Former President Jerry John Rawlings has said history has been “re-hashed” and “re-cooked” to make him and other innocent people look guilty as far as the murder of three high court judges and an army major in 1982 is concerned.
In his view, the perpetrators of that crime some 36 years ago, were justly punished unlike the murderers of Ya Na Yakubu Andani, who, according to him, are still walking free.
Mr Rawlings’ comments come on the heels of a recent documentary on the murder of the three high court judges and a major in the army premiered by Multimedia.
On 30 June 1982, the three judges – Justices Kwadwo Adjei Agyepong, Poku Sarkodie and Mrs. Cecelia Koranteng-Addow, and a retired Major in the Ghana Armed Forces, were abducted and branded “enemies of the revolution” under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) led by Mr Rawlings.
Lance Corporal Amedeka, Tony Tekpor and Dzandu, all soldiers, had taken their captives to the Bondase military firing range and executed them. The murderers carried along a gallon of petrol with which they set fire to the bodies to destroy all evidence.
But it rained that night, so the bodies did not burn as they murderers had wanted.
Following a public outcry, the PNDC set up the Special Investigation Board (SIB) headed by former Chief Justice Mr. Justice Azu Crabbe to unravel the mystery.
It turned out that all the three judges were sitting reviewing cases brought to them by aggrieved citizens in connection with the treatment meted out to them by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council junta led by Mr Rawlings after the 4 June 1979 coup.
The army officer, Major Sam Acquah, was the head of administration at GIHOC who had signed letters that led to the dismissal of some agitating workers, including a PNDC member Joachim Amartey Kwei. Their services were terminated after they invaded Parliament House and destroyed property.
The SIB established that the abduction and murder was a plot hatched with the connivance of members of the PNDC. The Board found that the plot was master-minded by Capt. Kojo Tsikata, PNDC Member in charge of National Security. The PNDC rejected that aspect of the report and let Capt. Tsikata and four others off the hook for lack of evidence.
The remaining four of the nine suspects were jailed. When on 19 June 1983, there was a jail-break at the Nsawam Medium Prisons and the Ussher Fort Prisons, L/Cpl Amedeka escaped from captivity and has since not been seen. But his three accomplices, Tony Tekpor, Dzandu and Hekli, as well as ex-PNDC Members Amartey Kwei, were executed by firing squad.
Mr Rawlings has always insisted that before Amartey Kwei was executed, he confessed, at the stakes, to falsely accusing Mr Tsikata of involvement.
The entire history of the heinous act was recently retold in the “Who Killed the Judges” documentary.
But Mr Rawlings believes history has been skewed to make innocent people appear guilty.
In a tweet, the former Ghanaian leader said the following:
A whole documentary on the killing of the major and the judges.
An unfortunate tragedy that saw hard, swift justice done to the perpetrators unlike the organised assault and killings of the Ya Na and his 39 elders for which those perpetrators are yet to see justice. This is the fundamental difference – one group of four saw justice, the other group of close to 40 did not and has not!
We have re-hashed and re-cooked history to make innocent people look murderous. And in the next breadth, using the same name to endorse yourselves because Rawlings has said he is cultured (compared to his predecessors). This is vicious and callous political opportunism.
We cannot reduce the harm and pain caused families and the whole country by turning this matter into a political-media circus.
In the meantime, our party has lost a few too many thinkers and strategists to see things clearly. We fall for traps set easily. Rather than a focused fight to ward off this attempt to twist and manipulate the truth (which thankfully some started well) we are back to hang Rawlings because of the DG publications.
Tweet below-
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Was the jail break not stage managed? Did L/Cpl Amedeka manage to escape? If he did, to where? Is L/Cpl Amedeka still living somewhere? Gosh? Many unanswered questions.
If I was this man, I would have kept quit and enjoyed my stolen booty. You seized power through unnecessary coups as a very poor military officer and left power very wealthy. You committed so may atrocities just to stay in power. The judges murder is just one of them. Instead of keeping quit and enjoying the stolen booty you try to justify the atrocities and link them to other unfortunate incidents under different regime. What is he trying to achieve. Rawlings, you are a murderer and a killer. Some of us view you as such.
THIS MULTI MEDIA PEOPLE MUST BE CAREFUL WITH THE MANNER THEY DO THINGS. WHY WAS THE NATIONAL RECONCILIATION COMMISSION SET?. AFTER SEVERAL YEARS WHY THIS DOCUMENTARY AGAIN TO ACHIEVE WHAT?. WHAT IS THE MOTIVATION FOR THIS. ALSO DO SAME FOR THE KILLING OF YA NA AND HIS 40 ELDERS BECAUSE THEY ARE ALSO HUMAN BEINGS. SOME HUMAN BEINGS ARE NOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN OTHERS. HYPOCRITES.
THE LAST DAYS ARE HAUNTING THEM.THEY THOUGHT BY KILLING THE GENERALS,THE JUDGES,AND MANY INNOCENT CIVILIANS,THEY WILL LEAVE FOREVER.THE WORLD DOES NOT PLAY YOUR RULES.THE EVIL THAT YOU DO WILL COME BACK TO HUNT YOU.I DON'T BLAME YOU RAWLINGS BUT WE COWARDS IN GHANA.IF WE HAD A BOLD AND A RIGHTEOUS LEADER, ALL OF YOU INCLUDING YOUR TSIKATAS,AHWOIS, AND YOUR MURDEROUS GANGS WILL BE IN DEN HAAG BY NOW.BOTH KUFFOUR AND AKUFO ADDO ARE COWARDS.AKUFO ADDO HAS TO INVESTIGATE ALL THESE MURDERS INCLUDING ABACHAS 5 MILLION DOLLARS YET HE IS TURNED A BLIND EYE.BUT THE LORD OF THE UNIVERSE SEES ALL.TIME ALONE WILL TELL.
OOh Multimedia what at all do want to achieve, national reconciliation commission was set up for this. Pls kindly go and do documentary on who killed Yaa Naa and his 39 elders, they also deserve to know.
Rawlings still talking about Ya Na to justify his killing of the innocent judges? You told the whole world that you have video clips on the killing of Ya Na. So many years ago, you have not been able to produce those videos. And now, you want to use it as a smokescreen when people are simply asking,'Who Killed the Judges and The Army Officer'? Why don't you and your collaborators get together and confess to clear your conscience and for God to forgive you. Majority of Ghanaians know you and your PNDC killed those judges and the officer, because they were going to expose your misdeeds to the entire world. History will never absolve you even when you are long gone.
MR. RAWLINGS, WHEN THE TIME COMES YOU PROVE YOUR INNOCENCE AT THE HAGUE.NOT ONLY THE CASE OF THE JUDGES, BUT YOUR MATE MATHEW ADEBUGAR HAS EXPOSED YOUR CRIMES AND MUST BE INVESTIGATED.YOU HAVE SO MUCH BLOOD IN YOUR HANDS.THE SPIRITS OF YOUR VICTIMS ARE CRYING FOR A DESERVED JUSTICE AND THEY MUST HAVE IT.THE GHANAIAN JUSTICE SYSTEM IS TOO WEAK SO MANY COVER UPS.THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE WILL PUT OUR MINDS AT REST.
The more JJ talks, the more he entangles himself in complex dilemna of the abduction and murder of the highcourt judges and the army officer. He must just apologise for his mistakes and God will be merciful towards him.
YOUR GUILTY CONSCIENCE IS ABSOLUTELY HAUNTING YOU DAAVI BA KWAKUVI.YOU AND YOUR PATHETIC FAMILY WILL NEVR HAVE PEACE IN YOUR SAD REMAINING LIFE."GOD DONT PUNISH YOU" MURDERER .
Your guilty conscience is haunting you, abi? You ain't seen nothing yet. You will very soon be scared of your own shadows.879841