Open Letter to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee

By Akua Bonsu Concerned Ghanaians Living Abroad (CGLA)

Dear Congresswoman,

You are quoted to have told Rawlings “I am confident to say you are the father of democracy. You have turned the coin on how to handle democracy, on how you define democracy, your own African democracy and we should never forget that” during your recent visit to Ghana.

For an African American congresswoman in a Jeffersonian democracy to utter such words in praise of one of Africa’s most brutal dictators is simply disturbing. Many Ghanaians who witnessed the killings, disappearances of innocent citizens, press censorship that came to be known as “the culture of silence,” whipping of women openly in the public in their genital areas, seizure of people’s personal properties, graft and corruption that Flight Lieutenant Rawlings presided over for two decades are stunned by such misguided comments from a sister congresswoman from Houston, Texas.

It is painfully naïve and down right condescending for you to describe the violence, utter disrespect for human rights, nepotism and greed that have characterized Rawlings’ rule in Ghana as a brand of “African democracy” worthy of praise. The not-so-subtle suggestion that Africa and Africans deserve a different standard of democracy smacks of superiority complex that you have been known to find unacceptable when displayed by people from the Caucasian community.

Dear Congresswoman, many lovers of democracy find it difficult to understand the motive behind your reprehensible utterances. Unfortunately you come across as a fawning sycophant when your praise singing is juxtaposed with the brutal and inhumane record of your father of democracy. Equally perplexing is your awareness of the political price your friend and former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun paid after she heaped similar public praises on Nigeria’s Sanny Abacha, a parallel of Ghana’s Rawlings. Perhaps, you need to be educated about your undemocratic hero before you attempt to rewrite the history of Ghana.

In May 1979 the father of democracy attempted a coup d’état, which failed, and he was arrested. Unlike the generals he later executed in cold blood, he was put on trial. However, on June 4, 1979, another coup d’état succeeded and the soldiers liberated Rawlings to be the leader of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. Under Rawlings’ leadership and command, between June 16 and 26, 1979, he executed three former military heads of state and five senior army officers by firing squad without trial.

The popular will of the people, given that the country was already on an timetable to democratic rule, and a split within his military junta forced Rawlings to hand over power to a democratically elected civilian government some three months later. Again on December 31, 1981 Rawlings staged another coup to overthrow the democratically elected government of Dr. Hilla Limann and ushered himself back into power with a new group he called the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC). The PNDC headed by Rawlings would terrorize Ghanaians for the next 19 years.

As an example, during curfew hours imposed by Rawlings and his Junta on the night of June 30, 1982, three Judges, Mr. Justice Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong, Mr. Fred Poku Sarkodee and Mrs. Cecilia Koranteng-Addow, a mother nursing her infant baby at the time, together with a retired Army Officer Major Sam Acquah, were abducted from their homes. The four were later found dead, with their bodies charred and decomposing at the Bundase Military Range on the Accra Plains. Those were the high profile names; untold number of Ghanaians who dared publicized their opposing views were routinely picked up in the middle of the night never to be seen or heard from again.

In 1992, Rawlings metamorphosed into a civilian administration under a political party system. His party, the National Democratic Party under Rawlings continued to suppress the fundamental human rights of Ghanaians and mismanaged the economy. In fact, the only similarity between your party and Rawlings’ NDC is the accidental insertion of the word “democratic” in the name of Rawlings National “Democratic” Party. On many occasions, your father of democracy has openly castigated the principles of democracy.

It is ironic that while you were in Ghana showering praises on Rawlings in Accra, his party goons were dishing violence and brutalities unprecedented in the annals of our political history, on the people of Akwatia during a re-run election in which the opposition party, the New Patriotic Party won. Unfortunately, rather than reading the newspapers featuring pictorial accounts of the atrocities, you were busy cozying up with a dictator. This dictator openly insults the president of Ghana because the latter, whose administration is only eight months into office, is not throwing officials of the former administration in jail fast enough. You would think the “father of democracy” would be patient enough to allow the rule of law to work.

Dear congresswoman, modern politics knows no boundaries. As you seek to influence the course of Ghana’s political history from Houston, Ghanaians can equally influence the future of your political carrier. It will therefore be in your own interest to apologize to Ghanaians for your unfortunate remarks. We know some very influential people in your congressional district who are well versed in Ghanaian politics, and who would find your statements shocking.

Sincerely, Akua Bonsu.