Just when the controversial government car saga appeared to be dying a natural death, a key actor in the controversy, John Dumelo has broken his long silence denying ever attempting to keep a government car.

The King is Mine actor told host of Joy FM’s Cosmopolitan Mix Doreen Andoh, Tuesday, he bought the car from somebody but did not know at the time whether it was a government vehicle or not.

He did not mention whom he bought the car from and the details of the transaction.

The renowned Ghanaian actor made the headlines not on the screens but in political circles late March 2017 when he was accused of driving without approval a government vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser with registration GE 8118 –16.

The car he used throughout the 2016 campaign period begging for votes for the then President John Mahama, was found at a workshop in 2017 with men trying to respray the vehicle.

It was at a time when ex-government officials were accused of running away with state vehicles forcing the state to constitute a taskforce to hunt for the missing vehicles.

According to Kwame Baffoe, spokesperson of the taskforce set up by the government to retrieve state cars which had gone missing from the garages of the state, they swooped in on the workshop after hearing Dumelo had come to remodel the vehicle.

Checks by the task force showed the vehicle belonged to the National Security but Dumelo insisted he bought the car from Svani Company Limited, a car dealer.

When pressurised further by the task force, he claimed the car was given to him by the former first lady Lordina Mahama.

Further checks with Svani Company indicated the car was among a fleet bought for use by National Security operatives. The company is used by the government to import cars for the state.

The car in question was later taken over by the task force and sent back into the pool of vehicles owned by the state.

Mr Baffoe later revealed that officers of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), are building a docket on that and at the appropriate time, Dumelo will be arraigned before court.

He mentioned a possible charge of theft of a state property that was likely to be levelled against the actor.

Almost three months after the incident, John Dumelo told the queen of the airwaves he had forgotten about the entire incident.

In a flashback of what had happened, Dumelo said he bought the car but had to let it go in the wake of the controversy.

“I would never keep a government car because I am not a government official,” he said.

Was the car a government car? Doreen probed further. “I bought the car from somebody. At that point, I wouldn’t say it was a government car or it was not a government car. Some people came and said it was a government car and I said okay keep it if it’s a government car.

He said he has settled issues with the unnamed guy from whom he bought the car from but was quick to add that he has since bought a number of cars after the incident.

“In 2010, I bought a car; in 2011 I bought another one; in 2013 [and] 2015 I bought another, so it’s something that I can afford,” he stated.