“Demystifying” “Hon.” Kwesi Pratt

Yaw Opare-Asamoa oasamoa@gmail.com

So is Kwesi Pratt a traitor as Alhaji Bature wants us to believe? Maybe or maybe not, depending on where you stand. But how long did it take Alhaji Bature to find this out? When Kwesi Pratt ‘stabbed’ him in the back and got him fired from Radio Gold? (Bature’s own assertion) or did he just realize this after Kwesi Pratt called the ‘Chairman’ to order?

Kwesi Pratt has the singular honour of having been allegedly jailed fourteen times in this country- He said so himself. Were all these imprisonments ‘genuine’ or were some of them questionable? I happen to have information that some of those ‘jailtimes’ were for some other purposes. I am not ready to drop names here but I know Kwesi Pratt himself knows what the truth is regarding this matter. Let’s just say that the evidence used against Kwame Pianim, many years ago, was not manufactured. It had to have come from somewhere and I believe someday, we will all have the privilege of knowing where. So is he a traitor? Alhaji Bature believes he is but what does Bature want us to do with that information now? “Etua wo yonko ho a, etua dua mu” There is no truer expression than this. Now Alhaji Bature feels betrayed because Kwesi Pratt had the ‘audacity’ to tell the ‘Chairman’ to shut up.

There was this other journalist who went into ‘exile’, supposedly, in a neighbouring country. He was later to come home and be part of the then ‘newly-formed’ NDC. High-level intelligence reports indicate that he played the role of a ‘mole’ for the PNDC. He relayed vital information from Ghanaian ‘dissidents’ in exile back to the PNDC government. Remember Halidu Giwa and his failed attempted coup? Ever wondered how the PNDC got information about details of the movement of the attempted coup-plotters? Well as I always say, the true story of Ghana’s political history has never been told in full. Those who know what really and truly happened owe it to the next generation to ‘release’ the information. Ghanaians need to know the truth of what has happened in this country in order to avoid the mistakes of the past and plan for a better future. Years ago, the country was the ‘loser’ when the much anticipated confrontation between Kwesi Pratt and Kwaku Baako was called off at the last minute. I do not know which of them balked away but a lot would have been revealed from that encounter. Revelations that would have shocked many in the country. Kwesi Pratt talks like a socialist but does he back his words with deeds? Does his lifestyle match his ‘rhetoric’? He has successfully positioned himself as a ‘defender’ of the masses but is that really the case? Yes, calling Rawlings to order may have been one of the crowning moments of his life but how much premium should we place on that? Does he (Kwesi Pratt) not bear any responsibility for what Rawlings has become today? Did he suddenly realize that Rawlings is bad news for Ghana and more so if he (Rawlings) continues on this path? Well, I guess it is better late than never but I just hope more ‘revelations’ would come from him.

Kofi Adams, spokesman for Rawlings, believes that Kwesi Pratt does not have the capacity, intellectual or otherwise, to analyze the political lands cape and subsequently express his opinions. According to Mr. Adams, the Ahwoi brothers put Kwesi up to such ‘mischief’. Whether Kwesi and the Ahwois are working together or not is beside the point. The point is which of the ‘charges’ raised by Kwesi Pratt is Rawlings denying? Is it the part that Rawlings made those statements to the cadres in Kumasi? Or the part that Rawlings made those disparaging comments against Kufuor at that international meeting? And by the way, if Atta Mills continues to do what he, Rawlings, does not agree with; what is he going to do? Overthrow him?? Anyway, back to Kwesi Pratt: is he ‘angry’ because Rawlings said Nkrumah gave us only ‘a flag and national anthem’? Being an Nkrumahist that must have hit Kwesi Pratt the wrong way, I believe. Or maybe it was his reference to the 1979 constitution as a ‘mere paper guarantee of abstract liberties’ that did it for Comrade Pratt. Whatever it is, Kwesi Pratt seems to have suddenly found his voice. Rawlings just did not start this behaviour last night or with Atta Mills’ presidency; he has been at this since he left office in 2000. But hey, it was alright for Rawlings to constantly level allegations and insults at Kufuor but it is a complete no-no for him to criticize Atta Mills. Hmmmm Mr. Pratt!

As has already been suggested, by one Akosua Abronoma Boateng, Kwesi Pratt would have to do more (and better) than this to lay claim to any sense of integrity; and he can start by going to Kwaku Baako with that apology. By the way didn’t Kwesi Pratt run for MP sometime ago? So he wanted to be an MP eh? “Honourable Pratt” ‘anaaaaa!’

When it’s all said and done who am I to question Kwesi Pratt’s motives (intentions)? I don’t know what those are but I can surely comment on what he’s said and done over the years.

Written and submitted on September 11, 2009