Rawlings' Plague Vanishes From Church

The mysterious removal of a 10-year old plaque installed on the front walls of the Peki Avetile branch of the Evangelical Presbyterian (EP) Church, Ghana in the Kpando district and the cloud of secrecy surrounding the disappearance are causing quite a stir in the hearts and minds of a large number of church members and town-folk alike.

And for the past 60 days that it got missing an uneasy calm, coupled with rumours of a possible sabotage, is making rounds, not only within the humble township of Avetile, but also on the streets of Accra, the nation’s capital.

The plaque was put there in 1993 in the name of Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, then President of the Republic of Ghana, when the church was celebrating its centenary anniversary.

Being the oldest church building that has withstood the torrents and other vagaries of the weather since its construction in 1893, the hundred-year commemoration of the stone-walled house of God was given the honour it deserved at the time.

Then out of the deep blue sea emerged the miraculous ''hand of God'' that struck a part of the front view of the temple, removing the decade-old plaque. Incidentally, the 110-year old building is situated just about 70 metres away from the serene resting place of the late Dr. Ephraim Amu, Ghana’s ace musicologist.

Since then tongues have been wagging over the loss, with people suspecting political undercurrents.

Impeccable sources close to the church "Chronicle" spoke to fingered Mr. Isaac N. K. Wuaku, a retired Supreme Court judge and elder of the church, for pulling the plaque off the wall of the church. Chronicle was told that the incident happened during the last Easter.

According to the sources, it was discovered on Saturday, April 19, this year that the original plaque had been replaced with a new one. As things turned out, news went round that it was Justice Wuaku, with the connivance of the catechist of the church, who carried out the exercise.

Justice Wuaku’s action, Chronicle learnt, beat the minds of concerned members of the church and also did not go down well with a section of the youth. And by the next day, the new plaque allegedly mounted by Justice Wuaku had been destroyed.

Sources said because of the rising concerns over this development, the church thought it wise to convene an early morning emergency meeting on Easter Monday to ascertain the motives behind Justice Wuaku’s action. It was learnt that Justice Wuaku, who himself on the day of the meeting went round to convey others to the session, was challenged to name the person who authorized him to remove the plaque, and he mentioned the catechist.

But this was rebuffed since authority had to come from the elders of the church, referred to as The Session, before the catechist could act. Another explanation Justice Wuaku was quoted to have given was that Peki was 100 per cent National Democratic Congress and that it would be wise to remove Rawlings’ name from the plaque, a position the sources said was also challenged.

That Justice Wuaku had to wait after 10 years, and for the New Patriotic Party to come to power for him to replace the plaque boggled the minds of The Session members.

When Chronicle contacted him to confirm or deny the incident, he refused to speak on the issue, despite being told that it was in his favour to tell his side of the story.

He told the paper that he could neither add nor subtract from the explanation given to the paper by the church officials at Peki Avetile. Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, the constituency under which Avetile Peki falls, Dr. Kwame Ampofo, when contacted to speak on the issue, confirmed the story, saying he said he saw the action as politically motivated, describing it as cowardly.

He wondered why Justice Wuaku, whom he described as an NPP sympathizer, did not see the need to remove the plaque during the NDC era. He said the youth in the church are resisting a suggestion by the head pastor, Rev. (Mrs.) Kpikpi, that members contribute money to replace the broken plaque.

Dr. Ampofo noted, ''It is unfortunate that somebody who knows the law, someone who has risen to such great height would stoop so low to do such a thing.''

The South Dayi MP said Justice Wuaku owes the people of Peki and the EP Church tons of apology, adding ''and he must be made to do it because what he has done is indiscipline of the highest order and he must be called to order.''