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27.10.2005 General News

Attempts To Close Down Ghana Palaver

27.10.2005 LISTEN
By Lens

Accra, Lens, Oct. 26 -- Unimpeachable sources close to President Kufuor have revealed to The Lens that the recent dawn raid on the house of the editor of The Ghana Palaver, Jojo Bruce Quansah, is an integral part of a grand plan designed to see to it that the newspaper ceases to operate for good.

At about 3 am last Friday, the Editor of the Ghana Palaver had the shock of his life when seven individuals including two armed policemen stormed his house claiming that they were there in connection with the 400 million cedis fine imposed on the newspaper in the case taken up against the Ghana Palaver by the brother of the President, George Kufuor.

Jojo Bruce Quansah politely informed them that neither he nor the newspaper possesses such amount of money and even if he had access to such a colossal amount, there was no way he could keep it so much money with him in his house. Upon hearing this, the dawn raiders insisted that they would come into the house and take away all items of value to enable them defray the awarded fine. After seizing two cylinders and other valuables, they insisted that the editor should take them to the paper's office where they also seized a Tico car that does not even belong to the paper.

Sources close to President Kufuor have hinted the Lens that even though George Kufuor is so well to do that he does not need any of those items seized from Jojo Bruce Quansah, the whole aim is to intensify the pressure on the paper through such psychological raids in order to kill the paper off completely.

The Lens sources also intimated that the recent trigger to this latest desperate move on the part of the Kufuor family was the recent story the paper did in relation to the son of Sam Jonah. The reasoning was that the paper has not even paid the 400 million cedis fine owed the President?s brother but continues to expose issues concerning close friends of the President.

At the time of going to press, the Lens got information indicating that any moment soon, Hon. Hackman Owusu Agyemang would also make a similar move against the Ghana Palaver. The whole operation, according to our sources, is being so coordinated as to achieve maximum effect. One source named the coordinated operation, ?Operation Shock And Kill?. After successfully killing off the Ghana Palaver, attention is to be turned at other critical newspapers including your authoritative Lens, the sources hinted.

It is revealing that whereas fines against pro-NPP newspapers have hardly exceeded one hundred million cedis, those against the perceived anti-NPP papers have averaged over one billion cedis. Eddie Annan obtained a 50 million cedis fine against the Independent newspaper while Kwamena Awhoi got a hundred million cedis fine against the Vanguard. A look at the amounts imposed on the perceived anti-NPP papers shows the following: George Kufuor obtained a 400 million cedis against Ghana palaver. Hackman Owusu Agyeman was awarded 1.5 billion cedis against the Ghana palaver. The same person obtained another 1.5 billion cedis against The Ghanaian Post newspaper too.

From the foregoing, one need not be a magician to interpret what is happening under Mr. Kufuor?s rule.

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