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Opinions of Wednesday, 18 April 2012

Columnist: Poku, Kwadwo

Ken Agyapong May Be Guilty Of Cacology But Not Of Treason,

By Kwadwo Poku

Anyone with a smidgen aptitude of literacy should be outraged about the baseless and politically motivated charges leveled against the NPP firebrand Ken Agyapong. As you well know by now, the MP for Assin North has been charged of treason ( a crime punishable by death ) for some things he said last Friday on air. I believe we've heard or read what he said so please allow me to shoot straight to the point by first giving you a comprehensive definition of treason.

The Oxford Dictionary defines treason as the offense of attempting to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender pledges allegiance or betraying the state into the hands of foreign power. Synonyms of treason are Betrayal, Perfidy and treachery. Having laid out the meaning of treason, can anyone justify the actions of the authorities that be in Ghana, for foisting a charge reserved for the likes of Rawlings?

Folks let me be clear, I don't condone the remarks made by the MP, but for him to potentially face the death penalty for venting his frustration as a result of the inactions of our security agencies in the crimes committed by devotees of the NDC regarding the ongoing voter registration makes our democracy a joke. All one has to do is to contextualize his remarks by correlating them to the voter registration crimes for one to know this is a crime of cacology ( bad choice of words ) and not treason.

The selective justice propagated by this administration is very embarrassing to say the least. Rawlings stood on stage at last year's June 4 celebrations and called Kuffuor a murderer and a thief but our security agencies never invited Rawlings for questioning giving the severity of the accusations. Recently a Fonkar aficionado accused the president's wife of taking 5 million dollars from Woyome and he was arrested. Do you see the selective justice on display? The truth of the matter is that Ken Agyapong has always been a target because of his bombastic personality and braggadocio mouth, and this poor choice of words on his part is an opportunity for the NDC to silence him once and for all. And if you think this is not politically motivated, then with all due respect you are naive.

Kwadwo Poku NY