An arrest warrant must be submitted to interpol by government to bring back Amedeka wherever he is hiding. In order to extract the beautiful truth from him.
if he is innocent why is he worried about the re-emergence of the case and an attempt to solve a murder mystery? why is an ex-president worried about the re-opening of a murder case whether it has already been solved or not
what about the 3 appeal court judges who were killed after it became known that they had decided to listen to the appeal of some called convicted criminals? and also the retired army officer who was killed in cold blood? these are the main issues here and it cannot be swept under the carpet
I don't need to be 56 years old. so if the culprits were caught why is he worried about a mere documentary? why does he feel like it's an attempt to implicate him? What power did Amartey Kwei (a civilian) had that enable him gather soldiers to abduct 3 supreme court judges and take them to a shooting range to kill them? A week ago Rawlings said he had a bombshell to drop about this particular case. A bombshell? why did he not drop this bombshell during the reconciliation? Furthermore I thought he said the matter was solved and you agreed. Now where from this bombshell too
the documentary will go on and if further investigation is warranted, it will be welcomed by the public. Mr. Rawlings should not fear anything if he is innocent
From the comment of Mr Kweku Baaku jnr who emphasised in his statement I gathered that Rawlings and his boys were not that matured even though they could not bare the way our corrupt former/late leaders were distributing the wealth of the nation amongst themselves, friends and relatives at the expense of the suffering masses. I believe they were used by Captain Kojo Tsikata to settle a score with the murdered judges and retired army officer or perhaps a kind of sacrifice. It is very sad to note that a good percentage of Ghana's population are Christians and a greater percentage of these Christians are only church goers. If only our leaders would perform their duties diligently with the fear God, praying against wicked manipulations and negative influences, selfishness and greed, tribalism, favouritism and partisanship Ghana would have been a very peaceful and wealthy nation. But alas these very abominations are happening in our families, work places and unfortunately in the Church where we are suppose to seek for advice. God bless our former Chief Justice Mrs. Georgina Wood!
None of the executed generals distributed Ghana’s wealth amongst themselves! Rawlings has more material wealth and properties than the possessions of all the generals put together! None of them had anything in their local bank accounts. None of them had a foreign account. None of them, except General Kotei, had a house!
Discuss the 5 billion dollars missing in the export of Ghana gold to the UAE. That money can be used in improving the road network and education in Ghana. The cause of military coup is corruption but you refuse to discuss corruption.
In the time of hitler german leader regime, because of their dehumanized ativities they were all prosecuted and be prison 4 life to set an example. Even those who ran to other countries were later arrested one after the other and prosecuted. Some of them were 90years before they were caught jet they were sent to prison 4 the rest of their life. So if we continuon to say forgiveness, people would not stop their wicked actions it will take them to hell. God punished mankind to help us to live right. Dus why people don't learn any lesson. People steal lots of money, because no punishment, they 're eager want to come and continuon their stealing. We 're not serious as a nation. Punishment is dicipline
Nothing wrong with this documentary, not the timing. Elsewhere documentaries are done on all sort of cases. Why are we complaining about this one, when all they have done is to put out all the information available regarding this Saga. This is good journalistic work. He only told the story as it is. Judgment left to you and I. After listening to all the commissions and enquiries I be e a form belief that indeed justice has dnot been fully served yet.
Documentaries are done on solved cases, mysterious stories... should that not be done for UNSOLVED MURDERS which only one person and two friends think it was SOLVED
kwaku baku RAwllings do not and Will not trust any commission of reconciliation of Ghana because of the betraying spirit and people he fought against as Ghanaians period
This Panel's constitution was skewed from the very beginning, the relevant points made by the members notwithstanding. Apart from the MP, all the 3 other members have deep political bias against J. J. and the NDC and that sadly blights the outcome of this discussion. Kweku Baako has a longstanding beef against the former President, Rawlings, first for his incarceration by the J. J.'s Military Regime, and second for his close association with the CPP Liman Administration that was overthrown by J.J. Ben Ephson, is also a known CPP sympathizer who has always had some animus against J.J. for the same overthrow of Liman. Then, we have Sammy Awuku who, as a staunch NPP operative, has always lambasted J. J. both for his Coups and political opposition against J.J.'s Party he founded, the NDC. It must also be pointed out that there is also a possible bias by the MP in favor of Rawlings both on Tribal and Partisan grounds. Now, I could claim to have also been very alert to what proceeded in the era of all these crimes referred to in the discussion. Much of the evidence that was collected in the so-called NRC was inadequate, and was led to purposefully ensure the establishment of some prior notions about the Murders as the only truths. As much as I fully appreciate that J. J. should have been ready and willing to testify without being forced by subpoena to do so, I strongly believe the main reason why Kufuor's NPP decided for the NRC was to find a way to authenticate its tightly held incriminatory views against J.J. to be on permanent record. J. J. did not do himself any good by being recalcitrant. Had he readily and voluntarily come before the Commission to strongly deny his involvement, and apologize unconditionally that the crime could happen on his watch as the Head of State, this resurfacing of insinuations of his complicity could have been averted. Surely, the Murders were conducted by folks who were close to him. But there were ample reasons to doubt that J.J. would have ordered for such a crime to be committed. As I have explained elsewhere, he was not stupid enough to have done so, knowing fairly well that the repercussions could negatively impact on his reputation and that of his Administration. Secondly, it was all too obvious that the Murders would cause the PNDC to be seen by the Public as simply murderous, and tribalistic, something the PNDC had long struggled to disabuse the Public's mind of. What is most plausible is that there might have been a shared animosity within J.J.'s immediate circle against the Judges and the killers simply acted upon it, thinking that they could get away with the Murders as being part of the casualties of the Revolution. They were highly mistaken. I strongly believe that if J.J. had really wanted the Judges and the Major to be killed, he would have done so earlier in the heat of the Revolution. If we even decide to base our assumptions on the fact that whatever the Judges did that got the perpetrators angry with them happened after the heat of the Revolution, when its heat had long subsided, and that is why J.J. could not have ordered their killing earlier, I would think that such lateness is more the reason why J. J. might not have even wanted them killed. Additionally, he could have punished the Judges in many other ways, including sacking them or trapping them with some sensitive breach of Judicial norms to try them in Court and jail them. If he had been complaining about how some Judges were trying to undermine his Administration, opting for Murder would have been too glaring a crime that even a child could see him as the first likely culprit. And, he was not that stupid to have done so. I also witnessed the dark cloud that came hanging over his rule at the knowledge of the Murders. J.J. 's PNDC could not have wished more that anything of that sorts could have been prevented. It is also very interesting that Tsikata was also made an easy target for culpability in the case. We should not forget that the NPP and other anti-Revolutionary leaders in the country had long hated the guy's guts, and feared him for his wide experience with fighting on the side of Pan-African Freedom Fighters outside. The USA and her other Western allies, in particular, had long tried to influence their stooges in Ghana to be weary of him, and try to rein him in at the earliest possible opportunity. He knew that and would never have actively participated in the Murders, as has been suggested, in spite of the contacts that the killers were reported to have had with him prior to their despicable, monstrous crime. The swift adjudication of the Murder case and punishment of the culprits might be deserving. But I wish their execution was too swift, and lent itself to speculations as to why. Some believe that the execution of the culprits was purposefully hurried to prevent any of them from turning coats to expose J. J. and Tsikata or any other entity involved. Having said all that, we must ask ourselves why, at all, did we settle for letting sleeping dogs lie, instead of vigorously pursuing any remnants of culpable entities in that crime, if we strongly believe there were any such folks still walking free? The Indemnity Clause only specified Acts of Government. That was more encompassing to include possible crimes by the Government. So, on that point, I do not agree with the MP. The Indemnity Clause protected J. J. and anyone who served with him in those Regimes mentioned in the Clause. However, Constitutions could be amended. And, if the Clause is thought to be too broad to allow future cases to be brought against those it tends to protect, it could be amended as such. The designers of the Constitution might have only liked to protect themselves from facing the Law for what they did in the Revolution, not after. Nevertheless, it was surely for avoiding vengeful cyclical Coups that the Indemnity Clause was left to stay in the Constitution to protect those folks. What I would wish the Constitution did with the Clause is to set a limit as to who it specifically covers. I think it should not cover any Politician who came to Power after the Revolutionary era. The Clause's eternal status makes our Heads of Status live above the Law, something that we naturally would not like to see. Had the Clause specified that only members of the past Revolutions in Ghana, and their actions in those days alone were covered, we would have ensured that future Heads of State who committed crimes could be prosecuted like any other citizen; and if folks who led those Revolutions decided to engage in future Politics they would be fully held accountable for any actions of theirs beyond the Revolution. Thus, if J. J., long after the Revolution, committed any crime at all, say, during his Civilian Rule, as the Head of State, the Clause should not have protected him for prosecution on those recent charges. Our failure to amend that Clause to separate acts in the Revolution from all other acts beyond badly skews the Constitution against the rest of the Population. It, inadvertently, indemnifies all future Heads of State who choose to do us more harm with impunity, knowing that the Clause still exists to shield them.
Very nicely expounded!! I agree with a larger part of your submission. However I wondered throughout the documentary how a man of Rawlings' stature would lose the audio recording of Amartey, such a vital piece of evidence. I still haven't lost the skeletal remains of my first dissection exercise. How and why would Rawlings not protect such an evidence with his life if he really meant to prove to us that both he and Tsikata were indeed innocent. Who signed the permit for that gang to be moving around after curfew hours. Was that person found guilty? We can all only form our judgements based on the info out there. I believe the documentary was well titled : WHO KILLED THE JUDGES?
I don't think Rawlings or any other of his cohorts ever expected to prove their innocence or otherwise to anyone. So, there was no need for them to keep any such evidence. We have to put the event in the right perspective. The event occurred within the era of serial Revolutions, where the Military acted with certain impunity, and not accountable to any particular entity, especially not in the Civil Society. There, surely, was a stratification of power within the Coup- Plotting units. But the members of the Military at large behaved with utter disregard for the Rule of Law. Remember that the Constitution had been suspended. Therefore, the whole Society was run on whimsical set of rules imposed by the ruling Junta. And, some of the lower-ranked Soldiers took advantage of that to exercise raw power over the People. Hence, my earlier suggestion that the killers might have chosen to commit that atrocity with the hope that it would be buried under the cloud of the Revolutionary casualties as some collateral damage. It is in the same vein that a lot of random individuals or small groups of Soldiers could, say, run around to cause mayhem on the Civilian Population, for whatever reason they deemed satiating to them. Such was how some Market Women in Kumasi and Makola were subjected to beatings for certain perceived infractions. The penalty inflicted on the Women were not ordered by any superior Officers, nor were they, necessarily, encoded in any particular decree by the Junta. It is this later aspect of the Coups that made them increasingly unpopular, even though some of them were readily heartily welcomed by the general Public when they occurred. J. J., for instance, was heralded as some divine messenger to save the down-trodden and neglected poor, and the Masses dubbed him 'Junior Jesus', when he first came upon the scene. But, now, we all see how widely notorious some regard him to be. One might say, hindsight is always 20/20.
@@bamb1006 Did you actually understand what I wrote? You may be blind by your own entrenched bias. At best, you only read part of my piece, not fully. Shame on you! Go back and read it again, or stay the heck out of this discussion. I am struggling to exempt you from the bunch of fact-twisting morons that have made Ghana abhorrent to truth and honesty. A believable panel is one that is not preponderantly biased, and with members who have vested interest in one way or the other. Long Live Ghana!!!
HAHAHAHA One bodyguard of JJ recently said JJ POPPED champagne when he heard his guys have finished them.Mr. RAWLINGS killed these Judges and the retired major.
Kweku Baako is a trouble maker. Why visit this case. What is your interest? Go and get something better to do about the development of Ghana. Litigation will not get you anywhere. Stop the nonsense .
Kwaku, who established the NRC? Is it not Kuffuor and his Cohorts who were trying hard to pin on Rawlings of the death of Judges? The NRC summary you read wasn’t a true findings but assumption
Clinton Obrempon-Garmor: only in Ghana that some of you follow Politicians blindly. I travelled extensively and I live in the US. I don't follow that non-factual emotional argument. I believe in evidence-based case and legal proceedings, not a report of assumption.
Pastor Bright Amegazo have you by any chance gone through the facts laid on board and actually thought about the possibilities to the initial outcome being shallow? If you haven’t get those details and think about the possibilities rather than condemn right away
Truly truly, although my family was caught in the Cross-fire during Rawlings regime, l want Rawlings to come back again. I will vote for Rawlings if he stands for election again. You will be surprised to see more people support the come back of Rawlings than June 4.
Joseph Enkum Here’s what was achieved by the PNDC: 1. The PNDC stands as the only government in Ghana’s history to spend as much if not more time developing the rural areas than the urban areas. Of course, it improved roads and infrastructure, but it did something that no government since Nkrumah did for fear of losing elections to an urban electorate; it spread distribution across the country. The exodus of rural dwellers to urban areas like Accra, Kumasi etc stymied. Slowing the increase of traffic in the urban areas, reducing crime rates, and poverty. It was now possible to become a rich farmer; and several people went into commercial farming. Farmers day in the 1980s and ‘90s was not some tocken something. It truly was worth celebrating, with massive farms being developed by those who went into it. Young men who otherwise would come to Accra to be taxi drivers etc, went back home to farm. 2. The PNDC enbarked on a massive electrification program that moved Ghana’s electricity penentration from 23% to 89%; which is where it still remains. Ghana has one of the highest electrificity penentrations in Africa and rates fairly compared to many parts of the world, due to the efforts of the PNDC. 3. Africa was hit hard by AIDS and had suffered for decades under the 6 childhood killer diseases. Women had several children due to massive infant mortality. Rawlings and Nana konadu embarked on a massive education campaign to educate Ghanaians about the 6 killer diseases, family planning and HIV. Compared to other African countries, Ghana went through the worst of the AIDS crisis fairly well, And by the late 90s, many of the childhood killer diseases were erradicated; some making a re-appearance only in the early to mid 2000s due to neglect of any program of innoculation and education. Many railways that had gone into disrepair were fixed and new ones added; people don’t appreciate exactly how much had been left to decay since Nkrumah’s time over the 30yrs between the Presidents. Rawlings’ government reversed this damage and maintained the Accra-Tema mottoway at great costs, but with material that would survive throughout the period; only beginging to show cracks, potholes etc in the mid 2000s where the trend became developing roads quickly with sub-par material which doesnt last a few days of rain, but can be bragged about for elections. The trend continues to this day, and the mottoway is in such a sorry state, and such an accident risk to motorists, it only awaits a horrible catastrophe for people to appreciate how bad its gotten. Despite the dip in the Economy that had started in the mid 70s and culminated in the 1982 faming, Rawlings government with dilligence and efficient management , stabilized the economy by 1984, and by 1986/87, Ghana’s economy looked promising, permitting Ghana to qualify for the largest investment it had received since Nkrumah’s era. By 1993, Ghana owed 0 Cedis debt for it. The only time in Ghana’s history where it owed that low. This burst of funding allowed Ghana to modernize rapidly in the early to mid 90s, with technologies coming in and rapid telecommunication infrastructral increase. Remember this would be the decade where several television stations would arise, and internet and mobile phones would begin to proliferate. This was all due to the boost to the economy, which didn’t disappear into the pockets of people like is seen in the 2000s and 2010s, but went exactly where it was needed. Despite facing 89 attempts by the CIA, British and French intelligence to unseat him, Rawling maintained a very modest lifestyle until the 1992 constitution barred him; from driving himself throughout the 1980s, actively doing innoculations himself, moving round the country educating communities about family planning and sanitation, what we call Walatu walasa, where Rawlings alongside laborers and soldiers actively did clean up campaigns in gutters, constructing railroads etc. Trees were built across the urban areas to lower the temperatures of roads as well as offer shade to pedestrians as they commuted and traveled in the hot sun. By the early 2000s, these would mostly be cut down to make way for ever larger and ever more grouper billboards; with regulation regarding their placement beiny anybody’s guess. Areas such as Lagos Avenue, East Legon, Ridge, Cantonments, Asylum Down and Airport which once looked closer to what 37 remains as today, with canopy of trees, were changed after the 90s. Rare, but in certain areas, the holes where the trees were grown from the pavement laid in the late 90s, such as Asylum down and Airport remain till this day. A stable economy, a military that were not abused, improving healthcare, and a growing middle class greatly contributed to a stable 4th republic which rewarded Rawlings, despite stiff competition from no less than 7 parties, an NPP heavily backed by The Western powers and for the first time since 1966, a legally contesting CPP, Ghana gave Rawlings 2 more terms; a move that didnt only validate the wider public’s approval of Rawlings in what independent observers witnessed as some of the free-est and fairest elections in the sub region (and certainly in the 4th republic), but also gave Ghana, for the first time ever, a stable Political climate we still enjoy today. While Kuffuor might have claimed the need to go HIPC as evidence of mismanagement of thr Economy in the late 90s, Kuffuor left governemnt in 2008, having left the country in deeper debts than he came to meet. Prof. Atta Mills however managed to grow the economy into a middle income country without the need for such a humiliating policy that effectively shamed Ghana in front of the rest of the world. During the 80s and 90s, a battered and humiliated army rehabilitated itself and became one of the strongest in the sub region and the most professional army in Africa, being noted especially on Peace Keeping missions for their discipline and skill. Ghana’a first elite force was set up Rawlings administration, and Ghana was the spearhead in such ECOMOG peacekeeping Missions in Liberia, extending Brand Ghana’s reputation as a reliable and competent ally both in Africa and a respected nation in the world, with an eloquent, charismatic and proud Pan African at the helm. Like many things, this reputation will change in the early 2000s, when the military budget was so cut that Ghana was preported as having only 3 functional aircrafts by 2004 and an army whose level of education had reduced drastically. Ghana will no longer partake in most peacekeeping efforts, and with one of the strongest forces in Africa out of play, ECOMOG would weaken greatly from a force to reckon with, to a force only in name. It would be under Kuffuor Ghana’s army would finally lose its teeth to seize power on behalf of the people; a fact Rawlings has been known to point out. In his words, he is not to thank for the ending of coups in Ghana. The army will take power if leadership is so negligent and corrupt that it warrants an intervention. However, it is Kuffuor who we must thank for that. His efforts crippled the Ghana army, and it has yet to recover to its height as seen in the 90s.
kwaku baako mr. all-knowing, if you know where amedeka is, why not go pick him up?? mere citizens of no significant value to your country but best at noise making
Pastor Bright Amegazo Foolishness. What legacy does Rawlings have that kuffour would attempt to destroy? Almost 20 years in power and what did Rawlings achieve? Rawlings have no legacy that true Ghanaians can be proud of. History proves that fact.
kwaku baako mr. all-knowing, if you know where amedeka is, why not go pick him up?? mere citizens of no significant value to your country but best at noise making
Ghanaian journalism should emulate Kwaku Baakos integrity
Kwaku Baako is a liar
Vintage Kweku Baako makes the rest of the panelists look like students taking lectures
He is just incredible. such an asset to mother Ghana
An arrest warrant must be submitted to interpol by government to bring back Amedeka wherever he is hiding. In order to extract the beautiful truth from him.
Why are you much interested in the killing than what actually caused the killing.
I salute you
Mr. kweku Baako, you’re very intelligent man. I’m proud of you sir.
if he is innocent why is he worried about the re-emergence of the case and an attempt to solve a murder mystery? why is an ex-president worried about the re-opening of a murder case whether it has already been solved or not
we cannot move from this
what about the 3 appeal court judges who were killed after it became known that they had decided to listen to the appeal of some called convicted criminals? and also the retired army officer who was killed in cold blood? these are the main issues here and it cannot be swept under the carpet
I don't need to be 56 years old. so if the culprits were caught why is he worried about a mere documentary? why does he feel like it's an attempt to implicate him? What power did Amartey Kwei (a civilian) had that enable him gather soldiers to abduct 3 supreme court judges and take them to a shooting range to kill them?
A week ago Rawlings said he had a bombshell to drop about this particular case. A bombshell? why did he not drop this bombshell during the reconciliation? Furthermore I thought he said the matter was solved and you agreed. Now where from this bombshell too
the documentary will go on and if further investigation is warranted, it will be welcomed by the public. Mr. Rawlings should not fear anything if he is innocent
if you find him guilty go for him right this moment. nonsense!
The history of the three judges and the military officer must be told to Ghanaians
it on our iii
the ii
uhuuu
Acts of GOVERNMENT = not Amartey et co secret KILLINGS
If he is guilty, why is he walking free
Because is Ghana 😀😎
First time listening to Mr Sammy Awuku and i can support the wisdom the youth expressed about him
From the comment of Mr Kweku Baaku jnr who emphasised in his statement I gathered that Rawlings and his boys were not that matured even though they could not bare the way our corrupt former/late leaders were distributing the wealth of the nation amongst themselves, friends and relatives at the expense of the suffering masses.
I believe they were used by Captain Kojo Tsikata to settle a score with the murdered judges and retired army officer or perhaps
a kind of sacrifice. It is very sad to
note that a good percentage of Ghana's population are Christians and a greater percentage of these Christians are only church goers.
If only our leaders would perform their duties diligently with the fear God, praying against wicked manipulations and negative influences, selfishness and greed, tribalism, favouritism and partisanship Ghana would have been a very peaceful and wealthy nation. But alas these very abominations are happening in our
families, work places and unfortunately in the Church where we are suppose to seek for advice.
God bless our former Chief Justice Mrs. Georgina Wood!
None of the executed generals distributed Ghana’s wealth amongst themselves! Rawlings has more material wealth and properties than the possessions of all the generals put together! None of them had anything in their local bank accounts. None of them had a foreign account. None of them, except General Kotei, had a house!
@@twumampong2303 So very true,Ghanaians are witnesses to such a situation.
He wanted PERPETRATORS and wanted one of perpetrators to clear a friend through a TAPE.
What's Mr Rawling's official response to the SIB conclusive findings? This document should be made available to posterity.
Awuku is a very intelligent. Guy
An old woman feels uneasy when DRY BONES are mentioned............
Sammy Awuku has said it all , I don't know the motive of Joy
They were swiftly killed to bury the truth. Why Kojo Tsikata was not prosecuted?
Why are you insisting on being brief about such an important issue?
Was he worried that more conspirators to that crime could be dug......
Rawlings can be prosecuted if the Government should man up
Why not your mutter
There no other crimes of equal measure
Amedeka shd write something from the hide out from ARTIC
I was 22yrs living by old arakan press with some signal regiment soldiers and lived throuh that period.
Discuss the 5 billion dollars missing in the export of Ghana gold to the UAE. That money can be used in improving the road network and education in Ghana. The cause of military coup is corruption but you refuse to discuss corruption.
In the time of hitler german leader regime, because of their dehumanized ativities they were all prosecuted and be prison 4 life to set an example. Even those who ran to other countries were later arrested one after the other and prosecuted. Some of them were 90years before they were caught jet they were sent to prison 4 the rest of their life. So if we continuon to say forgiveness, people would not stop their wicked actions it will take them to hell. God punished mankind to help us to live right. Dus why people don't learn any lesson. People steal lots of money, because no punishment, they 're eager want to come and continuon their stealing. We 're not serious as a nation. Punishment is dicipline
Nothing wrong with this documentary, not the timing. Elsewhere documentaries are done on all sort of cases. Why are we complaining about this one, when all they have done is to put out all the information available regarding this Saga. This is good journalistic work. He only told the story as it is. Judgment left to you and I. After listening to all the commissions and enquiries I be e a form belief that indeed justice has dnot been fully served yet.
Documentaries are done on solved cases, mysterious stories... should that not be done for UNSOLVED MURDERS which only one person and two friends think it was SOLVED
So he applied SWIFT punishment which other courts cannot and RELUCTANT to go and boldly express how SWIFT his no nonsense PNDC acted
What do you think of the rain that stopped the destruction of evidence...
Did you find the killer or killers?
What about those who sold our forfathers into slavery
kwaku baku RAwllings do not and Will not trust any commission of reconciliation of Ghana because of the betraying spirit and people he fought against as Ghanaians period
Action(s) speak
this host’s brains and disposition is at the level of my 6-year old daughter. he only wants to be told what his ears want to hear
This Panel's constitution was skewed from the very beginning, the relevant points made by the members notwithstanding. Apart from the MP, all the 3 other members have deep political bias against J. J. and the NDC and that sadly blights the outcome of this discussion. Kweku Baako has a longstanding beef against the former President, Rawlings, first for his incarceration by the J. J.'s Military Regime, and second for his close association with the CPP Liman Administration that was overthrown by J.J.
Ben Ephson, is also a known CPP sympathizer who has always had some animus against J.J. for the same overthrow of Liman. Then, we have Sammy Awuku who, as a staunch NPP operative, has always lambasted J. J. both for his Coups and political opposition against J.J.'s Party he founded, the NDC.
It must also be pointed out that there is also a possible bias by the MP in favor of Rawlings both on Tribal and Partisan grounds.
Now, I could claim to have also been very alert to what proceeded in the era of all these crimes referred to in the discussion. Much of the evidence that was collected in the so-called NRC was inadequate, and was led to purposefully ensure the establishment of some prior notions about the Murders as the only truths. As much as I fully appreciate that J. J. should have been ready and willing to testify without being forced by subpoena to do so, I strongly believe the main reason why Kufuor's NPP decided for the NRC was to find a way to authenticate its tightly held incriminatory views against J.J. to be on permanent record.
J. J. did not do himself any good by being recalcitrant. Had he readily and voluntarily come before the Commission to strongly deny his involvement, and apologize unconditionally that the crime could happen on his watch as the Head of State, this resurfacing of insinuations of his complicity could have been averted.
Surely, the Murders were conducted by folks who were close to him. But there were ample reasons to doubt that J.J. would have ordered for such a crime to be committed. As I have explained elsewhere, he was not stupid enough to have done so, knowing fairly well that the repercussions could negatively impact on his reputation and that of his Administration. Secondly, it was all too obvious that the Murders would cause the PNDC to be seen by the Public as simply murderous, and tribalistic, something the PNDC had long struggled to disabuse the Public's mind of.
What is most plausible is that there might have been a shared animosity within J.J.'s immediate circle against the Judges and the killers simply acted upon it, thinking that they could get away with the Murders as being part of the casualties of the Revolution. They were highly mistaken. I strongly believe that if J.J. had really wanted the Judges and the Major to be killed, he would have done so earlier in the heat of the Revolution. If we even decide to base our assumptions on the fact that whatever the Judges did that got the perpetrators angry with them happened after the heat of the Revolution, when its heat had long subsided, and that is why J.J. could not have ordered their killing earlier, I would think that such lateness is more the reason why J. J. might not have even wanted them killed.
Additionally, he could have punished the Judges in many other ways, including sacking them or trapping them with some sensitive breach of Judicial norms to try them in Court and jail them. If he had been complaining about how some Judges were trying to undermine his Administration, opting for Murder would have been too glaring a crime that even a child could see him as the first likely culprit. And, he was not that stupid to have done so.
I also witnessed the dark cloud that came hanging over his rule at the knowledge of the Murders. J.J. 's PNDC could not have wished more that anything of that sorts could have been prevented. It is also very interesting that Tsikata was also made an easy target for culpability in the case. We should not forget that the NPP and other anti-Revolutionary leaders in the country had long hated the guy's guts, and feared him for his wide experience with fighting on the side of Pan-African Freedom Fighters outside. The USA and her other Western allies, in particular, had long tried to influence their stooges in Ghana to be weary of him, and try to rein him in at the earliest possible opportunity. He knew that and would never have actively participated in the Murders, as has been suggested, in spite of the contacts that the killers were reported to have had with him prior to their despicable, monstrous crime. The swift adjudication of the Murder case and punishment of the culprits might be deserving. But I wish their execution was too swift, and lent itself to speculations as to why. Some believe that the execution of the culprits was purposefully hurried to prevent any of them from turning coats to expose J. J. and Tsikata or any other entity involved.
Having said all that, we must ask ourselves why, at all, did we settle for letting sleeping dogs lie, instead of vigorously pursuing any remnants of culpable entities in that crime, if we strongly believe there were any such folks still walking free? The Indemnity Clause only specified Acts of Government. That was more encompassing to include possible crimes by the Government. So, on that point, I do not agree with the MP. The Indemnity Clause protected J. J. and anyone who served with him in those Regimes mentioned in the Clause.
However, Constitutions could be amended. And, if the Clause is thought to be too broad to allow future cases to be brought against those it tends to protect, it could be amended as such. The designers of the Constitution might have only liked to protect themselves from facing the Law for what they did in the Revolution, not after. Nevertheless, it was surely for avoiding vengeful cyclical Coups that the Indemnity Clause was left to stay in the Constitution to protect those folks.
What I would wish the Constitution did with the Clause is to set a limit as to who it specifically covers. I think it should not cover any Politician who came to Power after the Revolutionary era. The Clause's eternal status makes our Heads of Status live above the Law, something that we naturally would not like to see. Had the Clause specified that only members of the past Revolutions in Ghana, and their actions in those days alone were covered, we would have ensured that future Heads of State who committed crimes could be prosecuted like any other citizen; and if folks who led those Revolutions decided to engage in future Politics they would be fully held accountable for any actions of theirs beyond the Revolution.
Thus, if J. J., long after the Revolution, committed any crime at all, say, during his Civilian Rule, as the Head of State, the Clause should not have protected him for prosecution on those recent charges. Our failure to amend that Clause to separate acts in the Revolution from all other acts beyond badly skews the Constitution against the rest of the Population. It, inadvertently, indemnifies all future Heads of State who choose to do us more harm with impunity, knowing that the Clause still exists to shield them.
Very nicely expounded!! I agree with a larger part of your submission. However I wondered throughout the documentary how a man of Rawlings' stature would lose the audio recording of Amartey, such a vital piece of evidence. I still haven't lost the skeletal remains of my first dissection exercise. How and why would Rawlings not protect such an evidence with his life if he really meant to prove to us that both he and Tsikata were indeed innocent.
Who signed the permit for that gang to be moving around after curfew hours. Was that person found guilty? We can all only form our judgements based on the info out there. I believe the documentary was well titled : WHO KILLED THE JUDGES?
I don't think Rawlings or any other of his cohorts ever expected to prove their innocence or otherwise to anyone. So, there was no need for them to keep any such evidence. We have to put the event in the right perspective. The event occurred within the era of serial Revolutions, where the Military acted with certain impunity, and not accountable to any particular entity, especially not in the Civil Society. There, surely, was a stratification of power within the Coup- Plotting units. But the members of the Military at large behaved with utter disregard for the Rule of Law. Remember that the Constitution had been suspended. Therefore, the whole Society was run on whimsical set of rules imposed by the ruling Junta. And, some of the lower-ranked Soldiers took advantage of that to exercise raw power over the People.
Hence, my earlier suggestion that the killers might have chosen to commit that atrocity with the hope that it would be buried under the cloud of the Revolutionary casualties as some collateral damage. It is in the same vein that a lot of random individuals or small groups of Soldiers could, say, run around to cause mayhem on the Civilian Population, for whatever reason they deemed satiating to them. Such was how some Market Women in Kumasi and Makola were subjected to beatings for certain perceived infractions. The penalty inflicted on the Women were not ordered by any superior Officers, nor were they, necessarily, encoded in any particular decree by the Junta.
It is this later aspect of the Coups that made them increasingly unpopular, even though some of them were readily heartily welcomed by the general Public when they occurred. J. J., for instance, was heralded as some divine messenger to save the down-trodden and neglected poor, and the Masses dubbed him 'Junior Jesus', when he first came upon the scene. But, now, we all see how widely notorious some regard him to be. One might say, hindsight is always 20/20.
@@ezekielakrong9273
Very brilliant and excellent rejoinder. I admire your intelligence and reasoning powers.
you support only the mp as against all the 3 panels because non of them supported your so called Rawlings.
@@bamb1006 Did you actually understand what I wrote? You may be blind by your own entrenched bias. At best, you only read part of my piece, not fully. Shame on you!
Go back and read it again, or stay the heck out of this discussion. I am struggling to exempt you from the bunch of fact-twisting morons that have made Ghana abhorrent to truth and honesty. A believable panel is one that is not preponderantly biased, and with members who have vested interest in one way or the other.
Long Live Ghana!!!
HAHAHAHA One bodyguard of JJ recently said JJ POPPED champagne when he heard his guys have finished them.Mr. RAWLINGS killed these Judges and the retired major.
Ebenezer Otoo-Baah Rawlings rarely drank in the 1980s and is a tee-to-taller now, so popping champaign is very unlikely. This sounds like hear-say.
I think this is no longer a secret, I think he was a psycho
Kweku Baako is a trouble maker. Why visit this case. What is your interest? Go and get something better to do about the development of Ghana. Litigation will not get you anywhere. Stop the nonsense .
Kwaku, who established the NRC? Is it not Kuffuor and his Cohorts who were trying hard to pin on Rawlings of the death of Judges? The NRC summary you read wasn’t a true findings but assumption
Throughout I can see you pass shallow comment. If you truly were a victim or had a relative being a victim I don’t think you would be saying that
Clinton Obrempon-Garmor: only in Ghana that some of you follow Politicians blindly. I travelled extensively and I live in the US. I don't follow that non-factual emotional argument. I believe in evidence-based case and legal proceedings, not a report of assumption.
Pastor Bright Amegazo have you by any chance gone through the facts laid on board and actually thought about the possibilities to the initial outcome being shallow?
If you haven’t get those details and think about the possibilities rather than condemn right away
thats what u wanted
Who killed finance minister Ba Weredu and layer Obeng Manu?
Leave Rawlings and governing Ghana for us to see,npp
kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
This matter is too divisive and serves no one. The 1992 election should be looked as a reset for Ghana.
Truly truly, although my family was caught in the Cross-fire during Rawlings regime, l want Rawlings to come back again. I will vote for Rawlings if he stands for election again. You will be surprised to see more people support the come back of Rawlings than June 4.
the reason u say this is because you have not read history and like the "instant gratification" people of our time such statements are regrettable.
@@pfynn1 I have read history more than you.
Emmanuel Phillips I don’t think so bcos all what you are saying is exhibiting lack of history background
Philips you're behaving like the devil the bible speaks of. I can boldly say you never lost any relative, May God have mercy on you.
John Amihere oh yeah
It’s either two things either he’s too young to experience that or what you are saying !
Look for the killers of the Ya_ Naa which is more recent than the killing of the judges. Discriminating documentary
There is no wrong about Rawlings
P012
GHANA HAS DEMOCRACY BUT THESE PEOPLE ARE IN POWER FOR THEIR OWN BENEFITS AND NOT THE COUNTRY . NOW GHANA NEED RAWLINGS TYPE OF LEADER!!
Need which type? after 20yrs in power what did he do
Why should he be brought back ? Wasn’t he as corrupt as the current ones ?
Joseph Enkum Here’s what was achieved by the PNDC:
1. The PNDC stands as the only government in Ghana’s history to spend as much if not more time developing the rural areas than the urban areas. Of course, it improved roads and infrastructure, but it did something that no government since Nkrumah did for fear of losing elections to an urban electorate; it spread distribution across the country. The exodus of rural dwellers to urban areas like Accra, Kumasi etc stymied. Slowing the increase of traffic in the urban areas, reducing crime rates, and poverty. It was now possible to become a rich farmer; and several people went into commercial farming.
Farmers day in the 1980s and ‘90s was not some tocken something. It truly was worth celebrating, with massive farms being developed by those who went into it. Young men who otherwise would come to Accra to be taxi drivers etc, went back home to farm.
2. The PNDC enbarked on a massive electrification program that moved Ghana’s electricity penentration from 23% to 89%; which is where it still remains. Ghana has one of the highest electrificity penentrations in Africa and rates fairly compared to many parts of the world, due to the efforts of the PNDC.
3. Africa was hit hard by AIDS and had suffered for decades under the 6 childhood killer diseases. Women had several children due to massive infant mortality.
Rawlings and Nana konadu embarked on a massive education campaign to educate Ghanaians about the 6 killer diseases, family planning and HIV. Compared to other African countries, Ghana went through the worst of the AIDS crisis fairly well,
And by the late 90s, many of the childhood killer diseases were erradicated; some making a re-appearance only in the early to mid 2000s due to neglect of any program of innoculation and education.
Many railways that had gone into disrepair were fixed and new ones added; people don’t appreciate exactly how much had been left to decay since Nkrumah’s time over the 30yrs between the Presidents. Rawlings’ government reversed this damage and maintained the Accra-Tema mottoway at great costs, but with material that would survive throughout the period; only beginging to show cracks, potholes etc in the mid 2000s where the trend became developing roads quickly with sub-par material which doesnt last a few days of rain, but can be bragged about for elections. The trend continues to this day, and the mottoway is in such a sorry state, and such an accident risk to motorists, it only awaits a horrible catastrophe for people to appreciate how bad its gotten.
Despite the dip in the Economy that had started in the mid 70s and culminated in the 1982 faming, Rawlings government with dilligence and efficient management , stabilized the economy by 1984, and by 1986/87, Ghana’s economy looked promising, permitting Ghana to qualify for the largest investment it had received since Nkrumah’s era. By 1993, Ghana owed 0 Cedis debt for it. The only time in Ghana’s history where it owed that low.
This burst of funding allowed Ghana to modernize rapidly in the early to mid 90s, with technologies coming in and rapid telecommunication infrastructral increase. Remember this would be the decade where several television stations would arise, and internet and mobile phones would begin to proliferate. This was all due to the boost to the economy, which didn’t disappear into the pockets of people like is seen in the 2000s and 2010s, but went exactly where it was needed.
Despite facing 89 attempts by the CIA, British and French intelligence to unseat him, Rawling maintained a very modest lifestyle until the 1992 constitution barred him; from driving himself throughout the 1980s, actively doing innoculations himself, moving round the country educating communities about family planning and sanitation, what we call Walatu walasa, where Rawlings alongside laborers and soldiers actively did clean up campaigns in gutters, constructing railroads etc.
Trees were built across the urban areas to lower the temperatures of roads as well as offer shade to pedestrians as they commuted and traveled in the hot sun.
By the early 2000s, these would mostly be cut down to make way for ever larger and ever more grouper billboards; with regulation regarding their placement beiny anybody’s guess.
Areas such as Lagos Avenue, East Legon, Ridge, Cantonments, Asylum Down and Airport which once looked closer to what 37 remains as today, with canopy of trees, were changed after the 90s. Rare, but in certain areas, the holes where the trees were grown from the pavement laid in the late 90s, such as Asylum down and Airport remain till this day.
A stable economy, a military that were not abused, improving healthcare, and a growing middle class greatly contributed to a stable 4th republic which rewarded Rawlings, despite stiff competition from no less than 7 parties, an NPP heavily backed by The Western powers and for the first time since 1966, a legally contesting CPP, Ghana gave Rawlings 2 more terms; a move that didnt only validate the wider public’s approval of Rawlings in what independent observers witnessed as some of the free-est and fairest elections in the sub region (and certainly in the 4th republic), but also gave Ghana, for the first time ever, a stable Political climate we still enjoy today.
While Kuffuor might have claimed the need to go HIPC as evidence of mismanagement of thr Economy in the late 90s, Kuffuor left governemnt in 2008, having left the country in deeper debts than he came to meet. Prof. Atta Mills however managed to grow the economy into a middle income country without the need for such a humiliating policy that effectively shamed Ghana in front of the rest of the world.
During the 80s and 90s, a battered and humiliated army rehabilitated itself and became one of the strongest in the sub region and the most professional army in Africa, being noted especially on Peace Keeping missions for their discipline and skill. Ghana’a first elite force was set up Rawlings administration, and Ghana was the spearhead in such ECOMOG peacekeeping Missions in Liberia, extending Brand Ghana’s reputation as a reliable and competent ally both in Africa and a respected nation in the world, with an eloquent, charismatic and proud Pan African at the helm.
Like many things, this reputation will change in the early 2000s, when the military budget was so cut that Ghana was preported as having only 3 functional aircrafts by 2004 and an army whose level of education had reduced drastically. Ghana will no longer partake in most peacekeeping efforts, and with one of the strongest forces in Africa out of play, ECOMOG would weaken greatly from a force to reckon with, to a force only in name.
It would be under Kuffuor Ghana’s army would finally lose its teeth to seize power on behalf of the people; a fact Rawlings has been known to point out.
In his words, he is not to thank for the ending of coups in Ghana. The army will take power if leadership is so negligent and corrupt that it warrants an intervention. However, it is Kuffuor who we must thank for that. His efforts crippled the Ghana army, and it has yet to recover to its height as seen in the 90s.
thank you for educating me on this. if JJ WAS IN POWER THE TIME OF WOYOME . WOYOME AND MENSAH OTABIL WOULD HAVE BEEN SHOT BY NOW! LOL
no one can ever touch rawlings
kwaku baako mr. all-knowing, if you know where amedeka is, why not go pick him up?? mere citizens of no significant value to your country but best at noise making
The NRC was Kuffour’s attempt to destroy Rawlings legacy but they failed
Pastor Bright Amegazo Foolishness. What legacy does Rawlings have that kuffour would attempt to destroy? Almost 20 years in power and what did Rawlings achieve? Rawlings have no legacy that true Ghanaians can be proud of. History proves that fact.
@@wilsongyimah8290 don't mind him, he is too tribalistic.. his comments are always defending his tribe man after all atocities
kwaku baako mr. all-knowing, if you know where amedeka is, why not go pick him up?? mere citizens of no significant value to your country but best at noise making