“No amount of government sponsored propaganda and distraction will take away the stigma of the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election, as darkest day in the history of Ghana’s 4th Republican democracy,” says former President John Dramani Mahama.
The former President said this in response to attacks from families of late Emmanuel Kyeremanteng Agyarko and Lance Corporal Adu Teiko and government following his [Mahama’s] meeting with some diplomats in connection to the Ayawaso West Wuogon by- election violence.
Mr. Mahama during the meeting showed videos of the assault meted out on electorates who are believed to be members of the opposition NDC, by some armed masked men in security uniforms at the by-election, including a video in which some heavily built security officers were singing and dancing at a funeral service.
Former President Mahama claimed the video in which the security officers were dancing was recorded at the burial service of the late Ayawaso West Wuogon MP and insisted the men were the same officers who assaulted NDC members at the polling station.
He said they are hoodlums of the NPP government who have been deliberately contracted to intimidate innocent Ghanaians.
Mahama’s meeting with the foreign diplomats have been condemned and he has been accused of painting Ghana black to the world.
Government has described Mahama’s narratives to the diplomats as false adding that he is on an agenda to paint Ghana black to the world.
The late Agyarko’s family has also denied that the men who brutalized people at the by-election were at the funeral of their son as suggested by Mahama.
They described the former President as a “bare faced liar” and demanded an apology from him.
The family of late Corporal Adu Teiko has also asked Mahama to desist from peddling falsehood in an attempt to score political points.
According to them, the “dancing” officers are colleagues of their late son who was buried sin August 2018 where the video was recorded.
But Former President Mahama in a statement maintained that “No amount of propaganda from the government can erase the shame this country was subjected to on that bloody Thursday”.
He explained that “The meeting held by my office in conjunction with the NDC Party and the Minority in Parliament was to correct the false impression given to the diplomatic corps that NDC was the cause of the violence in Ayawaso West Wuogon.”
In any case, this is not the first, and will not be the last time in our history that an opposition group is meeting with the diplomatic corps to explain or clarify its version or outlook on policy or events in our country.
He urged the government to ensure the perpetrators of the 31st January, 2019 violence are prosecuted as “It is those actions that paint the country black internationally, not those who expose the dastardly acts sanctioned by government and its appointees”.
Read Mahama’s statement below
HE John Dramani Mahama writes:
No amount of government sponsored propaganda and distraction will take away the stigma of the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election, as darkest day in the history of Ghana’s 4th Republican democracy.
The substance of the matter is the violence meted out to innocent Ghanaians by hoodlums of the ruling government, paraded initially as state security personnel.
Thanks to videos filmed by television stations and other individuals, the true identity of these hoodlums, identified as members of the Invincible and Delta Forces of the NPP have been revealed.
The victims, injured on the day, did not take guns and shoot themselves. They were injured by powerful assault rifles given to partisan hoodlums for the purpose of intimidating Ghanaians who were peacefully exercising their franchise in a by-election.
The meeting held by my office in conjunction with the NDC Party and the Minority in Parliament was to correct the false impression given to the diplomatic corps that NDC was the cause of the violence in Ayawaso West Wuogon.
No amount of propaganda from government can erase the shame this country was subjected to on that ‘bloody Thursday’.
In any case, this is not the first, and will not be the last time in our history that an opposition group is meeting with the diplomatic corps to explain or clarify its version or outlook on policy or events in our country.
Government must own up to its responsibilities and ensure the prosecution of the criminal elements who it deployed in Ayawaso West Wuogon. It is those actions that paint the country black internationally, not those who expose the dastardly acts sanctioned by government and its appointees.
In the public interest, let me share with you, one of the three main videos I showed at the Wednesday meeting with diplomats on the violence in Ayawaso West Wuogon. This, like the others, is a compilation available and shared widely by various media houses over the period.
18-02-2019
By: Kekeli Kuatsenu/awakenewsonline.com