Rawling's Four kids now school in UK

THE LAST born and only son of The President, Master Kimathi Rawlings, has been flown out of Ghana to an overseas institution, completing the full evacuation of all four children of His Excellency Flt. Lt. J.J Rawlings, who seized power in 1979 and 1981 on a wing of a revolution to liberate the masses and improve their lot.

First to fly out under a storm of controversial circumstances culminating in a television appearance was the first daughter who was shown on state television touting her academic prowess to be followed by a publication in the state-owned Mirror preparing the ground for her exit. The second daughter Yaa Asantewaa exited quietly followed by Amina, an alumnus of North Ridge Lyceum and later Morning Star.



As most Ghanaian parents struggle to overcome the retrogression that has befallen the educational system since the reform programme by the NDC government, President Rawlings and his top officials have found a way to better the future of their wards by sending them to pursue courses in foreign institutions. The latest to join was last seen at his local school, Morning Star International on September 6. Chronicle intelligence however gathers that Ireland is the most likely station.

First daughter Ms. Ezanetor Rawlings is there as a pre-med student at the University of Dublin. Daddy Rawlings has a good friend who is a major publishing tycoon and industrialist, Mr. Tony O’Reilly, owner of the publishing company that publishes The Independent among others and boss of the Heinz Baked beans.

Mr. O’Reilly was in Ghana a couple of years ago and had a look over the Tomato factory in Northern Ghana for possible acquisition. Ireland boasts of a number of solid private and public schools and lax immigration rules. Chronicle gathered that the boy’s departure was shrouded in secrecy without the knowledge of most of the teachers and some of the boy’s close friends.

Confirming the departure of Kimathi, a tutor at the school who spoke under anonymity told Chronicle that some of them were made to believe that the boy was going for an exchange programme, but there are doubts as to whether the boy would be coming back to Ghana to study.

Chronicle gathered that most of the teachers in Morning Star and Achimota schools were at a loss when early this year the first lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings in an interview with Vibe-FM, an Accra FM station, accused some of the teachers of spending their time in classes insulting them (the first family)before beginning the day’s lessons.

“To some of us the first lady surprised us”, Chronicle heard. One source close to the teaching staff noted that the boy was very well behaved and the girl too was similarly well behaved, so there could have been no justification for such treatment in the first place. President Rawlings has been a strong critic of Ghanaians who live ostentatiously and have multiple toilets in their homes.

“Some of us view the whole movement by the President and his so-called men of integrity in sending their children abroad to study as an attempt to dodge the educational mess they have created,an educationist pointed out, adding “the whole thing raises moral questions.”

“Even in farming, every good farmer must be the first to test the fruits of his/her labour before selling it to the outsiders and if the government is making noise that they have achieved a lot in education through the introduction of the new system, why are they smuggling their wards to Europe to further their education?” another asked rhetorically.