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Cease the needless aspersions: Mahama isn’t a womaniser, so is Akufo-Addo

Feature Article Cease the needless aspersions: Mahama isnt a womaniser, so is Akufo-Addo
APR 29, 2022 LISTEN

I have decided to break my solemn pledge not to wade into the seeming frivolous ‘Serwaah Broni’s ongoing vociferation as I can no longer keep mute over the dishonesty and hypocrisy being exhibited by some clamorous propagandists in the name of politics.

In fact, if my memory serves me right, almost all Ghanaian presidents have suffered the philandering gimmicks, so the ongoing smear campaigning against Akufo-Addo is nothing new.

Although I remain an unrepentant critic of His Excellency Ex-President John Dramani Mahama, I cannot and would not in any way bring his name into disrepute in the name of politics.

That being said, it is neither an insult on my part to stress inexorably that an individual has no competence to hold a particular position nor slanderous to assert that someone is devoid of the qualities requisite for effective conduct of a position such as the presidency.

However, it may be slanderous or libellous to refer to someone as a womaniser if it turns out to be untrue.

More so, it cannot be deemed as a malicious character assassination to suggest for instance, that someone is only a good lawyer but incompetent to be an effective communicator.

It is however true that the individual will take an exception to the reference of a womaniser, because it would be a malicious and unjustifiable harm to the individual’s hard earned reputation.

It was in the light of the above that I was so mindful of the vineyard news about former President Mahama’s alleged extra marital affairs.

“There is this notion of me being a womaniser which is certainly not true”. “I have had children outside my marriage, but I am at peace with my wife. She understands the circumstances in which it happened” said President Mahama (Daily Guide/peacefmonline.com).

In theory, a womaniser is “an individual who pursues women lecherously or passionately”.

It would be recalled that when President Mahama was first selected as the running mate of the then candidate, the late Mills in 2008, Mr Mahama’s official curriculum vitae released at the time indicated that he had nine children. However, the CV was allegedly withdrawn and replaced with a new one stating seven as the number of his biological children (Daily Guide/peacefmonline.com).

Apparently, the preceding puzzling and seemingly weird omission rightly generated a nationwide gossip over the actual biological children of former President Mahama.

In fact, there were contrasting figures from the vineyard news. While some vineyard branches delineated twenty three children from ten different mothers, other vineyard branches mapped nineteen children from nine separate ladies and so on.

In his interview with the Africawatch, former President Mahama made it clear that he had had children outside his marriage, but his wife understands his extra marital affairs (modernghana.com).

Apparently, the former president’s father, “the late Emmanuel Adama Mahama, a former regional minister in the Nkrumah regime had 19 kids by various women. The president admitted in the Africawatch interview” (Daily Guide/peacefmonline.com).

“Yes, we were many siblings from different mothers, but one of the things he did was to bring us together and made sure that every single child of his was put through school”.

“He gave us the opportunity,” former President Mahama said.

“However, in the case of the president’s children, they are living apart, perhaps making it difficult to know one another” (Daily Guide/peacefmonline.com).

Unsurprisingly, former President Mahama’s admirers would strangely contest that ‘crab does not bring forth a bird’.

The Mahama supporters, therefore, would argue forcefully that after all, the President’s father, “the late Emmanuel Adama Mahama, a former regional minister in the Nkrumah regime had 19 kids by various women”.

This is where I humbly disagree with President Mahama’s diehard admirers. My disagreement is predicated on the fact that the President’s father was allegedly a devoted Moslem, whose religious beliefs entitled him to marry up to four women.

On the other hand, President Mahama has pegged himself off the Islamic principles and sought refuge in Christianity, where polygamy is demonised.

Other sympathisers, however, would insist that if indeed President Mahama is indulging in extra marital affairs, it is his private matter and no one has the right to intrude into his private life.

There are also schools of thought who would argue that Mahama is the former President of Ghana and therefore every patriotic Ghanaian has every right to be concerned with any bad name that would tarnish not only Mahama’s image, but the whole nation.

In ending, for me, I have no business intruding into the private lives of either President Akufo-Addo or former President Mahama.

K. Badu, UK.

[email protected]

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