NRC to invite Rawlings

For the many Ghanaians who are wondering whether former president Rawlings would ever appear before the National Reconciliation Commission here is the news; all things being equal, Mr. Jerry John Rawlings could soon be on his way to have a “chart” with Justice K.E. Amuoah Sekyi and his team.

There, he would have the opportunity to tell Ghanaians his side of the untold story. A Public Affairs Officer of the Commission Mohammed Awal confirmed to the Network Herald during an interview that some complainants have specifically cited the name of President Rawlings in some of the cases.

The Commission has therefore started with investigations into those cases to ascertain the truth or otherwise of the complaints to enable them formally invite Mr. Rawlings to appear before the Commission. Mr. Awal said prominent among the complaints raised against Mr. Rawlings is the 1982 murder of the judges and an officer of the Ghana Army.

He said even though the case was handled as a criminal case and Joachim Amartey Kwei and others sentenced to death, it appears that relatives of the slain judges are still aggrieved and are curious to know whether or not Mr. Rawlings played any role in the murder.

According to the Commission, it has received almost 3,000 cases of abduction, detention, torture and confiscation of properties among others. He said a large stock of the complaints is about the human rights abuses that characterized the erstwhile Armed Forces Revolutionary Council and the Provisional National Defense Council all under the former President.

The abuse range from killings, abductions, torture, detention without trial and unlawful confiscation of properties in the name of the state. When the office of the former president was contacted, personal assistance Victor Smith was emphatic that there has been no communication whatsoever between Mr. Rawlings or his office and the commission.

He however assured the paper that the former president who is currently out of the country has reiterated his preparedness to co-operate with the commission to enable it go about its work of healing wounds. So far according to Mr. Awal, the commission has not received any accusations against president John Agyekum Kufuor meaning he might not be invited by the commission.