The Ghanaian adage that “akodaa bor nwa, ommor akyekyedee( A child is capable of splitting open a snail, not a tortoise)” obviously seems to be lost on the NPP’s Deputy Director of Communications, Samuel Awuku. As a result, he continues to lend truism to the biblical injunction that (Proverbs 17:10) “A rebuke is more effective with a man of understanding than a hundred lashes to a fool”
Just less than a month after he escaped a prison sentence after he was charged for contempt for undermining the authority and integrity of the justices of the Supreme Court, he has once more done same in pronouncements secretly recorded.
Speaking to London branch of the NPP’s Communication Team at the NPP Old Meeting Place on Seven Sisters Street in London in July this year, Sammy Awuku virtually brought the credibility of some of the Supreme Court justices who are about to give their ruling in the election petition case into disrepute when he said emphatically that quiet a number of them were favourable towards the cause of the NPP. By inference, the loud-mouth NPP politician was simply saying that the majority of the nine-member panel sitting on the case are in support of the NPP’s petition and thus no matter the evidence before them, they will vote in favour of the petitioners (the NPP), an action which will be tantamount to a miscarriage of justice and is also an affront to Ghana’s security and stability.
With the contents of the secret recording already going viral, the question many are asking is whether it is true that some of the judges on the case are favourable to the cause of the NPP? If true, who are those judges? Are those judges therefore going to rule in favour of the petitioners (NPP) even if the facts before them are to the contrary? Already, names of some of the justices’ names are being bandied around thanks to Sammy Awuku’s unguarded comments.
In his chat with the London branch of the NPP’s communication team, Samuel Awuku again ran down the President of the nine-member panel, Justice William Atuguba, insinuating that he was a hypocrite.
The secret recording which has already hit town is expected to be the main issue today on the air waves. Sammy Awuku, who has obviously got wind of the secret recording has tried to do damage control by distancing himself from the tape, claiming the voice on it is not his and threatening to drag to court any media house who publishes or broadcasts it. Below is the full transcript of what was secretly recorded. It starts with a gentleman introducing Sammy Awuku to his audience.
TRANSCRIPT OF SAMMY AWUKU’S ADDRESS TO NPP COMMUNICATORS IN LONDON AFTER HE WAS FREED FROM CONTEMTPT CASE
… and indeed when you mention Sammy Awuku’s name, he represents the voice and the face of the party in many many instances. And I know when Atuguba was addressing him he wasn’t addressing Sammy Awuku as a person, I am sure he was talking beyond Sammy Awuku because he wanted to send a message to all of us here as speakers for the party and that is why he was used as a scapegoat. And I think the way he also represented the party was in a very positive light. That aspect of humility and also showing remorsefulness and indeed he took us out of a very very deep shit and that is how I got my admiration and respect for Sammy Awuku.
Today he is here with us in person, he is going to speak to us and indeed if there are any questions that we want to ask he is here. And let me thank him because he has been part and parcel of this rally. Every time we have called him he has not hesitated at all, he has always respected our protocol as well and has always responded.
Today we are privileged once again to have in our midst Sammy Awuku [applause]
Sammy Awuku
I will entreat you that a lot of sensitive things will be mentioned today so under no circumstance should anybody record any material apart from what is being videoed by Richard Sarkodie who is security check so its ok. Nothing here should go outside for a lot of things that will be said here should not be known to **** **** so please please please we will entreat you that whatever will be said here remains amongst yourselves as communications team members. Thank you very much.
First of all I also bring you greetings from the party leadership and from Nana Akomea our communications director. We are very happy and very comfortable with the processes so far but also there are issues …. I know Professor Asare one of our party members and one of the lawyers in the United States has also been firing the judges for their recent cases of contempt. Clearly if you monitor radio in Accra and a newspaper is able to also capture it on the following day then the person is invited for contempt… if you are on a radio station in Kumasi and you say something that needs to back up with then it also becomes contempt. But the question is who monitors radio stations in upper west, in upper east, in the volta region, in Brong Ahafo, in western and in central? For there are serious things also being said at the countryside but because no newspaper captures it, so it becomes very selective one way or the other.
Ebiem .....(a lady says in Akan for ‘’Again’’)
So that that that makes it much more interesting. But it is true that among the nine judges, we also have at least quite a good number who are favourable to our cause and that is the only thing that has restrained us other than that… . Because if you will realise the attack has not been on the nine judges. It has been targeted at a particular individual. (interruption from a male voice.... ‘Atuguba’). Lets be very fair but because he doesn’t want to go down alone he finds a way of extending it to all his colleagues. But the target among the nine judges has never been Akoto Bamfo or Baffoe Bonney or Dotse or Adeniyira or Julius Ansah or Gbadegbe or Anin Yeboah or Gbadegbe. It’s been targeted … because if you have a president of a panel and it is even 8:1, and you are the one dissenting, Jesus Christ, 8:1 and the president of the panel and when you see embarrassment staring you in the face you say Atuguba JJC dissenting on jurisdiction grounds. But when the others dissent you don’t mention the reasons why they dissented. But someway somehow it’s been a painful seven months but surely it is going to come to a close at the end of this month maximum the first two weeks of August.
Errrrm, things look very good and I am very happy that Nana yaw told me that it is a very secured meeting we are having. There are some information we can share but not for the benefit of it being on radio. But at least if we have that kind of background, it will also help in the discourse on radio and TV.
And for your information most of their administrative officers in the regions have passed on. (audience talk among themselves). Well, the one who was managing .... the one, the one, in charge of elections in the northern regions is dead, the one in the volta too is dead, the one in the Brong Ahafo, two of them in the Western Region . Just that when you, when you raise some of these issues, it bothers on emotions and if you don’t take care you will incur the wrath of the family but that is the truth. Most of them have passed on. I don’t want to give any prediction but we expect to get a, a higher number amongst the nine. Errrr, so let’s all pray and hope that nothing drastic happens, no one loses his life among the nine, which these people are quite, you know, are quite good at. Even a president can die and we can’t have any autopsy and all that and so that’s what we are only praying against that this case should also end well.
We thank you for your support even in the face of extreme provocation and I do hope and pray that it won’t be business as usual, God willing, if the NPP wins this court case, which we are confident we will win. I pray that everybody gets his dream or her wishes someway somehow fulfilled in Accra. At least, the difference between politics and religion is that for religion, chairman, you are worshipping a god you are not seeing, that it is only when you die that you are honoured there. But in politics, at least, you suffer on earth ... the person should be able to get his reward too on earth. (Applause)
Let our people also enjoy the benefit of us being in government so that when someday we go back into opposition, we all chopped some, we all must work.
On the matter of Wereko Brobbey Asem wei na me see menka be but me pe see menka bi. Twi. {we came into this government when Wereko Brobbey was going to be appointed the VRA boss, his monthly pay was not less than 20,000 GHC and that is 200 million. He and KT Hammond were fighting over there. Ampem Darko was taking 25,000 cedis a month and that is 250 milion. But what makes Wreko brobbey’s own annoying was that he keeps saying that he is part of the founding fathers and that he was one of those under whose auspices the NPP was founded. But we have also contributed to the party especially those of us in this room. So if somebody says he has toiled for this party, none of us was sweeping Asylum Down. We all helped in our own small ways. Wereko Brobbey formed a political pary in the year 2000 to rival the NPP which was seeking power. When you wake up you just keep saying that you suffered to bring this party into power in 2000. How can this be possible when you formed a party to rival a party seeking for power. Did you struggle more than those who were in Zabazugu, Tatale, Mion, Karaga and made sure that they will form the party? When you behave this way ... if gold should rust, what would iron do? If the elders of our party behave this way, what are we the young ones expected to do?
You have fed fat from this party extremely and if somebody is about to enjoy a bit you say we should let it go?
Apart from that, when Wereko Brobbey went to VRA [as CEO], his lunch alone for the year cost the taxpayer GHC30,000.00; his favourite meal is snails and tilapia. [laughter] When the ordinary party people, your supporters, who ensured the party came into power got nothing. In fact in the year 2007, he told John Boadu and Rita Asobayire, at the AU Village when they went to him for support for the party, that he was not a member of the NPP. You can quote me anywhere.
Wereko Brobbey told them to the face that he was not a member of our party and that President Kufour appointed him because the NPP’s leadership lacked proficiency in English. Ask John Boadu and Rita Asorbayire!
If he can speak this way….
That day that Wreko Brobbey’s matter ensued I was there that morning and I witnessed that some boys have charged themselves and ready for action and I got there because they needed me to calm them down. If he believe that democracy is about saying whatever one likes, the foot soldier does not understand it that way!. His form of democracy is to know that you are serious about what you are saying. He will let you know that what you are doing is hurting me. If he is ready to talk to you then you are lucky if he uses his cutlass to then so be it.
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