NPP Man In Court For Assaulting Wife

Dr. Nunoo Ghartey, a medical officer and former Central Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was on Monday arraigned before an Accra Magistrate's court for allegedly assaulting his wife, Dr. Mrs. Juliet Ghartey.

Dr. Ghartey was said to have punched the face of his wife thrice in the full glare of six uniformed policemen and two personnel of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at her Airport residence in Accra who were searching her house in a gun running case.

The incident occurred on June 3, 2006, at about 3 a.m. when the security personnel had besieged Mrs. Ghartey's house to allegedly question her about her engagement in gun running. Sources said Dr Ghartey on seeing the wife got angry, rushed on her and gave her the punches.

It took the intervention of some of the security personnel to stop Dr. Ghartey from further punishing his wife.

The couple were said to be happily married for some years until last year when they started encountering problems.

Giving her statement at the court, Dr (Mrs) Juliet Ghartey, a physician, said she was asleep on the said day when the two personnel of the CID knocked at her bedroom door.

When she opened the door, six other policemen entered the room. She said the two CID personnel jumped through her window to enter the room.

Mrs. Ghartey said that after searching her house, the security personnel started taking pictures of herself and a guest known as Harouna Ibrahim.

She said that Dr. Ghartey who was standing near the door, rushed into her bedroom and knocked her out in her night gown. He then punched her face and chest without any reason until the police pushed him away.

Mrs. Ghartey said when she got the opportunity to question the security personnel about their mission, she was informed that she was being investigated for gun running.

Counsel for the accused , Nancy Ampanful, told the court that the security personnel besieged the house to rather investigate Mrs. Ghartey's guest, Harouna Ibrahim, for gun running.

Dr. Nunoo Ghartey, who stood in the box for more than 30 minutes, did not make any comment.

The court presided over by Mrs. Eugenia Atta-Sonno, adjourned the case to January 30.