Mrs Rawlings charges Mahama, NDC to leave her late husband alone

Widow of the late former President Jerry John Rawlings has asked members of the opposition NDC and their flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, to stay away from the corpse of the former Ghanaian leader and allow the state to give him a befitting burial.

The former First Lady wants Mr Mahama and the NDC to desist from conducting themselves in a manner that seeks to rob the late former President of a befitting State burial.

Strange love

Addressing a press conference in Accra yesterday on her behalf, the Secretary General of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Alhaji Frimpong, stated that the Mahama-led NDC marshalled all forces within the NDC to hurt the late Jerry Rawlings, and to kill his soul when he was alive. He therefore wondered about the NDC’s sudden love for the man, now that he is dead.

Th NDP Secretary General found it strange that the NDC, in the aftermath of Mr Rawlings’ death, would attempt to square off with government and the Rawlings family over who has the right to conduct his funeral rites, all in an attempt to score cheap political points ahead of the December 7 general elections.

“The most unfortunate aspect of this development is that in an attempt to unduly benefit from his demise, the leadership of the NDC are embroiled in a desperate battle against the State and the Rawlings family over who has the right to conduct the funeral rites of the late President. “What they do not know or perhaps have deliberately overlooked is the fact that they are robbing the late President of a befitting send-off. Or maybe that is what they want. They desperately want to reduce his send-off from a befitting state burial to a party funeral just so they can benefit politically,” he said.

He bemoaned the NDC’s petty fight over a book of condolence, which compelled them to use a reception logbook as a book of condolence at the party’s head office, saying that was yet another demonstration of their contempt for the late former President.

Attack on Rawlings’ legacy

Alhaji Frimpong further recounted how the Ahwois and Mahama group within the NDC colluded to destroy the legacy of the late Rawlings as the founder of the party and rendered him irrelevant.

“For the past decade, these elements, led principally by the Ahwois and the Mahama group within the NDC, orchestrated a series of coordinated attacks aimed at destroying the legacy of Jerry John Rawlings. This they did by sponsoring political neophytes JJ himself aptly described as ‘babies with sharp teeth’ to unleash barrages of insults and spew damning political rhetoric on the persons of Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings,” he said.

“Today, the political henchmen who were utilized for such diabolic assignments have been rewarded with high positions in the NDC under John Mahama and those who picked up the baton are also expecting big posts under a Mahama government. Those who produced forewords of books that cast the founder of the party in bad light are hoping to occupy the highest positions in government on the ticket of the party which was formed through the sweat and blood of Jerry John Rawlings,” he added.

Crocodile tears

The NDP Secretary General added that Mr Mahama and the NDC disrespected Mr Rawlings and desperately wanted to silence him, wondering why they are crying for him now that he is dead.

“We are troubled that some of these same persons, upon the demise of President Rawlings, now seek to lead in mourning the man; they have begun to shed crocodile tears. They spent thousands of dollars to sponsor videos made in Washington DC by one Kelvin Taylor, who is tipped to be Information Minister in the event of a Mahama comeback, to insult President Rawlings in words, some of which we dare not repeat, and posted them all over the world through Facebook, WhatsApp, and other social media platforms,” he lamented.

He indicated that former President Mahama and the NDC endorsed the words Kelvin Taylor used on Mr Rawlings, urging them to stop shedding crocodile tears for the man they disrespected while alive.

Attacks on Voltarians

The NDP General Secretary also criticized Mr Mahama and the NDC for their apparent lack of respect for Voltarians.

According to him, Mr Mahama and the NDC have been exploiting Voltarians for their own political gains.

In calling out the hypocrisy of the NDC over the maltreatment of the late former President Rawlings when he was alive, and attempting to mourn him following his death, the General Secretary of the NDP chastised Mr Mahama for turning Voltarians against their own hero, JJ Rawlings.

“In what was widely reported by media outlets in Ghana, John Mahama, during the NDC’s unity walk in Ho in 2018, was on record to have labelled JJ Rawlings as a ‘Volta god’ who did not deserve to be worshipped by Voltarians.

“In fact, he is quoted as saying, ‘We have worshipped the Volta god for so long. It is time to build the party beyond individuals. No sacrifice would please him.’ This was a classic situation where John Mahama made a futile attempt to turn Voltarians against their hero,” he said.

Meanwhile, the NDP has debunked reports that Mrs Agyeman-Rawlings has pulled out of the December 7 general election.