Ministry of the Interior explains arrest of 3 South Africans
The security agencies have assured the citizens, political stakeholders and all who deem themselves to be high value targets of utmost security as has been exhibited since the commencement of the current democratic dispensation.
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A statement issued in Accra signed by Mr Prosper Douglas Bani, Minister of the Interior, made it clear that “the peace, security and stability of our dear nation and its people shall always remain paramount to the government”.
Explaining the circumstances leading to the arrest of the three South Africans brought in to train security detail of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the statement said “should the need arise for any stakeholder to opt for private security as we have witnessed under the index case, we strongly advise that the mandatory legal processes are followed and exhausted.”
Ahmed Shaik Haziz, Denver Dwayne Naidu and Mlugiseleli Jokani were arrested at El Capitano Hotel at Agona Duakwa in the Central Region by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
They were arrested while allegedly training 15 men in various security drills.
The statement said two of the suspects, Jokani and Naidu, arrived in the country on March 14, 2016 on South African passport number A05213410 and Mooo96231 respectively.
It said Haziz arrived on March 5, 2016 with passport number Mooo25092 and said to have visited Ghana several times between 2012 and 2016.
According to the statement, they came into the country on B1 visas (temporay visas) for business.
It said the three trainers revealed that they were retired police officers of the South-African Police Force and that Mr Haziz was employed by iMvula Quality Protection as Director of Operations while Naidu and Jokani were employed by Glaexec Protection Services (GPS) (PTY Limited) of South-Africa as directors.
Comprehensive report
The statement said a comprehensive report on the operations of Superlock Tecnologies Limited (STL) and an assessment of some key staff vulnerability for possibility compromise was retrieved from Hazis’s room. STL is the company contracted by the Electoral Commission to transmit tallied election results.
“Haziz denied authoring the document but indicated that it was given to him by Dani lsaaca' an Israeli based in South- Africa. Haziz claimed he had not read the document which had been in his possession for about three weeks. During interrogation it became evident that he was conversant with the contents of the document.
“The suspects denied that they were invited by Captain Kwesi Acquah, owner of Delta Force Security. However, all items for the training were shipped in the name of Delta Force Security and his hotel, El Capitano was used for the training. Captain Acquah was released from the Ghana Army in 1980.
“Hazis, the leader of the team, revealed that Captain Edmund Kojo Koda, Head of Nana Akufo Addo’s personal security, who was in the Ghana Army at the same time as Captain Acquah, contracted him to train the flag bearer's Security detail and he in turn engaged the other two. He also disclosed that be was in the country in 2012 and worked closely with Captain Koda during the 2012 eJections. As a young officer, Captain Koda had been involved in the AFRC regime,” it said.
Previous alert
The statement said Captain Koda's current arrest came on the heels of a previous security alert in 2014, after his name popped up in a National Security investigation of the activities of some Serbian nationals who were brought into the country to train selected people drawn from across the country in the art of civil insurrection, dubbed "Assaulting the pillars of power".
It explained that during interrogation, Captain Acquah denied the claim that he invited the South Africans but indicated that Captain Koda requested to use his facility (EL Capitano Hotel) for the training of his personnel.
“He also indicated that it was purely a business arrangement with Captain Koda and nothing else. Captain Koda confirmed that he invited the suspects to train his personnel. Captain Koda conceded that with hindsight he should have sought permission from the authorities before engaging in that exercise.
“A review of the visa applications submitted by the three South Africans revealed that two of the suspects (Jokani and Naidu) were invited by Dr Daniel McKorley, Chairman, McDan Group of Companies, while Hazis was invited by Nana Attobrah Quaicoe, Director of the Danquah Institute (Dl).
“Efforts to reach the two gentlemen for questioning have so far not been successful.
“Both Captains Koda and Acquah have been granted police inquiry bail pending further investigation.
“On 23/03/16, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) started an investigation into the immigration status of the three accused persons and requested the BNI to hand them over for further action. They were therefore released on 24/03/16 to the GIS as requested. Meanwhile, in line with regular practice the GIS requested that the BNI provide custody of the suspects.”
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“During the course of investigation, the following places were searched: Captain Koda's residence, Captain Acquah's residence and Hotel EL Capitano,” the statement added.