Will The Brutal Murder Of Nana Yaw Ofori Destroy President Mills' Legacy?

There is an ongoing attempt to let those responsible for the brutal murder of Nana Yaw Ofori, scion of a wealthy family, and an employee of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), at the time of his mysterious death, get away with a heinous crime.

If it succeds it could destroy much of the legacy of President Mills (such as it is!) - along with the careers and reputations of a host of others: mainly from the AMA, officers from the top echelons of the Ghana Police Service and medical officers (pathologists) from the Ghana Health Service.

A few patriotic individuals - who are outraged that such things can happen in a nation whose leaders proudly proclaim that they believe in the rule of law and due process - are determined to help the brave mother of the murdered young man, get justice for her murdered son.

That brave Amazon, is determined to prevail regardless - in the face of what is clearly a determined and orchestrated effort to stop her from unearthing the truth about what exactly happened to her son: and thereby allow his cruel and calculating murderers to get away with their monstrous crime.

I have absolutely no doubt at all, that any attempt to cover up Nana Yaw Ofori's murder, could end up sullying the reputation of the Mills administration - as it will simply put that regime beyond the pale: just as the murder of the three judges and retired army officer did that of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).

My humble advice to the good people amongst those who surround President Mills, is that they ought to invite the mother of Nana Yaw Ofori, to meet with Brigadier General Nunoo Mensah.

He must listen carefully to the entire shocking story from that highly-intelligent lady.

After that he must act quickly to allow the very competent crime officer at the district level in the Tesano Police District Command, from whom the case somehow ended up being removed and transferred to the headquarters of the Ghana Police Service, just when he was ready to charge a suspect for the murder, to conclude his investigations.

The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Paul Tawia Quaye, ought to take a personal interest in this shocking matter too.

He ought to take the necessary steps needed to ensure that never again will the Ghana Police Service allow powerful people to use their baleful influence, to stop district level crime officers closing in on murder suspects, from doing so, and bringing their investigations to a conclusion, by using the headquarters of the police administration for such dreadful and evil ends.

This is a democracy not a dictatorship. We must not allow innocent people to be murdered in cold blood with impunity, by well-connected individuals - who can manipulate police officers to facilitate the cover up of murder-of-innocents, by blackguards amongst the rich and powerful, in Ghanaian society.

My humble advice to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly's chief executive, Dr. Okoh Vanderpuije, is that he too ought to understand clearly that the wrangle over Accra's billboard sites, is now no longer just a simple budgetary lobbying matter - about raising more revenue from a particular source of income for the AMA: and who can best deliver that for the AMA.

Alas, it would appear that there are mafia-type individuals who see all of that tangled web of envy, deceit, nepotism and influence-peddling-for-vast-sums, as a golden opportunity to grow super-rich quickly, in the Ghana of today.

It appears that they are even prepared to commit murder to achieve that end, and in the process, don't care one jot about the consequences for the reputations and futures, of the host of professionals in the AMA, the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Health Service, whom they are busy manipulating to ensure their success in that evil enterprise.

It won't happen - and they will not be allowed by some of us to succeed. Period.

The AMA boss must quickly distance himself from Via Affrinity, a business entity (and its controversial promoters!) that perhaps he originally simply thought could help improve the AMA's income from the billboard site location revenue stream.

However, it is more than that, at this point in time - and now that a number of individuals who fear nothing and are afraid of no one in Ghana, and who cannot be bought because their consciences are not for sale at any price, have decided to help a brave mother fight to unravel the murder of her beloved young son, Nana Yaw Ofori, by taking this matter up on her behalf, it may very well end up making the AMA's association with that controversial entity (Via Affrinity) simply untenable morally and politically.

This blog has refrained from discussing the struggle over access to billboard sites in the jurisdiction of the AMA in any detail in this particular piece because the matter is sub judice at the moment - but Dr. Okoh Vanderpuije's own legacy as Accra's mayor could end up being sullied if he is not careful.

Of course it needs to be said that the advertising industry players now kicking against Via Affrinity's virtual monopoly are not saints themselves either.

Many of them effectively colluded in the rip-off of the AMA in the past. A number of them used their connections with the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime to enable them rip-off the AMA successfully. If they want the public's sympathy, they must resolve to become better corporate citizens of Ghana henceforth, going forward into the future.

Finally, dear reader, it may very well be the case that a murder has actually been committed because of the fight for access to billboard sites in Accra - incredible though that sounds.

For all those involved in this tragic story, let me also make the point, that this is one murder in the nation's capital, Accra, which cannot be covered up in the Ghana of today.

This blog predicts that if the ongoing attempt to cover it up, by deliberately raising distracting questions about the identification of Nana Yaw Ofori's body (already positively identified by his parents!) is allowed to proceed apace, one had no doubt that it will lead inexorably to the biggest political scandal in the history of our nation thus far,  from which the Mills administration might never be able to recover politically.

This is a civilised nation - and a nation of laws. The Mills administration must make sure that the law is allowed to take its course in this matter - and ensure that the IGP instructs that the Tesano District Command should continue with the investigation of the cold-blooded contract murder of Nana Yaw Ofori: and prosecute all those suspected of commissioning and carrying it out.