Plot to declare state of emergency in election 2000 foiled!

It has now been documented from the memoirs of Dr Barffour Agyeman-Duah that there was an advance plot during the December 7, 2000 elections to create conditions such as stage combat of “fake invasion” of the country by Ghanaian “dissidents”, supported by “Togolese mercenaries” to allow former President Rawlings to declare a state of emergency to cancel the impending presidential runoff.

The clandestine plan, as stated in a new book authored by Dr. Agyeman-Duah if it had succeeded could have legitimatise the declaration of (state of emergency), and prolong the term of the then NDC government in power.

The 360-page book titled: “My Ghanaian odyssey: A Rendezvous with History” gives a revealing insight into some past events of the country which has been kept from the public all this while.

Dr. Agyeman-Duah conceded that it has never been clear whose brainchild it was, as well as the key personalities behind the idea to wreak the nation of violence during those agonizing weeks heralding the runoff in the December, 2000 elections.

He wrote: “Although a few strategically placed individuals had suspected the incumbent president (Rawlings) of complicity, no clear trail had led directly to his doorstep.”

But he revealed that Mr. Rawlings disdain for liberal democracy was not a secret, neither was his long standing aversion to abdicating power was also a classified knowledge.

Expounding on the attempted “fake invasion” in 2000, the author recalled that the presidential runoff scheduled on December 28, 2000 between John Agyekum Kufuor of the then opposition NPP, and John Evans Atta Mills of the NDC-led government, saw the candidates pulling 48 per cent and 44 per cent votes in the first round respectively.

He stated: “one fine late night in the third week of December, as the nation slept and waited anxiously for the runoff, a group of senior military officers, including one female who stood in for her superior met at the Burma camp to hatch a plot to mitigate the constitutional order.

Calculating that an outright coup d’état could plunge the country into abyss, they decided instead to create conditions for President Rawlings to declare a state of emergency, an act that would immediately cancel the impending runoff.” The author disclosed the plotters’ fabrication of credible conditions that could legitimize the declaration of the state of emergency, after long pondering on different scenarios.

“A plausible scenario emerged: an invasion of the country by Ghanaian “dissidents” supported by Togolese mercenaries!” The plan was to fake the invasion by parachuting the so-called dissidents and Togolese soldiers onto the Tema motorway where, after some stage combat, they would be rounded up.”

Simultaneously, he noted that chaos were planned to be instigated and orchestrated at some selected strongholds of the opposition party (NPP) to reinforce the “cooked crisis” in Accra, adding that the “invasion” and other provocations across the nation would strengthen the urgency for a declaration of state of emergency.

“The meeting had gone on for some hours, and the time was almost half past one in the morning. As the plotters prepared to seal the plot, the door to the secret meeting room opened, suddenly and unexpectedly. Into the room walked tall dignified General Ben Akafia, the Chief of Defence Staff. He took a few steps toward the table and stood and looked momentarily at each of the faces assembled.

In a voice full of authority and power he (Akafia) admonished; Gentlemen you better drop the plan over my dead body will you people succeed! You cannot turn back the clock of progress! He turned back toward the door, stopped, turned his head to take a final look at the assemblage, and walked out without uttering another word.”

The book accounted that Gen. Akafia’s exposure of the officers’ conspiracy forced them to abandon their ‘evil’ plan, rendering the plot to die instantly.