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A Presidential Staffer, Mr Charles Cromwell Bissue, who has been accused of working against government’s efforts of fighting illegal mining popularly known as galamsey still insists he is innocent.

Mr. Bissue stepped aside recently as Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) after ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas aired a documentary in which he was caught allegedly taking a bribe of GHC35,000 to allow a company carry out mining activities during the ban on all small scale mining activities in Ghana.

After the documentary was aired, Mr Bissue wrote a statement saying “I have taken notice of the contents of the latest documentary by Tiger Eye P.I., titled ‘Galamsey Fraud.’ I would like to state, at the very outset, that I am innocent of the allegations levelled against me in the documentary, as I was not and have not been engaged in any acts of corruption, criminality or misconduct.” 

Meanwhile, Mr. Bissue on Monday confirmed on his Facebook Wall that he responded to an invitation from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

“I have subjected myself to the laws of Ghana, and since no one is above the law, I urge Tiger Eye PI and Anas to provide the CID with the raw, unedited footages, so that the good people of Ghana can have the benefit of knowing the truth,” he wrote.

On Tuesday, Mr. Bissue spoke to Kwami Sefa Kayi in an interview on Peace FM's ‘Kokrokoo’ programme and reiterated his innocence.

According to him, the money he was receiving captured in the video was coming from the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.

“I have not collected anybody’s money in the course of my duties, and I will continue to insist on that. Chairman Wontumi gave the money to his P.A (Personal Assistant) to be given to me . . .”

“I know that I will prevail after this . . . I have not collected any money,” he added.

Seeking Redress

Mr. Bissue intends to go to court after the investigation on the matter is concluded. He wants the court to determine the basis on which a situation can be termed as engaging in bribery and corruption.

"I have subjected myself to the laws of Ghana . . . the wheels of justice grinds slowly and so what I am trying to do is subject myself to an investigation; when the conclusion of the investigation is reached; on the basis of that I will proceed to court," he told Kwami Sefa Kayi in response to a question as to why he will not sue the investigator for defamation.

Fear for sick mother

When the video was aired, Charles Bissue’s fear was for her mother not to hear the news since she can suffer from a heart attack.

“My fear was for my mother; we took the radio away from her (to prevent her from listening to the news) and then later, I went to her to explain and she understood because she trained me well…my mother could have died from a heart attack,” he bemoaned.