Nyaho-Tamakloe vows to defend convicted son

Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, Ghana's outspoken Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro, has broken his long silence on the arrest and subsequent conviction of his son, Ellis Nyaho-Tamakloe, on drug related charges, serving notice of his preparedness to appeal against the conviction; even if the case would drag to the Supreme Court.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart rebuffed the rumours and claims that he has abdicated his parental responsibilities and deserted his son in the face of difficulties, saying he stands by his son.

The no-nonsense ambassador said, he, together with his son's counsel, has enough grounds to seek appeal, even if it means going to the highest court of the land to seek redress.

Ellis was arrested on August 29, last year, by officials of the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB) for attempting to export 695g of cannabis to the United Kingdom.

He was found guilty by a Fast Track High Court presided over by Justice Iris May Brown, an Appeal Court Judge sitting as an additional High Court Judge in Accra last week.

Ellis had been charged on two counts of attempted exportation of narcotic drugs without lawful authority and possessing narcotic drugs without lawful authority. The accused has been found guilty and sentence will be delivered on May 10 this year.

Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe told The Heritage newspaper from his Serbia base that he had absolutely nothing wrong with the decision of the court but argued that he had enough grounds to launch an appeal, with the support of his son's counsel, Ellis Owusu-Fordjour.

"I believe strongly in the rule of law and I have no problems with the decision of the competent court of jurisdiction. It is impor¬tant to respect the courts' decision. I have nothing to say. But as a lay¬man I think we need to ask a few questions.

"The boy was in police custody for five months without trial, the case has only been heard by one person, so our lawyers will appeal against the ruling, even if we have to go to the Supreme Court", he stated in the telephone interview.

Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe, a former chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), told The Heritage that it was important for other legal wigs to listen and advance their interpretation of the matter.