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Opinions of Thursday, 16 May 2019

Columnist: K. Badu, UK

‘I told you so’: There goes the witch-hunting rendition!

Asiedu Nketiah Asiedu Nketiah

Subsequent to the successful inauguration of the Special Prosecutor’s Board last year, I instinctively predicted that the suspects and their brassbound followers will most likely cry foul play over investigations into their dealings.

And, lo and behold, just a year down the line, my visceral prognostication has come to pass; the witch-hunting chorus is plangently reeking through the atmosphere.

The cacophonous witch-hunting rendition followed the sensational news that His Excellency Ex-President Mahama is allegedly amongst the 25 suspects being investigated for bribery and corruption by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

Unsurprisingly, the likes of Kwakye-Ofosu and Asiedu-Nketia are all over the place shrieking, nagging and grumbling over the purported list of suspects being investigated by Martin Amidu(‘Martin Amidu does not know his job, he is a joker-Asiedu Nketia fires’; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0LJwXGlNBg).

Strangely, though, the same people who were gleefully singing the praises of Martin Amidu on his appointment as the Special Prosecutor are now calling him a joker just because he is allegedly investigating suspects from the Umbrella fraternity. How bizarre?

In fact, I was extremely dumbfounded when I heard the NDC General-Secretary, Johnson Asiedu-Nketia, unabashedly scoffing at Martin Amidu for allegedly ‘witch-hunting’ the NDC suspects.

According to Asiedu-Nketia, the Office of the Special Prosecutor was set up mainly to investigate and prosecute the officials of the incumbent administration.

So, in Asiedu-Nketia’s isolated thinker’s view, by chasing the suspects of the outgone NDC administration, Martin Amidu is resorting to needless witch-hunting. How pathetic?

Consequently, the firebrand NDC General-Secretary, Asiedu-Nketia, unblushingly referred to Martin Amidu as a celebrated joker, who does not know what he is doing.

The seemingly eccentric behaviour reeks of self-pity and self-deception, so to speak.

In fact, I have not heard the Npp brassbound loyalists ventilating their fury in condemnation over the names of the NPP officials on the Special Prosecutor’s list.

The overarching question then is: Why be alarmed of witch-hunting if you are not a witch?

Likewise, why must anyone take to his/her heels at the sight of law enforcers if there is nothing to hide?

After all, they say ‘there is no smoke without fire’.

It is extremely worrying that people calling themselves true Ghanaians can oppose for example, the investigations into the Members of Parliament who shamelessly took double salaries at the detriment of the poor and disadvantaged Ghanaians.

In fact, the likes of NDC founder, J. J. Rawlings and the Honourable Bagbin, the MP for Nadoli Kaleo, have been expressing grave concern over the wanton sleazes and corruption in the Mahama’s administration.

Somewhere last year, the NDC founder and the former president of Ghana, J. J. Rawlings, boldly came out and told the good people of Ghana that a former NDC minister extravagantly purchased two luxurious mansions worth at an incredible $3 million from an estate agent in Accra shortly after the Mahama’s government exited power (see: ‘NDC minister grabs two mansions’; dailyguidenetwork.com, 12/06/2018).

Besides, prior to the NDC’s 2019 flagbearership contest, the Honourable Bagbin, the MP for Nadoli Kaleo and a contestant of the NDC’s presidential race, attributed the humiliating defeat of Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2016 general elections to bad governance (See: ‘Mahama's boys bought V8, built mansions in 4 years – Bagbin; myjoyonline.com/ghanaweb.com, 19/08/2018).

Mr Bagbin was reported to have quizzed somewhat dejectedly: “Don’t tell me that the boys that suddenly came closer to the president within four years can build mansions and buy land cruisers and you say there are no resources, where are they getting the money, their salaries?”

The fact, though, remains that a large portion of Ghana’s scarce resources, regrettably, went down the drain due to the unbridled sleazes and corruption perpetrated by the officials of the erstwhile Mahama’s administration.

Take, for example, not long ago, a competent court of jurisdiction convicted two of the numerous corruption suspects in the erstwhile NDC administration and sentenced them to six and twelve years respectively.

Some of us share in the sentiments of the concerned Ghanaians, who have been maintaining all along that the sins of the two convicts are meagre in comparison with the other scandalous corruption cases which took place in the erstwhile Mahama administration.

In addition, on 14th March 2018, the State filed a case of causing financial loss against the former Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD and the CEO of Zeera Group of Companies and Agricult Ghana Limited, who have been accused of embezzling over GH260 million under the watch of former President Mahama.

Moreover, credible sources have it that diligent investigations are underway in a number of suspected bribery and corruption cases, many of which are likely to end up in the law courts.

But in spite of the admissible evidence of uncontrolled sleazes and corruption in Mahama’s government, the loyalists NDC supporters would want discerning Ghanaians into believing that the erstwhile NDC government provided exceptional governance.

In ending, we hope and pray that the Special Prosecutor, Mr Martin Amidu, will work tirelessly towards the insurmountable fight against the pretentious enemies of the state, who are regrettably disguised in political clothing.

K. Badu, UK.

k.badu2011@gmail.com