Three popular personalities who have made major U-turns on public statements

And when it was expected that what they said would have been things they would stand by, these personalities have rather come back to contradict themselves, taking back their earlier words and admitting or indicating that they lied in the first instances.

In this GhanaWeb listicle, we bring back what those personalities initially said, and what they eventually returned to dispute.

Wa Naa vs the flogging of man and woman:

On Wednesday, June 1, 2022, it was reported, after a viral video emerged, that Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, the Overlord of the Wala Traditional Council, had condemned, in no uncertain terms, the flogging of a young woman and a man for their alleged involvement in sexual misconduct in Wa.

He said the act could only drag the reputation of the palace into disrepute and gave the assurance that the perpetrators of the barbaric act would be fished out to face the full rigours of the law.

Naa Kadri Ibrahim, Jinpehi Naa, the Spokesperson of the revered chief, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Wa in reaction to the incident which happened at a scene purported to be Wa Naa’s Palace.

He explained that the flogging incident happened at a time the Wa Naa was not around while he, the Spokesperson, was also in school, and added that none of the principal chiefs was also around.

“Whosoever took that decision to have them flogged has erred and must be arrested and brought to book.

“The position of His Majesty, Wa Naa, and for that matter, the palace, is that that is an unfortunate incident and we condemn the act of flogging and we are going ahead to collaborate with the police to see how professionally, they will go about it. It is something that we are not for. We are not for it at all,” Na Ibrahim intimated.

However, barely 24 hours after, Na Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, came back to say that the floggings were under his orders.

He said it formed part of measures the Council, including opinion leaders in the municipality, instituted to fight the immoral and deviant behaviours among the youth in the area in recent times.

He explained that flogging was part of the regulations put in place to instill discipline in the youth, who in recent times put up some behaviours detrimental to the well-being of society.

“Beside the flogging, parents of the boy and the girl will also agree to let the two get married and stay as a couple to serve as a deterrent to the youth and to live upright lives,” he said.

Barker-Vormawor makes U-turn, says #FixTheCountry did not plan armed demo:

From what started out as a group’s plan to embark on a demonstration on the streets of Accra, some leaders of the #FixTheCountry movement and others, including Captain Smart, announced their intentions to go on a demonstration on June 4, 2022.

However, it emerged that a letter from the group, addressed to the Ghana Police Service, indicated that they wanted to employ their own security for the demonstration, as well as a request for them to be allowed to carry along weapons.

“We will bring our own security company to provide protection to demonstrators. All weapons held by demonstrators or by the contracted security personnel will be for personal protection only; and all weapons will be duly permitted in accordance with the Arms and Ammunitions Act, 1972 (NRCD 9) e) Proposed route and destination: We expect that the Demonstrators will gather at Circle,” the statement said.

After Captain Smart, one of the leaders, came out to condemn the contents of the letter, especially too because he said he was not aware of it, Oliver Barker-Vormawor admitted that he penned it.

"The notification of the demonstration made reference to private security arrangements to protect demonstrators. We also informed the police that we will ensure that any weapons held by the private security company or other demonstrators will be legally registered under the relevant law.

“In our attempt to strategically highlight policing brutality and other problematic crowd control tactics, we chose an advocacy approach that made some people uncomfortable. For that, we unreservedly apologize to the public, especially our supporters,” portions of the statement released by the movement read.

Days after, and while speaking on TV3, Oliver Barker-Vormawor made a U-turn.

According to the outspoken leader, contrary to the assertion that they had planned to embark on an armed demonstration as was reported by the police in a statement, all they rather wanted was for permission to use private security for their protection.

“I was at a press conference and people started calling me, saying, we were going to do an armed demonstration. At no point did we say we wanted to do an armed demonstration.

“What we are saying is that we want a private security protection and if any weapon is held by them it is going to be licensed by the Arms and Ammunition Decree,” 3news.com quoted him as having said.

Blakk Rasta’s claims that Jon Benjamin described Akufo-Addo as ‘arrogant’:

Outspoken radio presenter and musician, Blakk Rasta, narrated a moment when he met President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at an event and how a rather unfortunate thing happened, making a former High Commissioner of Britain to Ghana, Jon Benjamin, allegedly describe the president as ‘arrogant.’

He explained that after shaking the hands of the former president, John Agyekum Kufuor, at the event, he attempted to make same for President Akufo-Addo, but what happened next shocked him.

“When the former British High Commissioner, Jon Benjamin, was leaving, he invited me and Wiyaala to come and perform. We performed our best and as I was performing, that was when the President Akufo-Addo walked in, and I was happy that this was my president and that he was the one pushing the agenda for a Ghana Beyond Aid and so since I like him, I would shake his hands and thank him from saving us from the claws of Mahama."

“When I attempted moving towards the president, as there were other dignitaries including Kufuor – whose hands I shook, when I tried to shake Nana Akufo-Addo’s hands, somebody behind him smacked my hand hard. I’m telling you, I don’t know if he had claws or something but when I looked, I had blisters on my hand,” he said.

“My own president; I am not a riffraff; you know who I am. The president had folded his arms and was just looking on and I said to myself if you can slap my hand like this in public, what then will you do to the Nima boy or the Ashaiman boy you don’t know? And so it was after this that the High Commissioner told me, ‘Excuse this arrogant president,’ and maybe I shouldn’t have said that but that is what he said,” he said.

Also, in less than 24 hours after his above claims, Blakk Rasta retreated, stating that he lied.

In a Twitter post referencing the GhanaWeb story on his allegation, Blakk Rasta said he had put his words and sentiments into the mouth of the UK envoy.

"Jon did not say that. I apologize...

"I unreservedly apologise to my very good friend @JonBenjamin19 for putting my words and sentiments in his mouth. I am the one of the opinion, alongside millions of Ghanaians, that @NAkufoAddo is arrogant . Jon did not say that. I apologise..." his tweet read.