Journalist at the center of the galamsey controversy Seth Mantey has denied allegations of involvement in the sale of excavators. The journalist has been indicted by a report issued by former minister of science and environment Prof. Frimpong Boateng. He has also denied ever giving an official statement to the former minister. Central Regional Correspondent Akwasi Addo had more in the following report.
Since 2019, the journalist and some other persons were at the center of conversations surrounding some 500 excavators that allegedly got missing and part of the operations of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining(IMCIM).
A recent report issued by Professor Frimpong Boateng, who chaired the committee while serving as Minister of Science, Environment and Innovation also published a statement purported to have been given to his office by Seth Mantey and further indicted him and Ekow Ewusi a former central regional executive member of the New Patriotic Party of impeding the fight against illegal mining by selling some excavators that were ceased.
Even though, the Attorney General’s office has advised that Frimpong Boateng’s report lacked evidential support and further admonished the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service to discharge all government officials mentioned in the report .
Reacting to the developments in his first time media interaction following the matter, Seth Mantey described the purported statement he gave in Frimpong Boateng’s report as a forged document. He mentions that the statement was cooked by some assigns of the former minister’s office who have since apologized to him but says he has provided his official statement to the police and special prosecutor’s office.
The journalist has denied allegations of involvement in illegal mining activities and also selling or handing over excavators to their owners after they were ceased.
He has also described as false that he served as an errand boy for Ekow Ewusi and used his personal bank account to receive bribes from illegal miners.