Principal suspect in the assassination of Major Mahama fumbles at trial.
Charles Kwaning, one of the alleged killers of Major Maxwell Mahama, has denied his participation in the Army officer's massacre.
The State identified the defendant in the amateur video donning a red T-shirt and long-shorts while holding a gun in one hand and a stick in the other, but he denied his identity.
Captain Maxwell Mahama was brutally executed by the people of Denkyira Obuasi six years ago, under circumstances that have since become obscure.
Intriguingly, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Upper Denkyira West District, Daniel Appianing, under whose supervision the heinous crime was committed, was the first to dispute a robbery claim placed on the murder. He has since been spotted by The Herald's cameras cooling off at the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA). He may not testify at the upcoming trial.
If Daniel Appianing had nothing significant to say about the gruesome murder, Dominic Nitiwul, the Minister of Defence, promptly silenced him. President Nana Akufo-Addo subsequently interdicted him after he denied that Major Mahama was murdered because he was a robber with a gun.
The witness, Kwaning, was responding to queries posed by the Chief State Attorney, Frances Mullen-Ansah.
The prosecution insisted that the individual in the video wearing a red T-shirt and long trousers was the defendant.
When the accused was asked to identify himself in a photo album, he was unable to do so, indicating that the person depicted was not him.
The prosecution suggested to the defendant that he was the individual in the video wielding a gun while still wearing a red T-shirt and long shorts, but Kwaning denied this, stating, "I cannot see the face of the person, and in any case, my gun was folded."
The State asserted that the defendant actively participated in the lynching of the Major, but he denied it, stating that he was present but only assisted in preventing people from striking him with a cement block.
The prosecution suggested to the defendant that in his statement to the Police in Kasoa, he stated that he was not at the crime scene, but when he arrived at the Police Headquarters, he stated that he was at the scene. Kwaning, however, stated that he always told the Police that he was present.
He speculated that the Kasoa Police may have misunderstood what he said.
Major Mahama, an officer of the 5th Infantry Battalion, was murdered at Burma Camp. Fourteen individuals are on trial at a High Court in Accra for his death.
On May 29, 2017, while the late Major was on duty at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region, residents allegedly mistook him for an armed criminal and lynched him, despite his repeated pleas that he was a member of the Ghana Armed Forces.
William Baah, the Assembly member for Denkyira-Obuasi, Bernard Asamoah, alias Daddy, Kofi Nyame, also known as Abortion, Charles Kwaning, also known as Akwasi Boah, Kwame Tuffour, Joseph Appiah Kubi, Michael Anim, and Bismarck Donkor are the accused.
John Bosie, Akwasi Baah, Charles Kwaning, Emmanuel Badu, Bismarck Abanga, and Kwadwo Anima are the remaining members.
Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation and former chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), confirmed the allegations that Major Mahama died while providing security to a galamsey site belonging to C&J Aleska, who are clients of Gabby Asare-Otchere Darko and sometimes goes by the name Heritage Mining.
This is not the first time that doubts have been cast on the story fabricated by the Akufo-Addo government, the Ghana Armed Forces, and sections of the Ghanaian media that Major Mahama, who was later promoted posthumously to the rank of Army Captain, was killed by the people of Denkyira Obuasi because they mistook him for an armed robber.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng's report, titled "Report on The Work of The IMCIM and the Way Forward," was composed and presented to the president in 2021, but it was released to the media. Prior to his demise, he indicated in his report that Major Mahama was supervising a C&J Aleska-owned mining site in Denkyira Obuasi.
He claims that Major Mahama was slain while "providing security for Donald Entsuah and his C&J Aleska."
According to his words, "Many Ghanaians will recall the C&J Aleska, a mining company co-owned by Donald Entsuah and a Canadian national, Simon Ayman, that wreaked havoc on the town of Denkyira Oduase, near Diaso.
During the previous NDC administration, a number of mining companies signed MOUs with the Ghana Army regulating the provision of security services to mining companies. The personnel stationed at C&J Aleska were once under the command of Captain Mahama. This fine soldier was slain while protecting Donald Entsuah and his C&J Aleska," he continued.
In May 2017, the DCE, who was also the head of the District Security Council (DISEC) and an anti-galamsey fighter, revealed that his people were furious with the soldiers for preventing them from engaging in galamsey activities while protecting Chinese nationals who are in the area conducting the illegal business.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, interdicted Daniel Appianing and ultimately terminated his appointment as DCE, but on the blindside of Ghanaians, the government which was angry at his utterance, sent him to Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) as its Deputy Director General in charge of Operations and Technical, where he has been cooling off from the rough and tumble of Ghanaian politics.
On the GMA's website, the profile of the former DCE read, "Mr. Daniel Appianin is a savvy public servant with over fourteen years of experience. He rose through the ranks of the Ghana Education service, where he tutored Economics and Business Management in numerous senior High schools across the country, to become Assistant Director 1 in the service.
"Prior to his appointment as deputy Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, he also served as District Chief Executive of the Upper Denkyira West District Assembly in the Central region.
"Mr. Daniel Appianin is an enthusiastic, self-motivated individual who is eager to learn and accept new challenges. He also possesses excellent interpersonal abilities.
"Mr. Daniel Appianin is from Abora in the Central Region of Ghana, close to Dunkwa on-Offin.
At the University of Cape Coast, he received a Bachelor of Education in Social Sciences (Economics, Management, and Education).
Daniel Appianing's shocking revelation and near-justification of the gruesome murder cast doubt on the earlier story that the locals mistook Captain Mahama, the nephew of ex-President John Mahama, for an armed robber because he was carrying a pistol while jogging in Denkyira Obuasi at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, May 29, 2017.