EXECUTIVE FISTICUFFS AT A CABINET MEETING

(By Frank Agyekum, Senior correspondent for GRi)

Accra

On this Thursday morning, December 28, the thoughts of Vice President Kow Nkensen Arkaah was probably far off state affairs.

As he sat in the Cabinet meeting room, Mr Arkaah was most certainly thinking of the coming weekend and the festivities that will usher in 1996, the New Year.

Maybe he was thinking of the party that he may throw for friends and loved ones or maybe of the quiet time he will have in Church with his family. But his reverie was to end the moment President Jerry John Rawlings entered. Or at least that is what Mr Arkaah claims.

According to Arkaah, by 1020 hours on that Thursday, all the Cabinet were seated. Everybody was minding their own business and awaiting the President's arrival for the meeting to start.

"At 10:30a.m. the President, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings entered the room .... He began to make a statement on the recently held congress of my Party, the National Convention Party, but stopped short midway and without any provocation physically assaulted me," Mr Arkaah told a bewildered Press Conference in his office, the next day.

News of the previous day's happenings in Cabinet had filtered through with an official statement which said in part that after asking Arkaah to leave the meeting because of disparaging remarks he had made about the cabinet "the President then took Mr Arkaah's arm insisting that he should leave.

"Mr Arkaah reacted by attempting to shrug off the arm holding him. A few minutes later, however, Mr Arkaah was prevailed upon by his cabinet colleagues to leave the meeting."

Journalists reading between the lines could tell there was more to it than what the official statement said. But the most sceptical of them must have been shocked at what Arkaah said further:

"He gave me a terrible blow on the shoulder which sent me falling to the floor. He then attempted to pull me up by the shoulder in order to hit me further; he tore the shoulder of the jacket in the process.

"In his frustration, he kicked me a couple of times in the groin, before members present were able to restrain him."

Mr Arkaah, flanked by his wife, Marian, and senior members of his party, said President Rawlings asked him not repeat not to attend cabinet meetings any more because of statements he (Arkaah) is alleged to have made at a National Convention Party (NCP) meeting in Kumasi recently.

An official release issued on the incident accused Mr Arkaah, among other things, of undermining the integrity of cabinet by describing its meetings as "fora for corrupt and unscrupulous plans."

Mr Arkaah said he vehemently denied the allegations. "... but my attempt to stand my ground was met with pleadings from colleagues to leave the room for my own safety as the President was shoving and pushing his way towards me declaring that l should leave forthwith. "Throughout all this commotion, l did not attempt at any moment to hit back or throw anything against him due to my respect for him as President of the Republic."

Well, if even 68 year old Arkaah wanted to, he couldn't fight back, because his diminutive stature, is no match to the huge and mass body of strength of the President.

President Rawlings, after all is a soldier and he won the coveted "speedbird" trophy for excellence in flying and marksmanship while a student at the Military College.

Rumours has it that he is a martial art expert and a good boxer and swimmer as well. But all this, perhaps, makes one agonize with Arkaah at the excruciating pain he must have felt from the President's punches.

Arkaah said a medical report on the incident showed that his eye, which had just been operated on has been hurt by the blows.

Public sympathy on the incident is divided. Among pro government supporters, there are those who deny that any such incident happened and others who think Arkaah deserved what happened for continuously attacking the President.

Vincent Assiseh, NDC Press Secretary, for instance, told a BBC interview, the President is such an amiable fellow who hardly ever gets annoyed. He claims he cannot bring himself to think the Rawlings could have beaten Arkaah.

The opposition parties, of course, are making a lot of the incident and both the New Patriotic Party, and the Peoples Convention Party, as well as the Alliance for Change, a pressure group have called for either the resignation of the president or his impeachment by Parliament.

Well both events seem unlikely as Rawlings who has ruled Ghana since 1981, first Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council and then since 1992 as President, will most certainly not resign.

Secondly, the NDC dominated Parliament, seen by many as a "rubber stamp" for Rawlings' policies will just not countenance any attempts at impeaching the President. In the event the opposition parties and pressure groups will be left with only demonstrations and rallies to press home their demands which all only go to raise the temperature in this election.

Many people see this year as being crucial to Ghana's democratic process and the "presidential fisticuffs" has only gone to set the tone, even before, campaigning for the November elections has been formally launched. But more of that later.

Right now many people have started singing doomsday songs but parting of ways between Arkaah and Rawlings does show how time can change things.

Once upon time, the Arkaah and Agyeman families (the first lady is an Agyeman) were close friends. It is said on the grapevine that oldman Agyeman, of blessed memory, and Arkaah were the best of buddies. The two families saw each other's home as theirs and of the Agyeman children, Nana Konadu nee Mrs Rawlings was Arkaah's favourite.

Nana Konadu it is said was a bride's maid at Arkaah wedding. When Nana Konadu came of age and was to take a husband, although her heart was for Jerry, oldman Agyeman, of blessed memory, was said not to be well disposed towards the young Air Force Officer. Perhaps it was for his fiery nature.

And so when the NDC in 1992 was looking for running mate and Arkaah came up, all was expected to be "smooth running" between them. The opposite has really been the case.

Arkaah has complained about being sidelined in the taking of important state decisions and in recent times has spared no effort at condemning policies of the ruling NDC.

The "cold war" between the two topmost officers in the country has been bad enough but the latest incident seem to throw the rift beyond repairs. Although Arkaah says he will be willing to take an apology and let matters be, it is doubtful if Rawlings will render any.

The situation is likely to more tense in coming days, and one only hopes that the Council of State which will be meeting over the issue next week, could come up with a resolution.

For now the two heads at the top don't meet and its repercussions on the country's international image could be anybody's guess.