Sekou ignorant of what killed his own father – Ato Dadzie

Former Chief of Staff in the Rawlings administration, Nana Ato Dadzie says Dr. Sekou Nkrumah is ignorant of what killed his father, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and therefore, wonders if the late president’s last son has the moral right to demand to know the cause of President John Mills’ death.

Nana Ato Dadzie’s comment is in response to Dr. Sekou Nkrumah’s challenge to the governing National Democratic Congress to make public the cause of late President Mills’ death.

While throwing that challenge, Dr. Nkrumah stated emphatically that his father, Ghana’s first President, died from prostate cancer.

He told private radio station Okay FM on Thursday July 25, 2013 that: “I recently gave an example of my old man; he died of prostate cancer. He developed the cancer in 1970 or so, and by 1972, it had become so widespread and he died of complications related to that”.

Speaking on Joy FM’s news analysis programme ‘Newsfile’ on Saturday July 27, Nana Ato Dadzie contested Dr. Sekou Nkrumah’s knowledge of his own father’s death and used that as a basis to question his justification in demanding details of the cause of President Mills’ death.

“Sekou says that his father died of prostate cancer, but we all do know that skin cancer was a major factor,” Mr. Ato Dadzie insisted on the programme.

His intervention was a sequel to fellow discussant Kweku Baako’s assertions that the August 11, 1962 Kulungugu bombing incident, which was an assassination attempt on Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, was “part of the reasons why he died”.

The New Crusading Guide Newspaper editor-in-chief said despite earlier claims by officialdom that Dr. Nkrumah escaped the assassination attempt unscathed, he sustained injuries which later played a role in his death.

According to the former chief of staff, “what killed Kwame Nkrumah is a myth up to today”, because his death has been ascribed to so many reasons including skin cancer.

He, therefore, says Dr. Sekou Nkrumah “doesn’t have what it takes to assess late President Mills”.

“He’s not fit and doesn’t qualify to assess President Mills” because “he hasn’t been in politics himself for long”.