Otabil, Buckle dismiss JJ's rantings

The two men of God who had the unpalatable priviledge of being caught in the line of verbal fire spewed by former President Jeremiah John Rawlings at his recent press conference have given their comments on the accusations.

When contacted, the Metropolitan Catholic Archbishop of Accra, Most Reverend Charles Palmer Buckle and the General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church, Dr Mensah Otabil, gave curt answers that are, to all intents and purposes, dismissal of the verbal tirade of accusations the former president hurled at them.


While answering a question from a journalist on the need for him (Rawlings) and President Kufuor to reconcile, the former president without ceremony jumped to the subject of the National Reconciliation Commission and lambasted all the nine members accusing them of doing shoddy work with the national reconciliation process that was intended to bring the nation together.


From his 18 month record on the Commission, every journalist knows that the chairman of the NRC, Justice K.E Amua Sekyi, would not comment when called, hence The Independent called Most Revered Palmer Buckle.


When contacted at his Roman Catholic Cathedral for his response to the verbal attacks, Palmer Buckle’s secretary said his boss was in a meeting and would get in touch later. But alas, when he came on the line later all his secretary said is that, He (Palmer Buckle) wouldn’t wish to comment on the issue”>

While the response, coming from a man of God, is unsurprising, it is nevertheless considered inadequate in certain quarters that hold the view that the Most Reverend should have given a better response since the accusation of the ex-president is not just about the person of the Most Reverend but also about a very important national exercise, especially when the Attorney- General’s office has just set in motion a mechanism by which the state is paying compensation to victims of past abuses who went before the NRC with their grievances.


Pastor Mensah Otabil, on the other hand, gave his comment personally. He said that everything that Rawlings said at the press conference us his personal views on his (Otabil’s) work, and he has no comment on that. “The statement by the former president is what he thinks about my work and it is his right to do so,” Dr Otabil said in a normal tone.


In his statement during the press conference, the former president accused Dr Otabil of preaching as if Ghanaians have to do everything for themselves without any help from government.