Shame On You, Mr. Rawlings!

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.
Garden City, New York
Sept. 26, 2014
E-mail: [email protected]

When he first sought an injunction to stop Prof. Danso-Boafo from launching the latter's book titled "J. J. Rawlings And Democratic Transition In Ghana," originally scheduled for August 20, I knew right then that Ghana's longest-reigning dictator had absolutely no case against the notable political scientist and Ghana's former High Commissioner to Britain. And I had not hesitated to express just that in one of my most hurriedly written columns. I had also, back then, urged the sitting judge to let the book launch proceed on schedule.

Alas, my written support and advice came in rather too late, the direct result of distance and my not being privy to state-side developments in the matter. Significant to observe, though, is the fact that it well appears that either out of understandable pusillanimity borne out of Mr. Rawlings' bloody track-record of judicial intimidation and persecution, or sheer act of judicial red-tape and/or downright mischief, the court-scheduled date for the showdown between Messrs. Danso-Boafo and Rawlings effectively ensured that the widely anticipated book launch would be scuttled.

For me also, another aspect of the Danso-Boafo/Rawlings showdown that raised eyebrows was the fact that Mr. Samuel Atta-Akyea would allow his law firm and/or legal practice to be so depravely used by the infamous Butcher-of-Sogakope against his own maternal uncle, as I was to shortly learn after the publication of my article in support of the Danso-Boafo book launch. And even as I then frankly let on to my reliable informant, regardless of whatever axes these kinsmen and relatives had to grind - and I had been informed to the latter effect - absolutely no sound and civilized rules of ethics warranted Mr. Atta-Akyea's rather disappointing decision to allow Mr. Rawlings to further alienate these blood relatives, all glaring ideological differences notwithstanding.

At any rate, since I have already amply discussed the reasons why I strongly felt that Mr. Rawlings, other than crudely and boorishly seeking to flex his political muscles, as has been his hallmark for some three decades now, had absolutely no case and tangible reasons for which to seek judicial redress or an injunction against Prof. Danso-Boafo, I do not intend to rehash any more details about the case presently. About the only thing that I feel necessary to remark on, right now, is the fact that we have been resoundingly vindicated by Justice Mustapha Habib Logoh's ordering of the two parties to settle their differences out of court. Back in August, as I vividly recall, I predicted that the much more influential and powerful plaintiff was bound to lose his case hands down.

It clearly appears that in directing Mr. Rawlings and his lawyers to seek an out-of-court settlement, Justice Logoh had diplomatically aided the fast-aging former strongman in saving some face or whatever piddling vestiges of dignity he may still possess. It is also quite clear that the visceral and feral bully in the bloody former Ghana Airforce flight-lieutenant has yet to be tamed.

I also don't know how many pieces of silver Mr. Rawlings offered, in the form of a retainer, to Mr. Atta-Akyea and his associates to cause the latter to so gut-wrenchingly aim for the throat and jugular of Mr. Atta-Akyea's own kinsman in a matter involving the salvation of the very heart and soul of the documentary accuracy of a regrettable moment in postcolonial Ghanaian history.

At any rate, what matters more than all else is for Prof. Danso-Boafo to ensure that his academic and professional integrity is not compromised by a man desperately hell-bent on distorting the historical memories of well-meaning Ghanaians for his own cynical ends.

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