Boakye-Djan replies Rawlings: Who let the dogs out?

Behold, the chips are falling like snowflakes. Symmetry has found its way in melodrama, not in Mathematics. And not your usual harmonious one but cacophonic. Nonetheless, it sounds so pleasant to some ears. And so horrible, so nauseating to the ears of others.

So who let the dogs out?

The duck that quaked at 3:00 O'clock, says this writer. There was relative glum at 1500 Independence Avenue, until Joy TV aired its programme titled: "The scars of June 4th."

Oh they'd scratched old wounds. Opened a can of worms! The wild dogs had been sleeping for 40 long years- no noise, no trouble, until the noisy neighbour played his "chaskele" game that hush afternoon.

The bulldogs had been enjoying their sound sleep until Maj. Rida (Rtd.) pushed the wrong button-- setting off all the 'Wahala' bells .

Ding- ding-ding-dong. They rang.

And we've since been hearing the bells chiming, the birds chirping and the lions growling.

The Rooster is back home to roost. But why now? Who likes to defend, reproduce or replay his actions or inactions or the wrongs, h/she committed 40 years ago when he's 70 plus years-old?

The. Ripple Effects

And now here we are, feasting our tingling ears with war words, insinuations, abusive epithets, unprintable words, words that are as sharp as sword. Too dirty, too petty and too raw to process. Are these our leaders, the men we hold in high esteem?

It seems decorum has gone through the eastern window and courtesy is extinct.

Need I asketh: Didst thou saveth any respect for this generation and morrow?

Boakye-Djan'Replies Rawlings

Major Boakye-Djan (Rtd) one of the architects of the 4 June revolution says he assisted former President Rawlings to pass his promotion examination to become a Flight Lieutenant after five failed attempts.

Djan says, as the chief examiner, he used his office to pass Rawlings, who was his friend at the time.

“Had it not been my intervention, he [Rawlings] would have been sacked. He was a borderline case, and, as the chief examiner, I was given the power to pass people who were on the borderline because he was close enough to pass; he failed his promotion exams five times in a row."

He made the remarks on Accra-based radio station called Neat on Monday, 9 November 2019.

Damming allegations

Major. Boakye-Djan also alleges that President Rawlings killed Flight Lieutenant Kojo Lee. According to him Mr. Rawlings dumped Lees's body into the Ocean. Can he prove this allegation?

They were friends as Djan alludes to, but over the years, the relationship between the two military capos turned cold and as Bob Marley says: 'Your best friend could be your worst enemy.'

But must it come down to this?

This one that looks like a caricature.

“Rawlings will not die a normal death. Quote me anywhere you want to quote me. For all the sins he has committed, including the ‘dirty’ monies he has spent and still having a restless soul, it is only God who can punish him”, Maj. Boakye-Djan says.

When presed to explain why he says Mr. Rawlings won't die a normal death, Maj. Boakye-Djan replies: "I won't be surprised if Rawlings goes mad before he dies."

Is the end drawing nigh?

You might think so, given the way the actors are bad-mouthing one another and mudslinging each other.

Indeed, Djan’s outburst comes after Rawlings called him a liar, and a coward. Mr. Rawlings had ridiculed Osahene that, before the cockerel crowed at 3am on the D-Day Djan had taken a flight.

Mr Rawlings was responding to former Squadron commander, Major Rida (Rtd) who'd accused him (Rawlings) of being at loggerheads with his superiors in the lead-up to the 1979 coup because he (Rawlings) felt “oppressed” after he was asked to refund some $4,000 he had misapplied.

Different Accounts

I've said that this story would be told and retold. This story is tainted. It's tinged with fairy tale, conspiracy theories, falsehoods and truths.But whose account would you believe, Rawlings, Rida or Djan?

Here's a witness account.

This witness once lived in Burma Camp (the hot spot) during the 1979 revolt. It's believed, this is where it all began. He's now based in the United States and teaches at Conestoga College.

Mr. John Kamassah you've the ears of the audience. Please set the ball rolling:

"Major Rida's story is blatantly false and far from the truth. I'll tell you this. For those who know me well, know me as not a supporter of Rawlings but his accounts of events is true."

"Yes it'ss a known fact that Osahene Boakye Djan took off when the going got tough.

The first casualty of the June 4 th revolt was Lt. Agyeman Bio. He was killed at the 5BN C company building it's far away from the bushes right in front of Osahene and that when he took off. Until he was forced to re-emerge from one of the Achimota school bungalows-- where his girlfriend was living. The officer who led the detachment to smoke out Osahene was Flt Lt Kojo Lee-- a very good friend of Rawlings and also the son of African American dentist Dr. Robert LEE."

"Remember this same kojo Lee was sentenced to death by public tribunal chaired by one Agyekum. Remember also, he'd (Lee) to run to seek asylum in the British high commission after the verdict-- sentencing him (kojo Lee) to death."

"And this is what happened: Kojo Lee had shot and killed a taxi driver point blank at La Palm wine Junction.

My dad witnessed the carnage and he was the prosecution witness at the tribunal.

According to my dad if he'd not stepped in, there would have been more killings as kojo Lee was going be attacked by the La people who witnessed the shooting and kojo Lee will not have hestitated to fire his pistol to kill more attackers."

According to Mr. Kamassah Rawlings' account that the 15 May uprising failed because he (Rawlings) made it so is untrue.

"May 15 did not fail because Rawlings wanted so. That is false. It failed because brave officers like Major Sulemana , captain Kusi and Army chief of Staff Gen Odartey Wellington stopped them.

The open secret memo

"Thank God May 15 Failed but l don'tt know if you guys have read what is called the Eithopia manifesto. It's scary.

The memo outlined who would have been dealt with had the May 15 been successful.

All successful Ghanaian businessmen would have been shot and killed on the spot not arrested.

All foreign business men with thier names and house numbers listed in that memo. All MD's of corporations would be arrested and locked up ,those that resisted arrest were to be shot on the spot.

I tell you this document was circulating among soldiers and let me tell you soldiers were ready to move among other ranks they also had their agenda. And they also wanted to storm Makola Market to show the market women thier anger at them."

Who wins this 'fight'?

According to Mr. Kamassah all the actors stand to lose.

"There is a lot to be written when the actions of the various actors in May 15, June 4 and Dec. 31 is going to be written. I hope that those same actors will not be spilling the beans now in thier old age. If they do,l can tell you, all of the actors will lose the little respect Ghanaians have for them . None , none of them is blameless. Those of us who lived in Burma camp know of those who slept with their friends' wives, girlfriends, those who had children with teenagers some of the girls were our classmates who are living now. These ladies now live in the UK , New Jersey, Amsterdam and France. Hey asem be ba dabi oohh."

What does he have to say about Lee's death?

Mr. Kamassah has called Djan's account about Kojo Lee 'plainly false'.

"Kojo Lee was Rawlings' buddy buddy. They drove together they rode horse together, they went to the gym to participate in tea kwando and boxed together, he narrates.

"Il tell you one of the secrets why other ranks adhered and liked Rawlings was that he was the only Airforce officer who will fight in a tea kwon do competition with other ranks and also step into the boxing rink to fight other ranks in the inter battalion sports festival. He even played midfield and was the coach of the Airforce football team.Ordinary soldiers liked Rawlings long before this revolution nonsense."

Now to say that Rawlings killed kojo Lee is not true. However, nobody knows how he died after the public tribunals sentenced him to death. The expectation was that he (Lee) wouldl be set free by Rawlings due to thier friendship.

I am not saying Rawlings is a saint, but what Osahene is saying about Rawlings will not die a natural death has some truth to it.

The second soldier is sergeant victor Dovlo his nickname is horror and later change to koklo as in cockerel. For those of you who know jack Gbeblah of police striking force. This soldier is 20 times jack.

Remember the June 4 days when makola women where brought to Burma camp a d paraded on the 5BN parade grounds at noon and where asked to lay on a table naked with their legs wide open. It was this guy who will then go to insert powdered pepper into these females private parts and he will ask the females to say eye hia eye kania .. This is how he was nicknamed horror or man terror.

During the 31 Dec revolution he up his terror escalated. His new doung hobby was killing just shooting people civilians who talks back to him or argue with him. He himself was proud of it tells people about his killings.

A personal eye witness account. We were in our classroom Burma camp school complex. This cluster of schools is not far from the main entrance and checkpoint to Burma camp. It's also the location that is called the Congo junction. That is the main Elwalk stadium to Labadi road. Congo junction is junction you turn on into the main entrance to Burma camp. This soldier had mounted his own checkpoint and had stop a civilian driving a Nissan Maxima. We heard shots being fired and as protocol the teacher released all students to go home. Instead of going home l headed towards the direction of the shooting. I arrived there and saw this nice gentleman shot in the stomach laying on the street in a pool of blood with his intestines gushing out.

The man's daughter who was about 7 to 8 years-okd crying . This man was left to die there.

What was this man's crime? He didn't stop when he was asked to by sgt koklo. This was later identified as a senior staff at the Ministry of Works and housing who lived in one of government bungalows in cantonments and was on in his way to drop off his daughter in one of the schools at Burma camp.

This man died a horrible but a slow death. Before he passed, his lower body had maggots.

The same type of death l learned WO1Adjei Baudi suffered."

And on that note, I draw the curtain down with a humble plea to all the actors engaged in the brawl: Please let's bury the hatchet. Let's not rock the sailing boat. Let's smoke a peace pipe. We are beautiful people with a beautiful country.

Correction: A section of the opinion about RSM Ali Nakyea has been deleted due to its factual error that was brought to the attention of GhanaWeb by the family of RSM Ali Nakyea. They urged the public to disregard the narration that the late RSM Ali Nakyea was involved in the June 4 Revolution especially when he died two years before the time. GhanaWeb apologises to the family for the disparaging narrative about RSM Ali Nakyea.