Opinions Tue, 14 Aug 2012

Who And What Killed President Mills?

The passing away of President John Evans Atta Mills on Tuesday 24th July, 2012 devastated the hearts of many Ghanaians in the country and beyond. Many were those who felt that the president could have lived longer to avoid this gargantuan unprecedented mishap.

An occasional examination of our weak inabilities serves as help and provides us with certain toughness for struggle. By recognizing our faults which have been so hurtful to our progress, we are placed in a good position to understand their full implication and to be able to find appropriate solutions to them.

The issue of the late President’s death has been a subject of considerable speculation and agitation due to the unavailability of full concrete public report on his death. The question of who and what killed the president continues to boggle the minds of many Ghanaians across the socio-political topography. Unfortunately the more questions we ask about the death of the late president the more confused we become. Is it not surprising that Ghanaians still do not know what or who killed the former President three weeks after his demise? It is said that everything that happens has a reason. But if you cannot find the reason for everything that happens, then there is a reason. It is on the basis of this that the Committee for Social Advocacy (COSA) deems it sufficiently proper to continue to seek answers to some pertinent questions.

From every indications and utterances by the president’s wife, family and some government officials, they knew the president was not sound in health at all. The National Security Advisor Brigadier-General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah (rtd) boldly, candidly and contritely asserts that he had personally prevailed on his boss to unwisely stay on the job even when the late president felt clearly and fully convinced that he was no longer fit to continue playing the critical role of president of Ghana. Many of the presidential staffers and communication team members lied about the health of the president and constantly insisted the president was very strong and even went to the ridiculous extent of hurling insults at anyone who wished the president well in his ailment. Alhaji Bature, Allotey Jacobs, Felix Ofosu Kwakye, Koku Anyidoho, Fred Agbenyo, Peter Otukonor, Kwesi Pratt and Okudzeto Ablakwa cannot escape blame. These stomach politicians launched vitriolic and venomous attacks on Ghanaians who raised sincere concerns about the late president’s health. If these hoodlums have any modicum of dignity left in them, they should do the honourable thing by rendering unqualified apology to the good people of Ghana.

Who and who connived and colluded to aggravate the deteriorating health of the late president? What motivated these criminally minded and conscienceless persons to push the late president to the arduous task of jogging and trotting at the airport to and from his last visit to the USA? Was it for political expediency? This was wickedness, insincerity and insensitivity. This act by these political scavengers can be described as criminal and irresponsible. They are the traitors and the ingrates former President Rawlings always talked about.

It is obvious president Mills was abandoned to die. Can anyone imagine that it took the president’s sister Madam Quarshie to buy cervical collar (neck brace) for him when he complained about pains in his neck? Where were his medical handlers and on which doctor’s recommendation did the sister buy the neck brace for his brother? Was that what he needed to cure the pain in his neck? The fact remains that the government appointees miserably failed the late president and the nation at large.

The NDC and the handlers of the president were afraid to publicly declare the health status of the President and take adequate steps to treat him because they fear it would affect their political fortunes in the December general elections. To the NDC the election means everything to them. No wonder a new flag bearer was nominated in less than 48 hours after the death of Prof. John Mills at a time all Ghanaians were mourning. The NDC must bow their heads in shame for hounding the president to his death. It is now unambiguous how the NDC undermined the health of the late president for political expediency. We do not know what the NDC hopes to gain by shamelessly and fragrantly denying the inescapably obvious that they and the handlers of the president pushed him into his early grave. The Committee for Social Advocacy expects the government and the rented press of the NDC as a matter of urgency to regretfully apologize profusely to Ghanaians for their actions and inactions which has led to the death of Professor John Mills.

Since the demise of Prof. Mills several shades of opinions have been expressed about the possible cause of the death of the president. Although the NDC tried to denigrate the body of former President Mills in several ways, the rather disingenuous and cynical attempts by some members of the NDC like the MP for Adenta Constituency Hon. Kojo Adu Asare to fault the late president for somehow hastening his own demise by refusing to resign on the evident of sound medical advice are distasteful and despicable. For anyone to say that the president sacrificed himself for the peace of this country suggest that the president knew he was going to die but decided to do nothing about it is rather insulting and cannot be regarded as a compliment.

Further, it was rather unimaginative, unfortunate and unpardonably uncharitable for NDC to have so superficially arrived at the unrealistic conclusion that it was criticisms of the public records of Prof. Mills by his political opponents that sent him to his early grave. This Comment has been corroborated by individuals like Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi, Daniel Ohene Agyekum (Ghana’s Ambassador to USA) and Ade Coker the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the NDC. This is preposterous and outlandish and should not be entertained at all.

Again, on what medical or security basis did Brig-General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah (rtd) prevail on Mills to shelve the idea of stepping down at a time when his health was deteriorating? The Brigadier-General must be arrested for questioning by the BNI for giving bad medical/security advice to the president leading to his health.

Seth Ofori, former press secretary to Prof. John Mills has revealed that some individuals within NDC were already jostling and lobbying for the position of the vice-president days before the sudden death of the late president. The National Security must invite him for questioning.

Coroner’s inquest and necropsy reports authenticating this suspicious and sudden death of President John Mills must be made public. Government should come clean on the actual cause of the death of the late president mills and stop diverting attention from the core issues.

The Committee for Social Advocacy and all well meaning Ghanaians would want answers to the following nagging questions:

1. Who and who connived to aggravate the deteriorating health of the President by not allowing him to rest according to his doctor’s report?

2. How come there were no dispatch riders at the time he was being rushed to the hospital?

3. Was it really necessary for the President’s sister to be escorted all the way to Cape Coast by the presidential dispatch riders?

4. Where were the castle ambulances to transport President Mills to the Hospital?

5. Couldn’t the president be transported to the Hospital in a Helicopter?

6. Why did the handlers decide to take the President to 37 Military Hospital instead of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital which is closer to the castle?

7. Which doctors accompanied the president to the hospital or which referral letter accompanied the President to the 37 Military Hospital?

8. How come the authorities of the 37 Military Hospital were not given prior information before the arrival of the late President?

9. Where were the numerous presidential staffers who always bragged they spent several hours with the President everyday at the time he was being taken to the hospital?

10. Is it also true that the president was already dead before they arrived at the hospital?

11. If the president really died at 2.15 Pm, at what time was the crisis meeting held before the official announcement of the death of the president in the media?

12. Is it true that former President John Mills drunk porridge the morning of the day he died which changed the colour of his skin?

13. Is it also true that all the CCTV cameras at the castle were not functioning from the morning of the day he died till the public announcement of his death?

14. Where was the President’s Aide-de-Camp (ADC) at the time he was being sent to the hospital since he was supposed to serve the President even in death? He must be invited for questioning by the national security.

We are convinced the handlers of the president had ulterior motives to treat the health status of President Mills the way they did. The handlers of the late President must be arrested and charged with treason. It is public knowledge that adequate measures had not been put in place to give special treatment to the health of the President. The matter should not be allowed to rest or die naturally. We expect the national security to with immediate effect conduct forensic investigations into the afore-mentioned matters. We shall not rest until we find the actual cause of the death of President John Evans Atta Mills and the faces behind this sudden demise of the president.

Thank you.

James Mckeown Kingsford Francis Boateng

Lead Advocate Coordinator, Ashanti Region


Columnist: Mckeown & Boateng