JJ Wanted To Save Arkaah

Accra - The Teachers Hall in Accra was last Wednesday, the venue of the launch of a book, Ghana: Peace and Stability - Chapters From The Intelligence Sector, written by one of Ghana's top intelligence officers, Mr. Kofi Quantson. The 319-page book has interesting perspectives on a number of past events. It also chronicles attempts by President Jerry Rawlings to save his then Vice, Mr. Kow Arkaah, from political fallouts arising from his alleged sex scandal with Jemima Yalley.

Mr. Quantson quoted the President when he telephoned him: "Mr. Quantson, something has happened that involves the Vice-President. Please get into it quickly and determine whether indeed there is substance in the allegation or whether it is a political strategy to blackmail or destroy him. Chief, you know I don't like the man but that is not the way I would like him to leave office in the national interest. An officer will contact you for the details. It is not advisable to discuss that on telephone."

What was it that the President did not want to discuss on phone?: "The officer came to see me. And it was a bombshell. The outline of his story was this. A friend of his, a medical doctor, had gone to see him at the Castle to say that a young lady had come to report a medical problem that she claimed emanated from a hostile sexual activity. She claimed that the Veep was responsible. Because of the highly sensitive and explosive nature of the case, he thought the government ought to know immediately. I found the story explosive politically. For whether the allegation was true or not, there could be serious political repercussions once the information got to the public. I went into action immediately. I went to see that medical officer and interviewed him. He confirmed the story related by the officer from the Castle. He indicated that the complainant would be reporting the next day and so we set up a meeting time so that I could interview her for my personal assessment of the case. The next day the meeting came off. The young lady came with two young men who introduced themselves as her uncles. As the meeting progressed, I was shocked and a little suspicious about the stance of the uncles. They stressed that considering the explosive political implications of the case, they would co-operate in handling the case confidentially if the appropriate compensation would be paid."

Mr. Quantson then reacted: "I impressed upon them that an allegation had been made. It had not been substantiated. So how should we start talking about compensation when the allegation had not been investigated and confirmed? The whole thing smacked of premature blackmail and I was not going to be part of that rubbish. I pressed for the need for me to interrogate the young woman thoroughly and independently to establish the truth of the matter. This was necessary because the uncles were prodding the answers I required.

The uncles were not too happy about this aspect because they thought it would prolong matters. All they wanted was compensation. But I was firm that there was no point talking about any payment. I emphasized the need for such a thorough investigation because of the sensitive nature of the allegation, and the status of the personality involved.

The uncles reluctantly gave in but in the succeeding days, they resorted to all sorts of tricks to prevent a meaningful interrogation of the young woman."

The sensitive nature of the case was reflected in how the report was presented to the President: "After that meeting I prepared a report for the President. That report was hand-written. That was to ensure maximum confidentiality. Although I completely trusted my secretary, I did not want to trust anything to chance. The matter was far too delicate. In that report I sought the permission of the President to interview the Vice President. I recall that the President even jumped the gun by instructing me to assure the Vice President that the question of his resignation was out of the issue. He wanted to be sure of the facts first. He even cracked the joke that if what the girl was alleging was true then the Veep was a strong man indeed having regard to his advanced age! My interpretation of the joke was that the President did not believe the allegations"

The book quotes the author as saying that when he first discussed the matter with the then Vice-President, Mr. Arkaah confided: "Kofi, if even I have to resign to resolve this, I will do so because I don't want this to be a political issue." The President was reported to have ruled that out until the investigations established that the allegations were true.

Mr. Quantson' then went to meet Mr. Arkaah: "I met the Veep in his office at the State House and we discussed the problem frankly and comprehensively. The Veep steered away from either the confirmation or denial of the allegations. There was one interesting sensitive question that the Vice asked me relating to the medical diagnosis of the young woman's complaint. I had also put the same delicate question to the medical officer who examined that young woman. I compared the answers and draw my own conclusions. Again I prepared a hand- written report for the President indicating that I needed to "handle" the young lady further to determine various aspects of the problem. He agreed and advised extreme caution so that the matter did not end up in an embarrassing political explosion."

The story of the Committee of Elders is also told. One of the cardinal basis of the Committee's work was that if after all the analysis, the only option available was the Veep's resignation, "then that was to be brought home lucidly to him in his own interest and in the supreme interest of the nation. Interestingly, when the resignation option came up, the President did make the revealing point that he reserved the right to accept or reject the letter of resignation."

How did the meeting go? "The meeting was a fiasco from the beginning. First, the Veep delayed the "Committee of Elders" for good forty-five minutes before he breezed in like a king, dressed as usual in his immaculate fashion sporting his inevitable trademark bow tie.

He took the initiative immediately in a patronizing tone and what an irritation that initiative was! He greeted everybody generally and then specifically, "John, how is it?"

He was referring to Mr. John Tettegah, one of the NCP gurus who torpedoed the bid by Mr. Kwaku Boateng for that second slot in favour of Mr. Arkaah. This was when the issue of a Vice Presidential candidate was being addressed by the NCP.

"Kofi, otse den" - He as referring to me ('Kofi, how is it') Then he plunged into what was an obviously rehearsed declaration:

Gentlemen, I know you have been sent here to demand my resignation. I appear before you as the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana. I have my constitutional rights. I am not going to resign. I am not going to open myself to any investigations. I agreed to meet you out of respect for some of you who are my friends."