STATE PROSECUTER: My Lord, the man in the dock is called John Abduldramani Mahama. He inherited the presidency when the elected President, Professor Fiifi Atta Mills mysteriously died. He was the Vice President of the Sovereign Republic of Ghana for four years. In 2012 he won an election as the President of Ghana through a controversial Supreme Court ruling.
During the 2016 electioneering campaign, he caused to be published a book titled: GREEN BOOK in which he misled the electorate through the publication of phantom projects which included first class roads and in some cases bridges where there were no rivers. When his opponent, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo went round the country to campaign, he realized that after all, the roads purported to have been built and portrayed in the GREEN BOOK were indeed not true. In fact, it was a hoax. When Candidate Nana Akufo-Addo complained, Mr. Mahama cheekily retorted that his opponent was sleeping when he drove on the roads. Fortunately for Ghanaians who wanted to know the truth, Nana Akufo-Addo won the 2016 presidential election with an unprecedented difference of more than one million votes.
Wherever the new President visited, the chiefs and people complained of bad roads. It was as a results of the complains that it dawned on Ghanaians that indeed, what was written and portrayed in the GREEN BOOK were lies meant to hoodwink the good people of this country. My Lord, the man standing in the dock is accused of willingly misleading the people and pocketing the monies he said he used to build the phantom roads.
DEFENCE COUNCEL: Objection. My Lord, my learned friend is unfair to my client because some of the roads portrayed in the GREEN BOOK are there for the people to see.
JUDGE: Objection overruled. The prosecutor may continue his submission.
STATE PROSECUTER: Most grateful my Lord. As I was saying the accused was so clever that he instructed his tricksters to distribute the GREEN BOOK in rural areas where he knew the electorate will swallow everything in the GREEN BOOK, hook, line and sinker. As a result of the GREEN BOOK, many people, particularly those in the rural areas were misled into voting for the accused. My Lord, but for the popularity of his opponent, the results of the election would have been otherwise.
DEFENCE COUNCEL: Objection please. My Lord, my learned friend is hitting below the belt by referring to people who distributed the great GREEN BOOK as tricksters.
JUDGE: Objection overruled. It is up to the accused to tell the court why those who distributed the GREEN BOOK are not tricksters. Counsel may continue.
STATE PROSECUTER: Most grateful my Lord. In addition to building phantom roads he also awarded road contract to his friend from Burkina Faso called Jibril Kanazoe and in return he received a bribe in the form of a brand new Ford Expedition. When an investigative journalist exposed the fraud, the accused cleverly added the car to the pool of cars belonging to the state at the Flagstaff House. In this case he was left off the hook by the law since it was difficult to prove that he received the car in his name. That albatross is still hanging on his neck.
My Lord, the accused has so many corruption cases against him and at the appropriate time as the court proceeding goes on, prosecution witnesses will submit evidence to prove that at a point in time when he was the Vice President of Ghana, his boss, the late Professor Mills did set up a team to investigate him in an alleged bribery case when the nation wanted to buy a jet. My Lord, I rest my case for now.
JUDGE: Defense Counsel may cross examine his client.
DEFENCE COUNCEL: Give your full name to the court
ACCUSSED: John Abduldramani Mahama
DEFENSCE COUNCEL: Are you the same John Dramani Mahama?
ACCUSED: Yes, my Lord.
DEFENCE COUNCEL: Mention the number of political positions you have held in Ghana and any other information you deem fit in this trial.
ACCUSED: My Lord, I was an Assemblyman in my district, Bole/Bamboi and rose to become an elected Parliamentarian on three terms. I was appointed as a Deputy Minister of Communication and by dint of hard work, I was appointed the substantive Minister of Communications. I became the running-mate to the late Professor Atta Mills and subsequently became the Vice President of Ghana. My Lord, when the late President Mills died under my watch, I ordered for the corpse to be conveyed to the 37 Military Hospital in a rickety pick up truck with no siren or dispatch riders escorting the dead body. After all, the man was dead already. As the Constitution of Ghana demanded, I was lucky and I was quickly sworn in as the de facto President of Ghana. I won the Presidential Election in 2012 and my jealous opponents took me to the Supreme Court as the same Constitution demanded. By the grace of Justice Atubiga, a split decision by the judges installed me as the President of Ghana.
In 2016, I was booted out of office with a disgraceful and embarrassing results. I again contested for the presidency because I love to be called the President of Ghana. Jean Mensa, the EC boss wrongfully gave the votes I obtained to Nana Akufo-Addo, a long time political foe. I said how can this lady do that to me? So I also went to the Supreme Court after calling my supporters to the hit streets to burn tyres and disturb public order, thinking the results could be overturned in my favour. At the Supreme Court where I took my case to, there was a travesty of justice. All the seven wicked judges overruled everything that my lead lawyer, a world No.1 election dispute lawyer for that matter, called Tsatsu Tsikata was literally battered with tricks executed by two lawyers called Akoto Ampaw and Justin Amenuvor, the lawyer with witchery eye balls which he used to bully and coerce Asiedu Nketia, the village mathematician and Mettle-Nunoo who willingly left the national collation center and went to the office of Jean Mensa to drink tea with no biscuits. How can you give somebody tea without biscuits, my Lord? At least Jean Mensa could have added Ga kenkey or kelewele. I was resting in my luxurious mansion in Dubai with Lordina when this summons was sent to me. I said how? I am sitting my ‘somewhere’ and you want to disturb my peace? So here I am, one more time at the mercy of your Lordship. Judges? Hmmm! Fear them.
DEFENCE COUNCEL: Are you corrupt?
ACCUSED: Me? As a person or as a President?
DEFENCE COUNCEL: Mr. Dramani Mahama, are you corrupt?
ACCUSED: Oh, no, yes, no, yes.
JUDGE: Which one should we record? Yes or no?
DEFENCE COUNCEL: My Lord, my client is Professor Emeritus in English Language and a communication expert so he was using English idiomatic expression.
JUDGE: Case adjourned to 7th December, 2024
COURT CLERK: Court rise!!!
Why do you expect me to puff my cigar in a court of competent jurisdiction? You want the judge to jail me for contempt of court? You think say I be foolish man?
By Eric Bawah