By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.
The report by a British newspaper, The Leicester Recorder, that former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu has purchased several real-estate properties within the short span of the tenure of the Mills-led government of the so-called National Democratic Congress (NDC), ought not to come as any surprise or shock to those of us who have lived reasonably long enough to fully appreciate the fact that postcolonial Ghanaian politics is the undeniable equivalent of naked robbery by those among us who are fortunate enough to be awarded and rewarded with cabinet appointments within the executive branch of government (See “Show Betty Mould Some Respect – Lawyer” Ghanaweb.com 6/14/12).
Neither should the vehement and brazenly hollow denial by Nana Ato Dadzie, the lawyer for Mrs. Iddrisu, be properly envisaged as any more than a smokescreen assay at quixotically intimidating the former Education Minister’s political opponents and well-meaning Ghanaian critics into silence.
In this brief overview of the Leicester Recorder’s allegation, I am far less interested in whether, indeed, Mrs. Iddrisu acquired legitimate ownership of the alleged three real-estate properties, located in different parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, than the very facile and tawdry logic by which Nana Ato Dadzie attempts to silence the critics and political opponents of Mr. Alfred Agbesi Woyome’s alleged pay-mistress.
For starters, while her lawyer curiously claims that, indeed, there is no such publication as The Leicester Recorder in existence anywhere in Britain, the JoyOnline.com website that reported Nana Ato Dadzie’s denial has absolutely no qualms in implicitly indicating that, indeed, there actually exists a Leicetershire-based newspaper by the name of The Leicester Recorder. And, in fact, as of this writing (6/14/12), Ms. Jacinta Crispin-Jones, who identifies herself as Editor of The Leicester Recorder, had responded to Nana Ato Dadzie’s denial in a strongly-worded letter, captioned “Our Story Is Not A Fabrication” (See Modernghana.com 6/14/12), in which Ms. Jacinta Crispin-Jones asserts without any fear of contradiction, that “The Leicester Recorder stands by its story and will make more revelations [to its reading public] in the coming days and weeks.”
But even more significantly, Ms. Crispin-Jones makes the following morally trenchant and uncompromising observation: “Mrs. Iddrisou [sic] may feel infringed [sic] by the way she was exposed[,] but the feelings and frustrations of her Ghanaian people and thousands of Africans matters[sic] to us more. We believe they have a right to know what their politicians get up to with millions of pounds that rightly belong to them.”
In other words, The Leicester Recorder has absolutely no qualms at all in calling Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu both a boldfaced liar and a thief! And if, indeed, Nana Ato Dadzie, the lawyer for the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, had any illusions about being able to suavely cow the critics of his client into silence, Ms. Crispin-Jones promptly sobers up Nana Ato Dadzie by calling the latter’s bluff as follows: “The Leicester Recorder is used to threats and denials from politicians and individuals who always want to hide the truth. It is the price we pay for standing up for the voiceless and powerless. If our publication will help the British government stop foreign nationals[,] especially African leaders and government officials [from] stealing thousands and millions of pounds from their countries and hiding it in the United Kingdom and other countries abroad, then so be it.”
Ms. Jacinta Crispin-Jones, The Leicester Recorder editor, also boldly reveals that, indeed, Mrs. Iddrisu has a criminal accomplice in a London resident by the name of Dr. Sirinath Kumar (who appears to have joint-ownership of some of the aforesaid properties). In essence, The Leicester Recorder editor vehemently demands an explanation from the former Director of the Legal Department of the Commonwealth of Nations (formerly colonized by Great Britain), as to why Mrs. Iddrisu thinks that she has an imperious and inalienable right to fleecing the Ghanaian taxpayer and stashing her pelf abroad: “What is interesting to us [at The Leicester Recorder] is that she has not properly explained her relationship with Dr. Sirinath Kumar, the London property and jewelry tycoon. The big question is why was this man made a joint beneficiary to [sic] a private bank account[,] and why was there a frantic attempt to deposit money on a regular basis in a foreign bank account within a period from November 2011 to May 2012?”
Several conclusions can be drawn from the preceding observations. One: The Cameron government has to step into the fray by launching a massive and thorough investigation into these allegations if, indeed, Ghana’s erstwhile colonial mistress and, arguably, the single most influential Western power in our country’s postcolonial affairs, is half-serious about helping Third-World countries to end their perennial and protracted political culture of individual African leaders liberally and unconscionably squirreling billions of dollars worth of development funds for their personal comfort abroad.
Indeed, such an initiative could be made a part of the caseload and/or terms of reference and purview of the International Criminal Court (ICC). It is also clear that since President John Evans Atta-Mills has clearly indicated that he cannot be bothered, in anyway whatsoever, by the criminal activities of his former and current cabinet appointees and other senior public officials, perforce, an Akufo-Addo administration will have to carry on such morally and materially imperative housecleaning exercise.
It would also be quite edifying to watch Nana Ato Dadzie attempt to sue both the proprietor of Ghanaweb.com which, by the way, is not a traditional news medium but a “liberal” coordinator and provider of news events relevant to a global Ghanaian audience; and, of course, The Leicester Recorder, which appears to be a refreshingly hard-hitting traditional media outlet.
*Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City. He is Director of The Sintim-Aboagye Center for Politics and Culture and author of “Ghanaian Politics Today” (Lulu.com, 2008). E-mail: [email protected].
###