Court Admits Weapons and Explosives as Evidence in Treason Trial

The High Court has admitted several weapons, ammunition and explosives as evidence in the ongoing treason trial involving Dr Frederick Mac Palm and nine others accused of plotting a coup d’état.

The exhibits were presented by the tenth prosecution witness, Mr Frank Boakye of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), during his testimony led by Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs Yvonne Attakora Obuobisa.

Mr Boakye told the court that the items were retrieved from the Citadel Hospital, owned by Dr Mac Palm, during his arrest on September 20, 2019.

The exhibits included three hand smoke grenades, a Beretta pistol with two magazines, one containing six live rounds of ammunition, a brown leather bag with nine live rounds, a revolver, two AK-47 magazines, three locally manufactured gun barrels, and several tools allegedly used in making weapons.

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He also told the court that investigators found a chemical labelled Halogen BP in Dr Mac Palm’s consulting room. The substance was seized for further investigations after officers became suspicious of its purpose.

According to the witness, Dr Mac Palm initially claimed ownership of the firearms and said they had been manufactured by Kafui Donya, also known as Ezor. He later stated that while the guns belonged to him, the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) belonged to Donya and were intended for use in the Nkonya-Alavanyo conflict.

Mr Boakye said investigators contacted Donya, who arrived at the hospital and was subsequently arrested. Donya allegedly confirmed that he had manufactured the weapons for Dr Mac Palm.

The witness also listed additional items recovered during the search, including hammers, drilling machines, pliers, saws, spanners, cables, sandpaper, drilling kits, an electric grinding machine, an anvil and a sack containing coal.

The prosecution tendered all the recovered items into evidence without objection from the defence.

Dr Frederick Mac Palm and nine others are facing charges including conspiracy to commit high treason, high treason, possession of arms and abetment. All the accused have pleaded not guilty and are currently on bail while the trial continues before a three-member panel of High Court judges.