose practical solutions to them.

He is a member of Ghana’s Electoral Reforms Committee and played a key role in identifying the challenges of Ghana’s electoral processes and submitting electoral reform proposals to the Electoral Commission for the purposes of fine-tuning Ghana’s electoral system.

He is also a member of the Representation of the People’s Amendment Act (ROPAA) Consultative Committee, a committee set up by the Electoral Commission to research, consult

and advise on the implementation of the law that mandates Ghanaians living abroad to vote in Ghanaian elections.

Prof Gyampo has more than 100 research works to his credit within his areas of research interest.

These have been published in internationally refereed journals across the globe as Books, Book Chapters, Book Reviews, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles, Technical Reports, Monographs and Policy Briefs.

GNA

Professor Kobby Mensah’s appointment has triggered conversation on social media

President John Dramani Mahama’s appointment of University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) lecturer, Professor Kobby Mensah as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC) Limited has triggered conversations on social media, with some persons accusing Prof. Kobby Mensah of hypocrisy.

Amid the online trolling and vile criticism of Professor Kobby Mensah, who was a staunch critic of the erstwhile Akufo-Addo government, a post of him claiming that his criticism of the former government was not driven by parochial interest has popped up.

The post which is in wild circulation on various social media platforms captures Professor Kobby Mensah explaining that his criticism of the previous government was in line with his profession as a political marketing expert.

He defended his crusade against the government, implying that he was not eyeing an appointment.

“For some time now, some people are of the notion that I criticize govt because I am looking for an appointment. This I find so interesting. Let me say that again my discipline is political marketing. and for those who are not familiar with the modern political system. What I am doing is what a political marketing expert does.

“Your strategies, your analyses and your critique of the moves of the players-politicians, voters, the media and other stakeholders-from strategy perspectives. I don’t know how many times I should say this,” he wrote.

One public figure who has been direct with his reservations about the appointment of Professor Kobby Mensah is the Member of Parliament for Afigya Kwabre North, Collins Adomako-Mensah who sent a sarcastic message to him and Professor Ransford Gyampo, another appointee of President Mahama.

Adomako-Mensah described the development as a case of individuals, particularly critics, acting in their interests.

He linked Prof. Gyampo and Prof. Mensah’s appointments to a reward for their criticisms of the former government.

“Ransford Gyampo and Kobby Mensah, congratulations to both of you. Go serve Ghana. This game is called politics. I learn something every day. Key word ‘Interest nkoaaaaa’,” he posted on Facebook.

Shameful Kobby Mensah now let see your discipline as #PoliticalMarking. pic.twitter.com/gfuke73x3y

— Louis Anokye (@LouisAnokye6) January 29, 2025

Former Deputy Finance Minister Abena Osei-Asare has announced that Ghana has reached a key milestone in its debt restructuring process following the final endorsement of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by six remaining Partner Creditor Countries.

In a Facebook post on 30 January 2025, Osei-Asare described the development as a major step towards economic recovery.

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Martin Kpebu is a private legal practitioner

Legal practitioner and member of Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), Martin Kpebu, has denied widespread reports that the committee seized the vehicle of the former Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Omari Wadie.

Initial reports indicated that the anti-corruption committee allegedly wrongfully seized Omari Wadie’s personal car, claiming it to be government property.

Speaking on Happy 98.9 FM’s Epa Hoa Daben in January, Omari Wadie explained that members of the ORAL team initially visited his residence to seize his vehicles but were unable to access his garage as the main gate was locked.

He disclosed that the car in question, a Lexus, had been sent to a mechanic for repairs due to a fault.

On Wednesday, January 22, he received a call from the mechanic informing him that a team identifying themselves as members of the ORAL taskforce had arrived at the shop and seized the car.

Omari Wadie stated that he managed to speak with two members of the taskforce, called Adam and Alhaji Musa.

According to them, the Lexus had been identified as a government vehicle, and they had been instructed to retrieve it.

He added that he was then directed to report to the ORAL Committee or the National Security Office at Blue Gate if he had any concerns.

However, in response to the claims on Adom FM on Thursday, January 30, 2025, Martin Kpebu strongly dismissed them, stating that they were inaccurate and baseless.

The outspoken lawyer further stated that the committee had no knowledge of the incident and clarified that no one from the committee was sent to seize the vehicle.

“It is not true; it’s just fake news. We have no idea about that issue and the ORAL committee has not sent anybody to seize any car – it is fake. That is how politics is and people will try to misinform with fake news. It is unfortunate, but in a democracy, fake news becomes a lot.

“When these things happen, people call for us to arrest and prosecute the fake news peddlers. If you have evidence to prove someone guilty, you can use the laws to deal with such persons. This fake news is not going to be the last because it has been with us even before the world came into existence. We know nothing about the car seizure,” he clarified.

MAG/AE

Also watch Miki Osei Berko’s interview on Talkertainment below:

Reports in the local media suggest that a former Member of Parliament for the Lower West Akim constituency, Gifty Klenam, has joined the National Democratic Congress.

In photos that are available on social media, Gifty Klenam, who contested as an Independent Member of Parliament in the 2024 election, was seen clad in the paraphernalia of the governing NDC.

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