The overt acrimony between the Rawlingses and Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide reached perhaps its apex when the senior journalist ripped into the former first gentleman of the land questioning his “manhood”.
Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, who was refuting media allegations that he was paid £24,000 Pounds to investigate how he (Rawlings) paid his children’s school fees in Ireland, said the former president has “no balls” between his thighs for failing to name the journalist who, he (Rawlings) claims, takes $10,000 dollars a month, yet is asking journalists to stand up and speak the truth.
The Informer, a pro-NDC newspaper, in its Wednesday, September 22 edition, carried a publication with the headline “We Want To Know Why Is Kweku Baako Denying That He Was Given £24,000 pounds To Go Dig Rawlings’Children’s School files.”
But contributing to a panel discussion on PeaceFM’s flagship programme, “Kokrokoo”, the Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide pointed out that it is no secret that he has investigated into how Rawlings paid for his children’s school fees and their accommodation in Ireland, but nobody has ever asked him about it, neither has anyone given him the platform to deny or confirm the alleged £24,000 pounds as the Informer Newspaper is claiming.
He indirectly accused the newspaper of creating its own distortions and proceeding to use the distortions for their own publications.
According to him, though Mr. Rawlings urged journalists to be courageous to speak the truth, yet he (Rawlings) could not be courageous enough to mention the name(s) of the journalist who, he claims, takes $10,000 dollars a month.
The staunch Nkrumahist who has on several occasions expressed his dislike for the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Rawlingses, stressed that he has never been given £24,000 to investigate Rawlings’ children, but he was "one of the people who persistently asked President Rawlings to disclose his source of income for his children school fees" which he never did.
“…He only said it was paid by their friend but, was not ready to reveal the identity of the said friend; and this was the same person who was probing and questioning former heads of state and government officials of their source of income to pay their children’s school fess and how they managed to send them abroad, so I had declared my interest in this, even before ex-president Rawlings left office,” the outspoken political researcher said.
Mr. Baako added that, Mr. Rawlings and his wife had not been able to give the details of their benefactor, except the little he (Kweku) revealed in his investigation.
“….It’s shameful that a man of probity and accountable could not deal with such an issue and cannot deal with it even up to today, and he is calling everybody a thief…it’s pathetic…but the man himself…doesn’t have the balls between his two thighs…,” he stated.
But the host of the programme quickly cut Mr. Baako to size and drew his attention to the fact that his language was unpleasant and offensive to listeners, to which the New Crusading Guide Editor roundly apologised but not before he added, “…but sometimes this is the point… if you decide to heed this man’s goading, and his sidekicks who do not conduct any research…and this is the man…who wants to create a semblance of truth for something he is saying,” he stated.