NDC has every right to own Rawlings and his legacy – Sekou Nkrumah

Dr Sekou Nkrumah, a son of Ghana first president Kwame Nkrumah has averred that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has legitimate reasons to claim ownership of late President Jerry John Rawlings and his legacy.

According to him, the party is survived by the ideals of Rawlings and must be given the recognition it deserves as far as planning for Rawlings’s funeral is concerned.

In a post on Facebook, Sekou Nkrumah said that though Rawlings ‘lacked the intelligence’ to establish the NDC, the events and principles on which the party was founded belong to Rawlings.

“NDC has every right to own Rawlings and his legacy! Indeed Rawlings is the founder of NDC, not that he founded the party himself, JJ lacks that kind of intellectual capacity or depth. But the party was founded around him, his personality and leadership!”

“JJ is the face of June 4 and December 31, and it was these events that brought about the creation of NDC as a political party. The party takes inspiration from the principles of June 4; social Justice, probity and accountability”.

In the aftermath of the death of Ghana’s longest-serving leader, the NDC, the party he founded has cried foul over being kept in the dark with regards to arrangements for his burial and funeral.

Asiedu Nketia, the General Secretary of the party accused the government of failing to recognize the NDC as a key feature of the Rawlings story.

He lamented on Class FM that the government has hijacked the funeral of Rawlings.

“We were sorely disappointed that the President of the Republic, even in issuing a statement of condolence, refused or failed to recognise the fact that President Rawlings was the founder of the NDC. It is against all the different practices we have been engaged in, in the past, as far as the death of prominent members of the two political parties are concerned,” he said.

“The President has refused to recognise that the man belongs to NDC, and he is the founder of NDC”, he argued, adding: “Everything about this funeral, so far, depicts an attempt by an opponent to hijack the funeral of the founding father of our political party, and we don’t think the funeral of our party founder ought to be organised somewhere, and we get invited”, he said on Class FM.

The government has however denied these claims, insisting that the former President served the country and that his funeral should be handled by the government.

The government also said that all relevant institutions and persons will be involved in the organization of the funeral for Jerry John Rawlings.