Kwesi Pratt Warns: Leave My Name Out Of Wikileaks' Exposé On Nana Addo

Managing Editor of the “Insight” newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., has taken strong exception to the practice whereby some social commentators keep alluding to his reported grassing up on Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, when discussing his (Akufo-Addo’s) alleged drug-use vis-à-vis the recent exposé on Ghana by whistle-blower website, Wikileaks.

Portions of leaked diplomatic cables by the whistle blower website which hit the country last year, reports Kwesi Pratt as having met officials of the US Embassy and telling them the NPP flagbearer substituted the smoking of marijuana for his early morning breakfast.

According to the leaked diplomatic cables, when questioned about persistent rumors of Akufo-Addo's alleged cocaine habit, the respected publisher and newspaper editor admitted that he had personal knowledge of the presidential candidate's drug use, but that it was not cocaine.

"Nana used to smoke a lot of marijuana, and I'm telling you, a lot. Even in the morning, there used to be a cloud around him and you could see that he was high. But I never saw him do cocaine, and I think that is just an assumption people made," Mr Pratt is quoted to have said in the leaked diplomatic cables.

However, though he admits having a formal meeting with some US officials at the US Embassy at the behest of the country’s Embassy, the newspaper editor says he cannot readily recall what really transpired at the said meeting since the interaction he had with the said US official was over a myriad of election issues.

Mr. Pratt said it was unbecoming of and unfortunate that some panelists strive to import and incorporate the discourse he had with some diplomatic officials into their submissions even when the issues being discussed have no direct links whatsoever with the Wikileaks report.

Speaking on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo Morning Show, Mr. Pratt revealed that it “hurts” when his colleagues do this injustice to him.

“I take strong exception to it…it is not proper and highly improper and should not be encouraged in discussions of this nature. Whether the issues are related to it or not…this isn’t proper and I don’t accept it,” he warned Gabby Assumeng, a member of the Government’s Communication Team.

The issue on the table was on President Mills’ return from his routine medical check-up in the USA.

Earlier in his submission, Sammy Awuku, a Deputy Director of Communications for the NPP, slammed the NDC for accusing his party of being behind rumours of Mills’ death when a newspaper known to be aligned to the ruling party, The Informer, had stated in its Editorial the previous Friday that the grapevine reports originated from the seat of government, the Osu Castle.

According to Sammy Awuku, the pro-government newspaper even went further to accuse Vice-President John Mahama, has having a hand in the rumour-mongering, and thus wondered of what benefit it will be to the NPP if the President was dead.

When he had his turn, the NDC Communications Team member discounted the publication and berated Sammy Awuku for bringing up the story in the pro-government newspaper to buttress his point. Perhaps, for equalization purposes, Gabby Assumeng also referred to Wikileaks’ exposé on Nana Addo’s alleged drug use courtesy Kwesi Pratt.

But the Senior Journalist was unhappy with the attempt to bring up his interaction with US officials in the discussion. He sought to find out whether even if he did grant an interview with some diplomatic missions in Ghana, “it should become a matter of public discussion”.

Whiles stressing that he can unreservedly express his mind on issues without the support of any entity, Mr Pratt also deployed how some political parties readily dig up the leaked cable reports to support their arguments when it suits them against their political opponents, yet go all-out to denounce portions that negatively affect their candidate.

“If there are issues on my mind and I want to voice them out, I can openly do so. That is why I have restrained myself from commenting on the issue since the story first broke out…the US embassy isn’t my linguist and cannot hold brief for me, I can voice out my thoughts on my own accord...Across the political divide, it is sad how politicians and political parties vociferously deprecate sections of the Wikileaks’ exposé that go against them but gleefully refer to parts that thump their opponents...This is a bad habit,” he said.