It has emerged that the embattled Chief Executive Officer of Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah, also known as NAM1, fired warning shots at his residence when some angry customers of his defunct gold dealership company besieged his residence last week.
According to Citi News’ Hanson Agyemang, the prosecutor reading the charge sheet for the case revealed that NAM1 who is the complainant gave the warning shot to scare off some of the accused who attempted scaling the wall to enter his house.
The over 90 Menzgold customers who were arrested last week, for massing up at NAM1’s residence were put before the Madina District Court in Accra on Tuesday.
The customers were charged with unlawful entry and offensive conduct after they forcibly entered the Trasacco Estates at East Legon in an attempt to confront Nana Appiah Mensah over their locked up investments.
Just 7 out of the many arrested appeared at the Madina district magistrate court on Tuesday on the basis that the time of notice was short to mobilize the others who live outside Accra.
Those who appeared pleaded not guilty to the charges against them including unlawful entry and offensive conduct to the breach of security.
The judge presiding over the case cautioned the customers who failed to appear in court.
The case has since been adjourned to February 11, 2020.
Lawyer for the accused person, Samuel Arukwei Quaye in an interview with Citi News insisted that his clients are innocent.
Background
Following an order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to suspend aspects of its operations 2018, Menzgold has since been struggling to pay its customers their monies.
Management of the gold dealership firm, Menzgold on December 27 2019, said close to 200 customers of the company had received their locked-up funds, a claim the customers disputed.
Why customers stormed NAM1’s residence
Spokesperson for the Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of Menzgold, Francis Owusu, on Eyewitness News said the reason why they stormed the residence of NAM1 was to demand from him a list of the people he claimed he had so far paid their locked-up cash.
“For almost one week now, Nana Appiah Mensah and his Menzgold have been telling lies to the general public that they have paid 200 of their customers which is false. So, as customers in the various regions, we decided that we will pay Nana Appiah Mensah a visit and find out from him who those people that he keeps telling the general public that he has been paying them are. Lo and behold we were able to get to his place at the Trassaco valley. When we got to the gate we asked the security man at the gate of Nana Appiah Mensah’s residence to allow us in and he opened the gate for us and we entered the premises,” Francis Owusu explained.
According to the customers, they did not break into the residence contrary to earlier reports that indicated that they forced their way into the Trassaco Valley Estates.
