Politicians Must Grow Up – Kwamena Duncan

Kwamena Duncan, Central Regional Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party, has advised political figures in the country to "grow up" and face the realities in the country. Kwamena Duncan, speaking on Kokrokoo, appealed to politicians to respond to issues in a mature way. Contributing to a panel discussion programme on Peace FM, Kwamena Duncan was alarmed by comments expressed by some political figures, particularly members of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) regarding the life and death of Dr. J.B Danquah, regarded as the doyen of Ghana’s politics. Dr. J.B Danquah was said to have died of natural causes and not from his incarceration under Ghana's First President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's administration. Deputy Information Minister and Nantong Legislator, Murtala Mohammed said on the floor of Parliament that “…even under Busia, a Committee that was set up to look at the circumstances under which he lost his life proved clearly that he didn’t die as a result of he being in prison. It was a natural death and the history is there clearly for us all to see." Dr. J.B Danquah, a founding member of the pre-independent United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), passed away in the Nsawam Medium Security prison on February 4, 1965 at the age of 69. He was imprisoned under the Preventive Detention Act, Act 1958; a law passed by Parliament under the reign of Dr. Nkrumah which permitted the detention of subversive elements without trial for up to five years. Touching on the circumstances that led Dr. Danquah to languish in prison, Kwamena Duncan held strongly that he (Dr. Danquah) was unfairly treated. According to him, he (Dr. Danquah) toiled very hard and suffered for the nation's independence and so, debunked the idea that he was imprisoned because he bore ill-motives against the government at that time. He debunked the misconception bandied around by the likes of Professor Agyemang Akosa, a staunch member of the Convention People's Party, who in Kwamena's view, argued that J.B Danquah was detained under the Preventive Detention Act over somewhat 'terrorist' attempts by him against the Nkrumah government. Kwamena Duncan admonished politicians to be "mature to circumstances".

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana