According to Gyampo, Mahama’s outburst is offensive and atypical of his person and reputation.
While respecting Mahama’s right to protest against the comments by Martin Amidu, Gyampo holds that there are better ways he could have made known his unhappiness with Amidu’s accusations.
“In my view, if he feels he is not culpable of anything involving the Airbus scandal, it is within his right to do so, but the extent to which he descended …Elsewhere, if you ask this question, people may not take offence, but in our body politic when you use that word people will feel offended, especially going into a keenly contested election.
“So, if you go that route it means you are expecting a certain response from the other side. And so, the Office of the Special Prosecutor can also come in to also use certain words and others will also emulate, and at the end of the day, you may be sinking low" he is quoted to have said on Asaase Radio.
“But to say that, ‘What sort of stupidity is this?’, I thought it was something that should not have come from former President Mahama. I know his demeanour and persona. That is not typical of him and that should not be typical of somebody who wants to become a president,” Prof Gyampo lamented.
Amidu, in his corruption risk assessment of the Agyapa deal, disclosed the identity of the ‘Government Official 1’ in the Airbus Scandal and it happens to John Dramani Mahama.
“This Office has established the identity of elected Government Official 1 to be former President John Dramani Mahama, whose brother of the full blood is Samuel Adam Foster, also known as Samuel Adam Mahama. The only reason the former President has not been invited for interrogation (in spite of all the threats from some of his followers and lawyers) is the fact that he got himself an insurance as the presidential candidate of the other largest political party in Ghana and prudence dictated that the interrogation be held in abeyance during this election season,” Amidu said, in his report on the Agyapa deal.
John Mahama responded by describing Amidu’s actions as ‘stupid and cowardly”.
“If you were man enough, present Agyapa and do a report on Airbus separately, and then I will come and answer you on Airbus. If you think I am indicted on Airbus, accuse me directly.
“But because he is a coward and they knew Agyapa was going to be discussed today, so he put a paragraph on Airbus to equalise the discussion. What stupidity is this?” he quizzed.
Professor Ransford Gyampo is a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana