Monday, July 15, 2013

Radio Gold Rips Into Sir John…Demands Apology For “Treacherous, Shameful And Unconscionable” Comments

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.”
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana

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