DeMohrenschildt and Ghana

[Steve Thomas]

George DeMohrenschildt always seems to turn up in places where there is political unrest.- Haiti, Ghana...

But there's no political aspects mind you.

WC testimony of George DeMohrenschildt

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/demohr_g.htm

 

Mr. JENNER. I want to get the countries now. Cuba----
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Cuba, Mexico, Ghana----
Mr. JENNER. These are your travels now?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes. That is where I actually went.
Mr. JENNER. That is what I want to know.
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Ghana, Nigeria, Togoland, and France.
Mr. JENNER. Now, all of this was in connection with the work you were doing with respect to oil exploration and gas exploration and development for what group?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. For No. 1--for Charmex. Then Cuban Venezuelan Trust--that is Warren Smith Co. Then the Three States Oil and Gas Co. in Dallas.
Mr. JENNER. Now--were there some other companies?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; then Lehman Trading Corp. in New York. I may have had other jobs, but they escape me now. But they were all consulting jobs for clients of mine either from Texas or from New York. And then in 1957 those foreign jobs led to my being pretty well known in that field. I was contacted by Core Lab in Dallas in regard to a job in Yugoslavia.
Mr. JENNER. Tell us about that. That was for----
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. That was for ICA--a job for ICA and for the Yugoslav Government.
Mr. JENNER. Tell us what ICA is.
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. International Cooperation Administration here in Washington--which wanted an oil and gas specialist to go to Yugoslavia and help them develop oil resources under the I don't know--some kind of government deal.

Mr. JENNER. You were in Ghana in 1957, was it?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. I think later than that. I think 1960, probably, or 1959.
Mr. JENNER. What led you to go to Ghana?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. I have clients in New York by the name of Lehman. The first name is Rafael Lehman, who owns the Lehman Trading Corp. I have done some work for him in Texas. A wealthy man of American and Swedish origin, who owns, among other things, stamp concessions all over Africa. They have rights to issue stamps for the Government. And this is one of those ventures that are very profitable, because they practically give the stamps gratis to the Government, and sell the stamps to the philatelic agents. And he has, I think, about 11 African countries under contract to produce stamps for them. And one of them is Ghana.
And while there--he travels around Africa all the time--he found out that there were some oil seeps in the northern part of Ghana, indications of oil. And he asked me to go there and investigate. And eventually we took a concession in the northern part of Ghana. We still are supposed to have it, this concession.
Mr. JENNER. Was it published when you went to Ghana that you were a philatelist?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. When we arrived in Ghana?
Mr. JENNER. Yes.
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Sure.
Mr. JENNER. Explain that.
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. That was a trick, because I was representing the philatelic agency, Lehman, but we did not want to let it be known to Shell Oil Co. that I was a consulting geologist.
Mr. JENNER. Don't you think Shell Oil Co. would know that George De Mohrenschildt was an oil geologist?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Well, we didn't want it to be known, anyway, because I even didn't go through--I didn't spend any time in Accra. I went right away to the northern provinces. How did you know that I went as a philatelist? You have to say that sometimes in the oil business you use certain tricks. But that was intentional on the part of Mr. Lehman, because Shell Oil Co. is supposed to have the real entry to all those countries, as far as concessions go.
Mr. JENNER. Did this venture of yours in behalf of Lehman Trading Corp. have anything--was that political in any nature, and I say political with a capital P.
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. No; of course they have to be friendly with Nkrumah, because they produce stamps for him. But that is the only affiliation they have with him.
Mr. JENNER. So this venture in Ghana had no political aspects whatsoever?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. No.
Mr. JENNER. It was entirely and exclusively business, as you have explained?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. A hundred percent business.
Mr. JENNER. Except that you were working for the International Cooperation Administration when you were in Yugoslavia first, that had no political, capital P, implications whatsoever?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. No; it was purely business.
Mr. JENNER. And your second venture in Yugoslavia for the Cardwell Tool Corp., that was strictly business?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. No politics involved?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. No.
Mr. JENNER. Have you ever been in any respect whatsoever an agent
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Never have.
Mr. JENNER. Representing----
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Never, never.
Mr. JENNER. Any government?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. You can repeat it three times.
Mr. JENNER. Any government?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. No I could take what you call the fifth amendment, but, frankly, I don't need to.
Mr. JENNER. I should say to you, Mr. De Mohrenschildt, that any time you think that your privacy is being unduly penetrated, or that you feel that your constitutional rights might be invaded, or you feel uncomfortable, you are free to express yourself.
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. You are more than welcome. I have never been an agent of any government, never been in the pay of any government, except the American Government, the ICA. And except being in the, Polish Army--$5 a month.

Well, maybe I made a mistake. Maybe I am working for the Haitian Government now. It is a contract. But it has no political affiliations.
Mr. JENNER. Subject to that.
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Again, no political angle to it.
Mr. JENNER. What I am driving at--whether you work for a foreign government or not, whether you ever have in your lifetime have you at any time had any position, which I will call political, in the capital P sense, in which you sought to advance the interests of a movement or a government or even a group against a government?
Mr. De MOHRENSCHILDT. Never have. Never was even a Mason. Never part of any political group.

 

https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana

 

Modern-day Ghana, which gained its independence on March 6, 1957, consists primarily of the former Gold Coast. The colony’s drive for independence was led by nationalist and Pan-African leader Kwame Nkrumah, who viewed Ghana’s sovereignty as being important not only for the Ghanaian people but for all of Africa, saying “Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent.” Indeed, more than 30 other African countries, spurred by Ghana’s example, followed suit and declared their own independence within the next decade.

Nkrumah quickly laid the groundwork for fiscal independence within the new country as well, embarking on many economic development projects. Unfortunately, decades of corruption, mismanagement, and military rule stymied growth and achievement.

Ghana’s administrative capital is the coastal city of Accra. Originally founded on the site of several Ga settlements, Accra developed into a prosperous trading hub; today it serves as the commercial and educational centre of the county.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana#Transition_to_independence

On 6 March 1957 at 12 a.m. Nkrumah declared Ghana's establishment and autonomy. On 1 July 1960, following the Ghanaian constitutional referendum, 1960 and Ghanaian presidential election, 1960 Nkrumah declared Ghana as a republic as the first President of Ghana.[34] 1 July is now celebrated as Republic Day.[41]

At the time of independence Nkrumah declared, "My first objective is to abolish from Ghana poverty, ignorance, and disease. We shall measure our progress by the improvement in the health of our people; by the number of children in school, and by the quality of their education; by the availability of water and electricity in our towns and villages; and by the happiness which our people take in being able to manage their own affairs. The welfare of our people is our chief pride, and it is by this that the government will ask to be judged.".[42] In 1966, a group of military officers overthrew Nkrumah in a coup d'état and placed Ghana under the authority of the National Liberation Council.[43]

 

Nkrumah was the first African head of state to promote the concept of Pan-Africanism, which he had been introduced to during his studies at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania in the United States, at the time when Marcus Garvey was becoming famous for his "Back to Africa Movement".[34

 

Steve Thomas