Don't blame me if JJ gets killed - Air Force Commander

"I would not be responsible if some soldier puts a bullet in his head if he comes to the programme." The Air Force Commander, Air Vice Marshal Mantey, uttered these unbelievable words in July of this year.

The programme under discussion was the Memorial Service of the first Air force Commander of this nation, the late Air Vice Marshal Degraft Hayford. The words came out of the mouth of the Air force Commander because of a disagreement that ensued between him and the daughter of the late Air Vice Marshal Degraft Hayford, Ms. Rosemary Degraft Hayford, over whether the former President, His Excellency Jerry Rawlings should be invited or not.

Ms. Rosemary Degraft Hayford was surprised that President Rawlings' name was conspicuously missing from the list of those invited for the Memorial Service. Knowing the close ties and sentiments of affection that existed between his father and the former President, she insisted that President Rawlings be invited or she would go ahead to invite him herself.

It was at this point that the air force Commander uttered the shocking words.

This would not be the first time that the gentleman in question had been involved in some plot against President Rawlings. Sources within the Air force have informed your authoritative Lens Newspaper that he was the same person who, early in 2001, (at the time he was not yet the Air force Commander), was used by the new Kufuor regime to spread the blatant falsehood that the former President attempted to go and fly a fighter aircraft and was stopped. This was a blatant fabrication put out by the ever-mendacious Kufuor regime in order to start creating the wicked impression that the former President was a security threat to the regime.

It would appear that having played that role to perfection, he was rewarded by the regime when he was made the Air Force Commander ahead of others who were way ahead of him.

Some people naively continue not to believe that the current regime is hatching a plot to eliminate President Rawlings. The disclosure by the Air Force Commander should hopefully make these people to awake out of the false sense of serenity and realize that dark clouds may be gathering on the horizon and the sooner the people of this country realized its gravity the better.