Demolished Hotel: Shut up you coward – Kweku Baako ‘barks’ at Rawlings

The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide Newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako has told the former President Jerry John Rawlings to shut up on the noise he’s making about the demolished hotel which belonged to one business tycoon, Alhaji Ibrahim Yusif describing him as a coward.

According to him, Mr Rawlings could not own up to the responsibility of ordering the demolishing of the 5- million dollar hotel 20 -years ago when Ghanaians, court, and Parliament were all looking for the one behind the demolition.

Speaking during the 40th anniversary of the June 4 revolution, the former President said he has no regrets of demolishing the hotel and would demolish structures belonging to Alhaji that have blocked water ways if time were to be reversed.

His comments come on the back of allegation levelled against him by Alhaji Yusif who said his hotel was demolished by Rawlings’ order because he thought Sam Jonah co-owned the hotel and a financier of the then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

But in an interview with Good Morning Ghana monitored by MyNewsGh.com, Kweku Baako questioned the courage of conviction of Mr Rawlings when the matter came up for discussion in court in 2010.

He wondered why Mr Rawlings couldn’t even allow his government communication team to accept responsibility on the floor of Parliament describing his action as cowardly nonsense.

Mr Baako further asked the whereabouts of the no-nonesense former President when people were asking the one behind the demolishing.

He said, ‘today our very good friend and former President Rawlings is now telling the whole world that he was in charge of the demolishing of the hotel, what cowardly nonsense is this, where was his courage of conviction, where was the strength of his character, where was the no nonsense Rawlings when it was an issue and people were asking who was responsible and liable. He shut down quite, he didn’t allow his own government communication to accept responsibility and liability, even on the floor of Parliament that is coward, he’s coward complete… Parliament, court couldn’t find out who demolished the hotel, today 20-years ago, Mr Rawlings is saying he did it and if he gets the chance again he will do it, integrity where at thou?’.

He described as false the statement by Mr Rawlings that the hotel was demolished because neighbours of Alhaji Yusif complained that the hotel had blocked waterways saying investigations by Parliament proved otherwise.

‘He’s claiming that there were prominent people in the area that were the complainants, one of the persons’ name came up and he denied, and this is honourable best Ghanaian diplomat ever, one time foreign minister Victor Gbeho, he lived two houses from there. But he denied and I respect Mr Gbeho so much that I’m unable to pin anything on him without evidence. So I accept that he had nothing to do with it,’ he fumed on the show monitored by MyNewsGh.com.