Some of us regrettably witnessed the squeamishly ugly events of the 1970’s and 1990’s, and therefore can attest to the fact that the loyalists of the P/NDC tradition have an unwavering hatred for Ghanaian judges.
Forty three years ago, some heartless coup enthusiasts needlessly and barbarically murdered three prominent Judges and an Army Officer on 30th June 1982.
June 30th 1982 continues to remain a dark epoch in the nation’s political history and a nightmare for all judges in the country after the three High Court Judges namely, Mr. Justice Fred Poku Sarkodie, Mrs. Justice Cecilia Koranteng- Addow and Mr. Justice Kwadwo Agyei Agyapong as well as a retired army officer, Major Sam Acquah, were callously murdered under strange circumstances at the Bundase Military Range in the Accra Plains, after being abducted on the night by some unidentified assailants (rawafrica.com).
“If you would look deeper, history is broad yet deep that binds the core existence of the world. Hence, history keeps the records of events that happened.
“History is a lesson in the past but can also be the greatest regret of the future. Yet the reason why there is history is because of the events that were created by man (Hughes 2010).”
Understandably, the NDC brassbound supporters would never agree with some of us for persistently critiquing the current affairs through the lenses of the past.
But, I am afraid, we cannot make sense of the present happenings if we refused to take stock of the past events.
To be quite honest, some of us cannot help but to shrill, grouch, censure and highlight the revoltingly risible and inborn predilection of the devotees of the 31st December 1981 coup d’état.
If you would recall, sometime in August 2010, the then NDC Chairman, Dr Kwabena Adjei of blessed memory, in a press conference relating to Mills administration unsuccessful court cases, frighteningly proclaimed: ‘there are many ways of killing a cat’.
Apparently, the NDC loyalists called press conference and ventilated their arousing disgust over the judges for allegedly failing to arrive at a fair verdict, and hence threatened to take the law into their own hands.
As it was expected, the threat was not taken lightly by discerning Ghanaians as the NDC tradition has a terrible history of harming judges for carrying out their mandated duties.
The overarching question we should be asking then is: why are the NDC loyalists fond of harming, threatening, nagging, casting insinuations and aspersions on the eminent judges in the country?
The story is told, albeit poignantly, that in their desperate attempt to impose themselves on Ghanaians, the founders of the NDC disgustingly took arms and succeeded in overthrowing the constitutionally elected government of Dr Hilla Limann on 31st December 1981.
The founders of NDC formed a government which they called the Provisional national Defence Council (PNDC) and appointed Rawlings as the chairman.
In their weird and fiendish attempt to get rid of the alleged sleazes and corruption, many Ghanaians were unjustifiably murdered or tortured mercilessly for apparent insignificant offences.
Market women were regrettably stripped naked in the broad daylight and whipped for hoarding their products or selling on high prices. While their male counterparts were wickedly shaved with broken bottles and whipped for offences that would not even warrant a Police caution in a civilized society.
As if that were not enough, on 30th June 1982, three eminent High Court Judges and a prominent Army Officer were barbarically murdered by some mindless stooges of PNDC for carrying out their constitutionally mandated duties.
Regrettably, investigations revealed that all the three Judges were sitting on review cases brought by citizens aggrieved over the treatment meted out to them by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council which the military junta formed after June 4.
It was reported that the Judges ordered the release of persons who had been unlawfully sentenced to long terms of imprisonment during the despotic rule of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).
The Army Officer, Major Sam Acquah, was the head of administration who signed dismissal letters for some GIHOC workers, including one of the murder suspects, Joachim Amartey Kwei, whose services were terminated for invading and destroying property at the Parliament House.
Subsequently, the PNDC fatuous apologists savagely murdered the three eminent High Court Judges and the Army Officer because their judgement did not go in their favour.
The Special Investigation Board (SIB) however concluded that the abduction and murder was a fiendish plot orchestrated by, and with the connivance of the members of the Provisional National Defence Council.
As a matter of fact, Ghana’s coup d’état days under the founders of the NDC could be likened to: “in the China of “the Great Helmsman,” Kim Il Sung’s Korea, Vietnam under “Uncle Ho” , Cuba under Castro, Ethiopia under Mengistu, Angola under Neto, and Afghanistan under Najibullah”.
May their souls rest in peace.
Damiri fa due due!!!!!!
K. Badu, UK.
[email protected]
