Anita Desooso
The son of Anita Desooso, a vice chairperson of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has attacked former President Jerry John Rawlings for calling her mother a crook.
Franklin Dorledzi, in a Facebook post, said that the NDC founder has no moral right to describe her mother as a crook when he (former President) has had several corruption allegations leveled against him.
Holier Than Thou
“This is not coming from somebody who is not holier than the Pope. This is coming from somebody whom we all know has confessed to taking $2m from Sanni Abacha, somebody whose wife has bought a factory and was sued for it,” he fired.
“I know she (Anita) wouldn’t be disturbed because that’s not what she is; I feel this is unpalatable and distasteful from an ex-President. I’m disturbed because Mr. Rawlings and his family are people who we’ve looked up to. Most definitely, I demand a retraction and apology from Mr. Rawlings, but I’ll not be surprised if Mr. Rawlings doesn’t apologize because we know that it’s something he finds so difficult to do and he’s human like any other person, I think that’s his weakness,” he told Starr FM after a video of the former President lambasting Anita went viral again.
Konadu Agenda
Anita Desooso, after Mr. Rawlings’second attack, told Okay FM in Accra on Monday that the NDC is suffering in the hands of the former President because of the supposed hatred by his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings.
“Nana Konadu is manipulating Rawlings. Rawlings of late does not attend NDC events but rather NPP. I am telling Nana Konadu that because of her bribe that I refused to take and prevailed upon the women in the NDC to vote against her candidature that is why she is angry with me?
Sounding biblical, the former NDC National Women’s Organizer said, “I will refer her to the book of Judges chapter 14 and 15 going. Sampson was someone whom God had blessed but because he loved Delilah and Delilah did not love him and had an ulterior motive; she shaved the hair of Sampson and weakened him. Later Sampson became blind. Sampson then told God that Father, I have sinned against you so please send an angel to come and rescue me. I keep on telling people that somebody could be your enemy today and later become your savior. Later, Delilah prayed to God to ask for forgiveness. So, when Delilah repented and went to Sampson, Sampson carried Delilah and had wanted to throw her away. That was when the chains around Sampson got broken. So, there is a way out for Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings. She should do something about her husband because he is not like that.”
Desooso’s Antics
Anita Desooso caused a stir during the 39th Anniversary celebration of the June 4th Uprising held at the Madina Social Welfare Centre in Accra when out of the blue she knelt before the former President, held his legs and asked him to forgive her and the NDC because she said Mr. Rawlings was the father who brought her to political limelight.
She said specifically: “Now to my father – founder (Rawlings), I know your children, we’ve erred, and I also know that you’re a human being and you have also done something; maybe it is not right and I was so happy when I heard you say that when you brought that statement out rendering an apology – you are a hero. You are a hero.”
She added, “This shows that what you have taught me is still within me. If you are a leader, be prepared to say that I’m sorry. If you’re a child, be prepared to say that daddy I’m sorry. So I’ll take this opportunity on behalf of the party to kneel down before my dad – please forgive us. Let us come together to build this country.”
Stop Bleaching
This, however, did not move Mr. Rawlings who would not even look in her direction.
When he took the microphone, he hilariously said “Hmm! Hmm! But she is getting too fair. Let us stop this kind of things. The use of these kinds of soaps (bleaching soaps) is not good. She said she is my daughter so allow me to say it. Let it serve as a lesson. Tomorrow too come and stand here and say that I am your father. Anita! Anita!”
The former President did not also end there, as somewhere in between his address, he went back to the topic, throwing the crowd into laughter and jeers.
Crook Comment
Former President Rawlings recently descended heavily on Ms Desooso, calling her a ‘crook’ in a short video which went viral.
Speaking Twi interspersed with English in the video, which appears to have been recorded recently at a social gathering at an unidentified location, the former President said “that Anita, she is a crook! She was lucky I didn’t speak about her that day during the June 4th celebration.”
Amid spontaneous laughter from the gathering, he said “what she did was pre-planned. How can a woman go on her knees pleading for forgiveness for herself and her party?”
By William Yaw Owusu