What animal is called civilian coup d’état? - Kweku Baako slams Koku Anyidoho

Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Kweku Baako Jnr., has condemned the seditious comments by the Deputy General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Koku Anyidoho.

Koku Anyidoho was on Tuesday, March 27, picked up by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service.

The NDC capo was arrested following an audio which captured him making incendiary comments and inciting civilians to launch a coup d’état against the Akufo-Addo government which went viral.

Mr. Anyidoho was charged with treason with no bail and spent the night in the custody of the CID, Peacefmonline.com sources disclosed.

Addressing the issue on Kokrokoo on Peace FM Wednesday, Mr. Baako was alarmed that the NDC firebrand would make such loose talk when he could have adopted an appropriate way of raising his concerns about the current administration.

He rhetorically asked Mr. Anyidoho what he meant by saying "there will be a civil revolt. There will be a civilian coup d’état. There will be a social revolution" during the latter's interview on Happy FM.

History Has An Interesting Way Of Repeating Itself

The said audio, also captures the NDC Deputy Scribe saying to Happy FM's Host Kwame Afrifa Mensah that "the movement is starting on Wednesday. Nana Addo will have headaches, sleepless nights, and severe running stomach. He will suffer severe diarrhea. He said he wants to be president, he would wish he hadn't harboured the desire…"

When his attention was drawn to the graveness of his comments and asked by the host whether he meant there will be a 'coup d’etat in Ghana', Koku, who acknowledged his comments are serious, responded: “as for me I have said it [translated], Somebody should tell Nana Addo that history has a very interesting way of repeating itself. On the 13th of January 1972, a certain Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong led an insurrection that removed the progress party from power. Busia was the Prime Minister and Akufo Addo’s father was the ceremonial President. Someone should tell Akufo-Addo that history has an interesting way of repeating itself....the movement is starting on Wednesday. Nana Addo will have headaches and sleepless nights. He will suffer severe diarrhea. He said he wants to be president, he would wish he hadn't harboured the desire…"



The Creature Called Civilian Coup d’état

The seasoned journalist thus opined that by alluding to the military insurrection that toppled an elected government and asserting that "history has a very interesting way of repeating itself", the security agencies are right to have picked up the NDC capo for questioning.

“If you talk of civilian coup d’état because you had mentioned civilian intervention – January 13th, 1972 – was a coup by a section of the Army. That was an unconstitutional truncation of the constitution and the 2nd Republic. That was an act of high treason punishable by death.

“Now, you put that out there; when you were checkmated, you run and look for another creature called civilian coup d’état. What animal is civilian coup d’état…? If you say that, it’s not just illogical, it’s unsustainable. I mean what creature is that? Then it’s still a treasonable act...…Demonstrations, protest marching and things and all the rest are not civilian coup d’état. The freedom to demonstrate and demonstrate in accordance with law, protest, walkouts; do all those things are not civilian coup d’état. And the civilian coup d’état, what does it mean? The only way you can take out a democratic government under this constitutional dispensation, I have given all the options. The main option left here is that we have an election to come 2020. That is where the civilians show their will. In this case, it’s not the civilians alone. It’s the electorate including the forces…That’s what you use to effect change. If the President has committed an impeachable offence, we have process to impeach the President. When the President is not there, is it not the Vice President that steps in in his stead?The constitution has laid it down”.



“So, when the General Secretary of the party said the man doesn’t control the Military and all he was trying to do was convince the masses. And that if the masses are convinced, they will act. They will act in which manner? If it is demonstration, that is not going to amount to a coup d’état whether by civilians or by soldiers or both”.

To him, therefore, what Mr. Anyidoho said amounted to a treasonable act.