[ 2013-12-09 ]

Government, judiciary must apologise to Otumfuo, Asanteman
IN SEPTEMBER, this year, the Ghana Democratic
Movement and the Ashanti Community in the United
Kingdom had the occasion to condemn a New Free
Press publication which alleged, among other
things, that the occupant of the Golden Stool, His
Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, served as a
conduit for the payment of some amount of money
to the nine Supreme Court Judges to rule the
Election Petition hearing in favour of the first
respondent, President John Dramani Mahama.

These allegations against Otumfuo Osei Tutu, our
cherished King, in the said publication can only
be described as frivolous, malicious and an
apology to the noble profession of journalism.
While the government, led by President Mahama,
remains adamant to condemn such baseless
allegations, which also involved the Presidency,
comes the revelation by former Deputy Minister of
Communications, Victoria Hammah about Nana Oye
Lithur’s alleged complexity in the influence of
the Supreme Court judges.

The recent Vikileaks tape revealed among other
things that the Minister for Gender and Social
Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, saw the judges before
the Supreme Court verdict. Nowhere in the audio
recording was the name of the Otumfuo mentioned
and, therefore, goes to exonerate the Asante
King.

This disclosure, in the face of the allegations,
as published by the New Free Press in September
this year, makes a mockery of the accusations
against the Asante King. It is very appalling that
the John Mahama-led government has remained silent
and adamant to condemn such report in a lousy
journalism, even though it has responded to quite
a number of issues of less prominence including
the payment of judgment debts.

mumI wonder why the government has chosen to
remain silent and refused to act on the untruthful
bribery allegation against the Asantehene. It
would have served the government better if it had
acted first to condemn the reportage since the
Executive was directly involved and a swift
response in his defence would have been very
appropriate.
The Asantehene has contributed positively to
development and nation building on the local and
International front in the area of education,
sports and conflict resolution, including the
Dagomba crisis and Sefwi Omanhene’s case, but to
mention a few.
All the people from the various regions are
represented at Manhyia by their community heads,
namely Fante chiefs, Ewe chiefs, Dagomba chiefs,
Moshie chiefs, Frafra chiefs, Gonja chiefs and
Zongo chiefs, as well as Wangara and even Yoruba
chiefs, just to mention a few.

He does not deserve such wicked and calculated
attempts to put his reputation in disrepute.
Even though it took the President six weeks to
react to the allegation at a Thanksgiving Service
at the Cedar Mountain Chapel in Accra, it is
incumbent on the government to declare its
position on the allegations by issuing a formal
statement to condemn the allegation.
Some years back under the PNDC era, a similar
false allegation was leveled against the late
Otumfuo Opoku Ware II that he had connived with
the CIA through the then American Ambassador in
Ghana, Mr. Thomas Smith, to overthrow the PNDC
regime and destabilize the country.
At that time, I was fighting to restore democracy
in Ghana and, therefore, not on good terms with
the government, yet then Chairman Rawlings, who
was preaching against democracy found it necessary
to send a high powered three-member delegation,
led by Mr. Paul Victor Obeng, Captain (rtd) Kojo
Tsikata of the National Security and the then
High Commissioner to London, within a matter of
two months to render an apology to the Asantehene,
Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, who was receiving medical
treatment in London at 19 Chamberlane Road, at N9,
in London, the official residence of Otumfuo.
Then Chairman Rawlings did well and took the
credit to apologise to the Asantehene. Besides the
apology, Mr. Rawlings also per the delegation
wished Otumfuo Opoku Ware II a speedy recovery and
offered to foot the medical bills which I refused,
because Otumfuo was self sufficient and that the
Ashanti Community in UK and Ireland were capable
of footing any bill.
I happened to be present at the occasion because I
was the chairman of the Ashanti community in UK
and the Ghana Democratic Movement, which was
fighting for the restoration of democracy back
home in Ghana.

I am equally appalled by the silence of the Chief
Justice, Her Ladyship Georgina Wood on the weird
New Free Press report which has the potential to
impair the authenticity of the landmark election
petition. If the Judiciary as an arm of the
government sees nothing wrong with the report
which sought to dent the image of the Asantehene,
the probability of that report being seen as a
destructive tool to down play the credibility
of the Nine Supreme Court judges is higher.

As a result, the Chief Justice and the Ghana Bar
Association owe it a duty to the Ghanaian
citizenry to act on the report instead of
remaining silent. It would be appreciated if their
stand on the issue, whether for or against, is
declared since the report seeks to deliberately
attack the judiciary directly, instead of
Otumfuo.
Just as it is incumbent on the President to act on
the allegation so it is for the Judiciary to
protect the administration of Justice and not
allow it to be undermined in any way.

Both the government and the Judiciary have not
been fair to the Asantehene for remaining silent,
following the New Free Press publication. The
situation is aggravated more by the silence of
the
government and judiciary for the second time,
following recent revelations by dismissed Deputy
Minister for Communications, Miss Victoria
Hammah.
From the developments, it is evident that the
government and the Judiciary have for the second
time failed in their duty to protect the image of
the Asantehene and Ashanti Kingdom. It is in this
light, that I, as chairman of the Ghana Democratic
Movement and the son of the Golden Stool on behalf
of the Ashanti Community in UK demand that
President John Mahama and the Chief Justice, Her
Ladyship Mrs. Georgina Theodora Wood unreservedly
render an apology to the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei
Tutu II and Asanteman, because I would not
personally let this case die naturally, without an
apology to the Ashanti King who does not dabble in
politics, in line with the dictates of the 1992
Constitution.

This apology is a must because Victoria Hammah has
finally cleared the air about who actually
influenced the Supreme Court judges. I am made to
believe by my Jewish QC lawyers that the Judiciary
in Ghana is the best organized in Africa and would
want to believe that the Chief Justice is aware of
this fact and would want her to protect this
position and not allow it to decline.
Ghanaians are known to have occupied the CJ
position in many African countries, earning us
much respect on the international scene. Some
international investors and companies were happy
with the judicial system in Ghana because they
knew they would be redeemed if there happened to
be any infringement on their investments in the
country since the rule of law prevailed in Ghana.

Source - Alex Nana Asabre

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