The Management of Radio Gold
appears to be on a collision course with the Chief Scribe of the
opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Lawyer Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie after
the Accra-based radio station hit back at the outspoken politician
following his allegation that the station had doctored a recording of an
Oman FM programme on which he made potentially contemptuous comments
against the Supreme Court Justices sitting on the election 2012 petition
case.
The privately-owned radio station wants the NPP firebrand
to render an unqualified apology for leveling ‘wild allegations’ against
it.
Sir John, as the NPP General Secretary is known in political
circles, in his denial of an audio tape purported to contain his voice
which seemed to be contemptuous of the Supreme Court claimed the station
might have doctored the said tape and replayed it on-air to debase his
reputation.
He is reported to have singled out Justice William
Atuguba, President of the nine-member panel on the election petition,
during discussions on “Boiling Point”, a political programme on Oman FM
and labeled him as “as a hypocritical joker who pampers the Counsel for
the National Democratic Congress, Tsatsu Tsikata, but habitually scolds
the Counsel for the NPP, Philip Addison.”
Making commentaries about the court proceedings, Sir John asked the bench the intent behind their actions.
“Do
they think we are stupid? You (Atuguba) sit there and frown like a
voodoo deity. When Addison is talking you shut him up and beat him with
sticks but when it comes to Tsatsu, when he gets angry, you ask him
apologetically if he is angry. Tsikata’s cross examination was for how
many days? Didn’t Atuguba and co see that the questions he was asking
were nonsensical?”
He was also quoted on the tape stating
that the conduct of the Supreme Court judges in the infamous Sammy Awuku
encounter is ‘appalling and must be condemned.”
But when
confronted on the issue, he fervently distanced himself from the tape,
claiming that the voice on the tape could have been doctored to shame
him.
He was quoted to have shifted blame on Radio Gold for obviously carrying out an agenda to defame him.
But
in a quick riposte, the radio station on Thursday, in a statement
signed by its Acting General Manager, B.B. Menson, described Sir John’s
comments as “treacherous and unguarded”, adding they find it shameful that he would blame them for his woes.
The
station therefore said it takes strong exception to the allegations
leveled against it and stated on authority that the said tape is
‘authentic’ and has not been doctored to suit any agenda.
“We
write to make it clear that we take strong exception as a corporate body
to the serious allegation leveled against us and to make known to all
concerned that the said tape is an authentic recording of the Oman FM
programme titled ‘Boiling Point’, aired on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 and
hosted by one Kwabena Kwakye.
“We cannot accept some politicians
blaming those of us in the media for words they choose to utter and in
the process belittling our training and intelligence as professionals in
the broadcast industry. We have as a radio station made efforts many
times to have Mr. Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie on our platform in order that he
clarifies the issue he has raised against us but Sir John seems to have
conveniently avoided us”.
Radio Gold said they find it most unfortunate that the NPP guru “instead
of speaking directly to the issue at stake has decided to ignore
whether he was on Oman FM on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 or not and whether
he made those submissions or not; but has rather chosen to accuse us of
doctoring the tape without telling the world exactly what he said on the
mentioned date.”
The Management further advised him “to
provide proof that we indeed doctored the tape or retract and apologize
for this wild allegation against our organization without basis.” |
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