Lead partner at Africa Legal Associates, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has responded to allegations made by former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, that he interfered with the work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
In an exclusive interview with Citi TV/Citi FM’s Vivian Kai Lokko, Mr. Otchere-Darko denied the allegations, stating that the former Minister had twisted the facts for reasons known only to him.
Mr. Otchere-Darko explained that his only interaction with the ex-minister was when a client of his law firm, Heritage Imperial Limited, had issues with officers of the government’s GalamSTOP operation. The company had been accused of prospecting for gold and had its equipment seized, despite having all the relevant permits. Mr. Otchere-Darko intervened to understand why a legitimate company with all the necessary permits was stopped from doing its work, as any lawyer would do.
According to Mr. Otchere-Darko, it is unfortunate that Professor Frimpong-Boateng twisted his inquiry into interference with the IMCIM's work. He clarified that the interaction was merely a phone call that lasted no more than four minutes and ended with the Minister stating that Heritage Imperial Limited should not have been issued with the license.
Professor Frimpong-Boateng had alleged that Gabby pestered him when the IMCIM was about to dislodge Imperial Heritage from Kobro Forest. However, Mr. Otchere-Darko refuted this, stating that the allegations were false and that the company had all the necessary permits to carry out its operations.
In conclusion, Mr. Otchere-Darko emphasized that his intervention was simply to understand why a legitimate company was being stopped from doing its work and that he had no intention of interfering with the IMCIM's work. He called on Professor Frimpong-Boateng to retract his allegations and apologize for the wrongful twist of facts.
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