Three Ghana amputee footballers arrested for forgery
Three players of the national amputee football team have been arrested for allegedly forging official documents belonging to the Ghana Amputee Football Association (GAFF).
The trio; Kofi Asare, Issa Wahab and Joseph Amoh were apprehended by personnel of the Ghana Police Service of the Ministries Police Station at the Accra Sports Stadium, following a complaint by Francis Adjetey Sowah, President of GAFF.
The three players, members of a section of the Black Challenge calling for the resignation of Sowah, who doubles as President of Amputee Football Federations of Africa (AFFA) were reported to be hanging around the national stadium in line with championing their cause.
The group petitioned President John Dramani Mahama last Tuesday, calling for the head of Sowah, and investigation into the financial activities of the Association.
Constituted by members of the Black Challenge, the group said it had lost patience after the non-payment of bonuses for participating in the Cup of African Nations for Amputee Football (CANAF) in 2011 and the recently held World Amputee Football Championships in Kalingrad, Russia, where the team placed sixth.
However, Sowah is challenging the authenticity of the petition which he said was documented on a forged letterhead of the GAFF and was signed by one Francis Antwi-Darkwah, who is currently plying his trade in Turkey.
He claims the letterhead was forged as the bankers of the GAFF is Access Bank and not Ghana Commercial Bank as highlighted on the one used by the aggrieved group.
Speaking to GNA Sports on Wednesday evening, Sowah revealed that the trio admitted to forging the letterhead, which was circulated to institutions including the Presidency, Ministry of Youth and Sports, National Sports Authority, Association of Sports for the Disabled (ASFOD) and the GAFF.
“Can you imagine players of the Black Stars forging a letterhead of the Ghana Football Association” he quizzed.
According to the GAFF President, he decided to renege on the detention of the trio upon pleas from Curtis Pinto, a former member of the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) and onlookers who trouped to the Ministries Police Station, situated at the heart of the capital.
“Upon the plea of some persons who I have so much respect for, I decided to tamper justice with mercy. As the father of GAFF, I had to listen to the pleas from all angles.
“They have been granted bail after a brief detention, but I will speak to my lawyers to determine the next line of action. It is important they know that the fact that you are a disabled does not mean you can be lawless. These are treacherous lies.”
Sowah claimed he had nothing to hide and will avail himself to respond to the allegations by the players.
Source: GNA