Dear Editor, I wish to react to the above headline attributed to me in extreme anger.
As reported by “MYJOYONLINE”, your paper claims that “Dr. Arthur Kennedy who headed Nana Akufo-Addo's communication team during the elections, but is now cooling it off in the USA, alleged in his book that while some of the key figures in the party were criss-crossing the county campaigning, others were enjoying with their girlfriends in hotels to the detriment of the party.”
This quote is not supportable by the book and nothing in “CHASING THE ELEPHANT INTO THE BUSH” will lead a reasonable person to the conclusion that became your headline. In fact, it is a wicked and deliberate lie. It is a classic illustration of the type of gutter journalism practiced by so many in our country. In a nation characterised in large part by irresponsible journalism, your newspaper has reached a new low. My anger is further heightened by the fact that I took the trouble to send your paper a copy of my book.
A seasoned journalist interested in honest reporting and our political development would have found a lot of constructive headlines from the book or even from the body of your story. Amongst the significant issues raised by the book are
- The over 205 thousand spoilt ballots that could have given the NPP a first round victory.
- The systematic attacks on the institutions of state by the NDC campaign that was documented by the EU Monitoring team.
- The Election-night shenanigans in places as far apart as Ablekuma, Asutifi and Ketu that distorted the will of the people.
Instead, just to sell your paper, you conjured a headline unrelated to my book or the facts.
A few days ago, you had an Editorial expressing concern about the in-fighting in the NPP and the NDC. The in-fighting you decried, Sir, is helped in large measure by irresponsible stories like this one. Such stories are a disservice to our country and your profession.
To the NPP, the lesson from this is that we had and still have many false friends in the media. What is distressing is that so many, including some who have copies of “CHASING THE ELEPHANT INTO THE BUSH” have become unwitting accomplices of those peddling falsehoods. Media houses like Joy fm and Peace fm, who both have copies of the book and can verify claims like the one in this should stop their mediums from being used to peddle falsehoods. It is wrong. It is unethical and it harms their reputations.
To those in my party who have become unwitting accomplices of the peddlers of falsehood, let me warn you. Those peddling these falsehoods are not trying to destroy me--- I am not important enough.
Their mission is the destruction of the NPP. They fear what will happen if our party unites around the bold cautions and ideas contained in this book. They fear our victory in 2012. Let us beware and be warned.
Finally, I urge Ghanaians to read the book for themselves and reach their own conclusions. I am prepared to be held to account for my conclusions anywhere, anytime but not for lies concocted by the likes of the “CHRONICLE” Sincerely, Arthur Kennedy
Read our editorial on page 5
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